TuxTom

I can sympathize with the OP as I just recently had to suck it up and plead guilty for using my cell phone while driving around Albany, NY despite the fact that my phone was resting in the cup holder the entire time I was driving. I have no idea what the officer saw that made him pull me over and I would love to fight it, but ultimately the fine is far lower than the airfare.

Kevin AA

Assuming the cost of travel is not going to strain your budget, who cares if it's more than the ticket (it's not that much more). It's the principle! Don't let greedy governments get away with this! And write a letter to the editor as well!

gardener

+1

I got a camera speeding ticket in Scottsdale and a Google search assured me that I needed to be served for it to stick and mail didn't count as service.

Never paid it, no consequences.

RoadWarrior200

In many jurisdictions, you actually can appeal the ticket in writing even if the court didn't tell you that. I had a similar situation in San Francisco and the method for sending a written appeal wasn’t even at the court's web site but at the statewide Judicial Council web site, a place most people would never know about. I filed with the court my written appeal with photos and four months later I got my money back (yes, I had to pay the fine in advance pending a decision). California also has laws about red light cameras that are often ignored: the cameras have to be calibrated every X days and warning signs must be posted a certain number of yards prior to the intersection. In my case, the camera was ticketing people when the light was just turning yellow (I went back and took videos of that fact) and the required warning sign was (intentionally) blocked by a tree. Initially red cameras were only for running a red light, but when that didn't yield sufficient income, many jurisdictions resorted to the "right turn on red" trick. And remember, in most places the camera company takes a substantial portion of the fines paid (and takes city officials to baseball games and the like). And of course it makes no sense to force everyone to make a full stop before making a right turn if, at the same time, you're trying to clear traffic-clogged intersections and, as a traffic management plan, you'd rather a whole stream of cars make a right turn on red as long as there are no pedestrians in the way. I'm sure you've done some Google searches for web sites that are focused on this problem nationwide, such as Home - Fighting Red Light Camera Tickets and Links/Resources - Red Light Cameras & Photo Radar. In my case, the issue later came up in a city where I live so I filed a written comment about my experience in San Francisco. Many other citizens weighed in as well. As a result, we no longer have red light cameras in my city, and they've been removed from most (but not all) California cities for all the right reasons.

honest_abe

And what would that have to do with this case? Given that you knew there was a camera and you properly stop and then turn right on red legally as the poster said, how would knowing the camera was there help? The fact that you can't confront the officer except in court because the officer was not present and the camera takes pictures even if you make a legal movement says that no matter what, you either refrain from a legal turn at red lights with cameras or be scammed by the light manufacturer and/or jurisdiction.

JBerger

Had a similar experience with a rental car in FL. In my case it was a bridge toll in the FLL area, whereas I was driving the car that day South of TPA. Turns out the jurisdiction was FL, but the fine was administered out of NY. No-one would fix the error which is why I believe it was a revenue scam.
When the Rental Car company Budget billed the CC I had used to rent the car, I contacted my CC issuer and they refunded the bogus charge.

apeortdz

I would do a mileage run and contest the fine.

taina2

In Orlando Florida you can pay $89 for a lawyer to go to traffic court for you. Check this out for your area, but fight it.

lisamcgu

Have you googled Red Light Ticket w the name of the city where you got the ticket? In Los Angeles, their red light system was so messed up people were advised to just ignore the tickets and by googling you may see how easily these red light tickets can be beat by all the Ticket fixers who advertise and anti red light ticket proponents. Not sure what the disclaimer is w the rental co or how valid it is, but if they chose to pay it that’s their choice, not yours. To me, sounds like a racket they have going w the police. There’s your lawsuit. Also google articles describing how other cities cheated and got caught.

danbrew

Imho, the OP is nuts if he doesn't just pay it. It's just going to cost you $ to fight it - either flying back, hiring an attorney, or spending time trying to figure out the laws in that particular jurisdiction. Those suggesting fight it must have more time & money on their hands than I do; those suggesting the OP ignore it are insane. What happens eleven years from now when you're back in that town and you get pulled over for something? You're going straight to jail. And you can bet that $100 fine will be a LOT more at some unknown time in the future. If you are concerned about fighting anything, take your video to your insurance company and ask if they'll overlook the moving violation. Most will - as long as you don't have a stack of them.

And on the subject of the video, should you choose to fight it, you think you'll get to court and be able to show your video that shows you stopping, counting to three, and them moving forward. Expect their video to start just when you start rolling forward - and you'll roll right over that white line with a bright red light in the background. You know what the judge is gonna say? Guilty. I got tagged by a RLC in the next town over - there was an 18-wheeler to my right, turning left. He completely blocked the oncoming traffic - there was no freaken' way that I was gonna cause an accident. So, yeah, I rolled through the intersection and turned right. The question the judge had wasn't "so, you knew you wouldn't cause an accident because of that 18-wheeler, right?", but "did you stop? based upon the video the state offers, you didn't". And that's pretty much how the court date for the OP will go.

lisamcgu

garykung

Without knowing the detail of the citation, it is difficult to say which one is the better choice.

My 2 cents to OP - pay it or not, it is entirely up to you.

Not necessary.

Traffic enforcement is a protected government act. To counter-sue successfully, the plaintiff needs to show that is not a simple error, but a systemic issue.

It may be a surprise to most of you.

Regardless if the law permits or not, some jurisdictions outsource its entire red light program to a third-party vendor.

mherdeg

Sounds like a perfect job for my dream service, "I remind you what you did, LLC".

Find out the name and address of (a) the town's mayor, (b) the town's chief of police, (c) the clerk responsible for your ticket, (d) the CEO of the red-light camera vendor that the town used.

My dream service would keep track of those people's current address and once a year it would mail them a letter briefly outlining what they did (forced OP to pay $125 for stopping at a red light and legally turning right on red, using fake photo evidence).

For the entire remainder of their natural life those people would get an annual, quiet reminder that they did something wrong. Just a tiny little prick in the conscience.

My dream service would offer upgrades with in-person delivery of the letters, either process-server or town-crier style.

This service works better if there is a local newspaper which covers the incident and you can enclose a copy of the article to refresh the recipients' recollection.

tlglenn

Btw, in Arizona you can lookup your ticket and make sure it was dismissed: https://apps.supremecourt.az.gov/publicaccess/caselookup.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

chbj

Every intersection should have a red-light camera. Red means stop. How hard is this to understand.