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-   California (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/california-450/)
-   -   Red light ticket while visiting (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/california/1894914-red-light-ticket-while-visiting.html)

trickfly Feb 20, 2018 11:47 am
Red light ticket while visiting
 
Hi folks,

i am visiting california and using a car sharing service (not a traditional rental), where you essentially borrow someone’s car for an hourly fee. Driving around SF, I was unfamiliar and got flashed by a red light camera at night. Was a tiny fraction of a second late I think, but fairly certain it got me. I am totally gutted as I’m generally a very careful driver!

Assuming the the owner passes the ticket to my UK address, what is likely to happen? I’m happy to pay any fines which are due to me, I just don’t want any issues travelling in the future.

does anyone have any experience with how tickets are dealt internationally? I know which traditional rental companies they would just claw this money back and the issue would be settled, but this seems more complicated.

Many thanks

Jaimito Cartero Feb 20, 2018 11:53 am
I’d probably let the owner of the car know.

Lost Feb 20, 2018 11:57 am
Let the car's owner know what happened if you haven't yet. They will get the citation in the mail, and there is a process for them to follow when someone else is driving (link below). But right now just get in touch with the owner.

As to whether the city will bother going after a UK driver for a photo ticket, I have no idea. If they do, then take care of it one way or another like you normally would (if you believe you are guilty then just pay it).

Red Light Camera Citation | Superior Court of California - County of San Francisco

edit: Also if you do get it in the mail and want to just pay it, I would pay online and not the pay by mail route, just in case the mail gets delayed past the due by date. The SF traffic authorities have a reputation for being a bit draconian and not having a sense of humor.

Lost Feb 20, 2018 12:07 pm
Oh, and just clarifying, this actually happened in the city of San Francisco, not a nearby city, correct?

RichardInSF Mar 10, 2018 4:18 pm
Originally Posted by Lost (Post 29438948)
Oh, and just clarifying, this actually happened in the city of San Francisco, not a nearby city, correct?
I doubt it. As far as I know, the only red light cameras in the vicinity of SFO are in Millbrae, either at the southbound exit from 101 to Millbrae avenue or the next intersection west, which is to the BART station access road. Those two generate a TON of light flashes, not all of which become tickets.

Admittedly, I am not familiar with the intersections north of SFO, but I doubt if most (any?) of them are inside San Fran city limits.

Often1 Mar 10, 2018 7:18 pm
The easiest thing to do is to check online. Those tend to post fairly quickly and you can simply pay it and leave the car's owner out of the middle.

California municipal non-criminal violations are not linked to any master database used by CBP, so the failure to pay won't affect your ability to enter the US. But, if you do nothing, the ticket will go to the vehicle owner who will complete an affidavit including your information. That may affect you if you are back in California driving and are ever stopped again.

Don't be "gutted" this is a minor infraction and it does not create a criminal record because it is not any form of a crime.

KathyWdrf Mar 11, 2018 5:01 am
Originally Posted by RichardInSF (Post 29509048)
I doubt it. As far as I know, the only red light cameras in the vicinity of SFO are in Millbrae, either at the southbound exit from 101 to Millbrae avenue or the next intersection west, which is to the BART station access road. Those two generate a TON of light flashes, not all of which become tickets.

Admittedly, I am not familiar with the intersections north of SFO, but I doubt if most (any?) of them are inside San Fran city limits.
Actually, the city of SF does have some red-light enforcement cameras. There is a list of them on the SFMTA website:

26 INTERSECTIONS WITH AUTOMATED PHOTO ENFORCEMENT CAMERAS

  • Bryant Streeet & 6th Street
  • Bush Street & Van Ness Avenue
  • Ellis Street & Larkin Street
  • Fell Street & Masonic Avenue
  • Folsom Street & 1st Street
  • Franklin Street & Geary Street
  • Harrison Street & 3rd Street
  • Harrison Street & 5th Street
  • Harrison Street & 8th Street
  • Howard Street & 4th Street
  • Howard Street & 5th Street
  • Howard Street & 9th Street
  • Marina Boulevard & Lyon Street
  • Market Street & Octavia Boulevard
  • Mission Street & 5th Street
  • Mission Street & 7th Street
  • Mission Street &15th Street
  • Oak Street & Octavia Boulevard
  • Park Presidio Boulevard & Fulton Street
  • Park Presidio Boulevard & Geary Boulevard
  • Park Presidio & Lake Street
  • Pine Street & Polk Street
  • Polk Street & Hayes Street
  • Richardson Avenue & Francisco Street
  • Sloat Boulevard & Nineteenth Avenue
  • South Van Ness Avenue & Fourteenth Street

