People often wonder if its possible to beat a red light camera ticket in California. These kinds of cameras have been in use in many areas of the state for a good number of years. These can catch drivers that go through an intersection when the light is changing but these also capture people that make right turns in a places that have, “no turn on red” signs posted at corners.
How these work
This product type has been used in some areas of the world since the 1960s but only started being used in the United States in the 1990s. These take an image of the car if it is in the intersection at the time the light is red. The ticket is then mailed to the car owner.
One problem that has come up over and over again is the fact that many times the time period in which the light is yellow is considered to be too short, making it impossible for someone to pass through the intersection without being present at some time during the red period. This has caused tickets to be canceled and in some cases, the cameras to be removed.
There has also been controversy over finding the right person that was driving the vehicle as well as concerns from some groups about the violation of privacy by being photographed and observed. This has caused some cities to rethink using these, either canceling plans to install them or removing systems in place. Another issue is the validity of a private company having the authority to legally issue a citation.
What can be done?
People can sometimes take these to court to fight them but for the average person, this may not be feasible. People have to provide some information to show why they shouldn’t have been given a citation and often people are at a loss to provide this. People may not have the time available to take off work to go to court.
There is another method that people can use to fight this kind of citation. There are companies that handle this process for a fee. These companies often have good success with this process because they are familiar with what needs to be done to fight them. This can save clients money on the ticket but also it removes the moving violation from the record, as this can be a factor that increases insurance costs.