How To Fight A Red Light Camera Ticket

By Author: Thomas Palmieri
Total Articles: 10
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Have you ever driven under a yellow traffic signal and noticed a flash in your review mirror after you passed? If so, did you later receive a red light camera ticket in the mail and wonder where it came from?

In many locations today, drivers who drive under a yellow light will see this camera flash. This is unfortunately a signal that a ticket ranging upwards of fifty dollars or more will be mailed to them at a later date.

These red light camera tickets are to be taken seriously, as if they are not dealt with right away, they can lead to fines, a point off of someone's license, or even a suspended license.

Fortunately, for the informed motorists, there are many ways to beat a red light camera ticket.

Some of the ways that a person can fight a ticket that resulted from a red light camera detector include:

1- Verifying whether or not the ticket is real:

2- Understanding the way that the camera works;

3- Researching your state and local municipalities red light camera ticket regulations These 3 different methods all work in sequence together and will be discussed ...
... in more detail below.

First-

To begin with, a driver who was issued a red light camera ticket needs to verify whether or not the ticket he or she received is real.

There have been cases in the past where municipalities have sent out tickets to drivers who were not at fault, and in some reported cases, criminals have been caught sending out fake tickets to people in order to gather personal information from them.

Second-

Drivers have to understand the way the red light cameras work.

The cameras take two pictures, one of the driver in the car and the other of the car's license plate. A driver can successfully argue that someone else was driving his or her car, if the drivers picture is blurred. In the case where the license plate does not match the driver's car, it is almost certain that the ticket will be dismissed.

Even if the driver and the license plate pictures both match up to the driver and his or her car, there are times that tickets can be dismissed on different technicalities that are presented in court.

Third-

Drivers have to be educated about the red light camera laws in their given states. The majority of states require there to be mounted "in clear view" red light camera signs to notify drivers that they are at least within three hundred years of an intersection that has the red light camera.

In some states, the red light camera tickets cannot be enforced if signs are missing, damaged, or obstructed. Furthermore, many states require that law enforcement mail out the tickets within a certain amount of days. If they go past this time frame, then drivers have a valuable defense in court.

Drivers should collect as much evidence as possible to build their case in court. This includes visiting the scene where the infraction took place and taking detailed notes of the red light camera timing from the yellow to red. This may allow for an argument in court if the amount of seconds that took place between the yellow and red signals was minimal. For instance, if only a split second passed, a driver can argue that he or she went under the signal while it was yellow and that the camera does not allow sufficient time for a driver to pass.

Last but not least, drivers should appear in court with a lot of evidence in order to fight the ticket. This is a better way to deal with the situation than just mailing in a response, and often leads to better outcomes as well. In conclusion: Verify whether or not the ticket is authentic Understand the way the red light camera works Learn about the laws related to red light camera tickets in a given state

by: Tom Palmieri 2010
To view police video discussing the legality and use of Red Light Camera Detectors by motorist to beat red light camera tickets, please visit http://www.speed-cameradetector.com/Red_Light_Speed_Camera.php