docbert Mar 11, 2018 3:40 pm
Originally Posted by RichardInSF (Post 29509048)
I doubt it. As far as I know, the only red light cameras in the vicinity of SFO are in Millbrae, either at the southbound exit from 101 to Millbrae avenue or the next intersection west, which is to the BART station access road. Those two generate a TON of light flashes, not all of which become tickets.
The cameras at the intersection of Millbrae Ave/Rollins Road (ie, the entrance to the BART station) have been broken for at least 10 years, and just seems to randomly flash out of boredom every few seconds.

Here's a video I took 10 years ago of that intersection - if you look you'll see multiple occasions where the cameras flash despite no movement at the intersections, with the most obvious being around the 10-11 second mark. There is one stage where it does flash legitimately, when an ambulance goes through the red - www.flickr.com/photos/docbert/2399560257

tmiw Mar 12, 2018 10:36 am
Originally Posted by Often1 (Post 29509442)
The easiest thing to do is to check online. Those tend to post fairly quickly and you can simply pay it and leave the car's owner out of the middle.

California municipal non-criminal violations are not linked to any master database used by CBP, so the failure to pay won't affect your ability to enter the US. But, if you do nothing, the ticket will go to the vehicle owner who will complete an affidavit including your information. That may affect you if you are back in California driving and are ever stopped again.

Don't be "gutted" this is a minor infraction and it does not create a criminal record because it is not any form of a crime.
To clarify the above, failure to pay fines can result in additional misdemeanor charges in CA. Whether they'd bother issuing a warrant for someone not living in the US, however, is another issue (not to mention that they still might not bother forwarding the warrant onto CBP).

Bonehead Mar 12, 2018 5:39 pm
Don't know if this is relevant, but I received a ticket in the mail some years ago because a friend was either speeding or ran a red light while borrowing one of my cars. The ticket had a picture of her behind the wheel and there was a place to check off that I was not the driver, and all I had to do was send a picture of myself in as well. No charge...never heard from the Colorado folks again on it..

Same in CA?

Often1 Mar 12, 2018 6:23 pm
Originally Posted by Bonehead (Post 29517027)
Don't know if this is relevant, but I received a ticket in the mail some years ago because a friend was either speeding or ran a red light while borrowing one of my cars. The ticket had a picture of her behind the wheel and there was a place to check off that I was not the driver, and all I had to do was send a picture of myself in as well. No charge...never heard from the Colorado folks again on it..

Same in CA?
Except it's OP who is the driver. The owner will need to provide the driver's name.

The driver isn't trying to beat the ticket, just trying to figure out how to pay with as little hassle to the owner.

That should be simple here because it can all be done online.

RichardInSF Mar 13, 2018 1:35 pm
Originally Posted by docbert (Post 29512018)
The cameras at the intersection of Millbrae Ave/Rollins Road (ie, the entrance to the BART station) have been broken for at least 10 years, and just seems to randomly flash out of boredom every few seconds.

Here's a video I took 10 years ago of that intersection - if you look you'll see multiple occasions where the cameras flash despite no movement at the intersections, with the most obvious being around the 10-11 second mark. There is one stage where it does flash legitimately, when an ambulance goes through the red - www.flickr.com/photos/docbert/2399560257
According to this website, Millbrae Docs - Main Page - Red Light Cams , well above 30,000 tickets were issued in 2017 at Millbrae and Rollins. Seems credible to me, do you have concrete evidence to the contrary, other than a single video?

RichardInSF Mar 13, 2018 1:37 pm
Originally Posted by KathyWdrf (Post 29510304)
Actually, the city of SF does have some red-light enforcement cameras. There is a list of them on the SFMTA website:

But none of those seem to be anywhere near SFO.

docbert Mar 13, 2018 5:11 pm
Originally Posted by RichardInSF (Post 29520510)
But none of those seem to be anywhere near SFO.
The OP said "Driving around SF", not 'Driving around SFO".

RichardInSF Mar 14, 2018 12:34 am
Originally Posted by docbert (Post 29521397)
The OP said "Driving around SF", not 'Driving around SFO".
Good point, for some reason I read it as SFO. Sorry!


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