We have all been there. You just got off a productive day at work, you get in your car and managed to beat rush hour, and you’re just cruising home listening to music when you see it. “The flash. You just ran a red light, it was barely red! And that red light happened to have a dreadful, fear inducing, day ruining red light camera.”While this can ruin your day, don’t let it ruin your driving record. Arm yourself with some knowledge, here is everything you need to know about red light cameras and how to beat this traffic ticket in California.
The rules vary from county to county.
The state of California is a hot topic right now in regards to red light cameras, mostly due to its variety in the way the tickets are handled. Some people report paying tickets of over 500 dollars, some report less, and some people will tell you to simply ignore them. Your best option in this situation is to contact a legal group for advice on how to proceed before doing anything (that includes ignoring the ticket, as appealing as that sounds). Your outcome will depend largely on the city or county you live in, so it is best to not just follow the advice of the highly educated internet stranger. Take yourself- and your ticket- to a highly educated, real life, legal professional.
How the red light cameras (and tickets) work.
Intersections that have red light cameras have sensors on them, and if your car passes this sensor after the light has changed it triggers a camera to take a picture of you and your license plate. If you are the registered owner of the vehicle, you will receive a ticket in the mail with the amount you are instructed to pay. A traffic attorney can help you fight this ticket.
What to do if your friend or family member ran the light
While you aren’t legally required to make sure that your friend takes the heat for the ticket, you can fight it. In California, the driver of the vehicle is responsible to pay the ticket, not the vehicle owner. You will, however, be the one who receives the ticket in the mail if you are the registered owner of the vehicle.
A few different methods to fight the ticket
Hiring an attorney is your best option to make sure you aren’t held liable for the ticket or the faulty driving record if you are caught on camera running a red light. Your attorney can argue against the clarity of the picture, improperly working machine, that you ran the light to avoid an accident, or various other arguments that they can come up with. There are many ways to beat a traffic ticket in California.As you can see, there are a few ways to beat this kind of traffic ticket in California. Make sure you have armed yourself with knowledge, and contact a legal service to help increase your chances of getting out of it.