red light ticket

[Irish_Alley]

has anyone had any luck in fighting red light tickets? wife was driving she was in the right lane tractor trailer was in front of her blocking the light and the roads where wet. the picture is clear of the rear of the car and license plate but shes also on the brakes before the line and after. im sure just on the fact of the tractor trailer blocking the light and wet roads would be enough to argue she couldnt see the light and it would be unsafe for her to try and stop on the wet roads but i was wondering if anyone has some advice. this is only a civic violation but $112.50 is the fine and that could go towards a truck lol

[Irish_Alley]

something else to add is the ticket was issued by the city of dover de the cars registered in MD the light company is in MD. so even if i dont pay they will flag the car and it will be impossible to register it. but i dont think this applies for maryland. what hurts the most is the fine is so petty most people would lose more money if they take off to go to court. there will be more than one court date. i know last time i went to court it was the 4th day before someone tossed it. never really went to court for it but each time it was "how do you plea"

[fitz]

I've had great luck telling the cops that my cousin Irish_Alley is a prison guard.  Works every time.

[zieg85]

Fighting the ticket costs more in a long run.  I got one, video was clear as day.  Because I didn't come to a complete stop before legally turning right on red they got me...  Mine was $100

[FlatBlack77]

I would think they could come back at you with something like "if she was fallowing so close that she couldnt see the light then she was probably driving too close" which may lead to fallowing too close or wreckless driving or driving too fast for conditions charges if they feel like being dicks

but dont quote me i could be 100% wrong.

[philo_beddoe]

Yea it can be tough, i was the king of tickets back when i was a punk kid. I knew there was one of two ways out. Either stop speeding or carry a badge. I chose to carry a badge.

I would fight that ticket, dont lie but plead your case. If you ask for an extension it could be six months before your court date. If she has a good driving record, make sure you state that.

[Irish_Alley]

in this state its no points so its just the fine to deal with. but the part about following too closely its a tractor trailer so the only way to see in front of it would be to be on the side. i know the badge does help but only when you get pulled over by a human not a camera lol. its kind of frowned upon to wear uniform while going to court so thats out of the question. now something else that i think is law is they cant increase the penalty as far as i know. red light tickets are a civil offence non criminal, so if they change it to following too closely it would change to criminal and im not sure they can do that cause then they could say "you ran the red light, did you see it? yes "ignoring a traffic control device" (criminal offence) No "inattentive driver" (another criminal offence). i need to speak to some local LEOs i may or may not know

i know one that was in our academy class he told us they are so simple to beat. but he wouldnt tell us how

[Irish_Alley]

some info i stumbled upon

Re: Red-light traffic camera deals under scrutiny
For the record, red-light cameras, at least for the present, cannot be used for speed enforcement at all in Delaware. And, the citations issued for red-light violations are civil citations, not criminal. As such, the burden of proof falls light-years short of “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

In fact, the burden of proof does not even approach a “preponderance of the evidence” unless an accused decides to fight it. Otherwise, if you simply roll over and pay the citation, it's as much as an admission of liability. On the other hand, if you fight it, you have a 5 in 10 chance of having the state drop it.

But, if you fight it and you don't know what you're doing, there's a 9 in 10 chance that the state will win and you'll end up with an enforceable civil lean against you for the amount of the original citation plus all added administrative expenses incurred by the state to fight back.

The state must have a minimum of TWO images of the vehicle and the tags must be clearly visible. Please note that the law REQUIRES them to have TWO images at least; it does not mean that they're actually going to HAVE them, or that they'll be of a sufficient quality to win anything.

The citation is issued to the REGISTERED owner of the vehicle. It DOESN'T MATTER WHO'S DRIVING IT. This is why, under no circumstances may the citation become part of your driving record, result in accessing any driving points, or may an insurance company use it in upping a cited driver's insurance rates.

There is not a single statistic in this country to support states' or municipalities' contentions that red-light cameras improve safety. They're nothing but another cash-cow that works big time because people either pay out of hand or don't understand the full implication of “fighting” it.

You can fight these things and win; and, yes, you can even find a few officials in possession of a conscience and compassion that will drop the matter for you. But, you have to know what you're doing. The fact that you think it's unfair means nothing.

Like it or not, the de facto legal definition of “fair” boils down to whichever side has the stronger combination of material and circumstantial evidence. There's no “trial;” you'll get a hearing before an administrative law judge (not an article III judge).

A typical citation amounts to about $110. You fight it and lose. You appeal it and lose again. At each step along the way, the citing authority adds administrative costs to the original. By the time you've finally LOST, the fine has reached about $400 and the citing authority now has a collectable fine over which it can get all kinds of snotty, NOW. Think lien! And, the collection tab is still tallying.

On the other hand, you could have sent in your payment (certified mail) and have been done with it. Of course, if you want to go to the mat with it, you can do it. But, you'd better have material evidence on your side, or luck out and draw an official willing to drop it. Otherwise, it's going to cost you.


http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?18116-Red-light-traffic-camera-deals-under-scrutiny

[philo_beddoe]

Lots of info there irish. But yeah, if you decide to fight it, you need to have some teeth, something reasonable, or they will just say you should have been back far enough to see the light. And if nothing comes to mind right away, then just pay it and make it go away.

I am not a regular LEO, so i dont know the civil end of things regarding local or state. I'm federal, which is a whole different game. But a shield is a shield, i drive an unmarked vehicle and once in a while i get pulled over, and as soon as the officer runs my tag, he knows. Of course i never expect favors, just a common courtesy. Always professionalism and respect.

[Irish_Alley]

i have a few state cops and a couple locals but with locals theres no red light cameras so im thinking it might be a guess with them but who knows. but yeah always respect the badge no matter if they are writing you a ticket or just telling you to slow down. i only got upset with 2 cops one was when i was 18ish and he was a butt and so was I. luckily our argument didnt cost me anything else than a "passing in a no passing zone" which reminds me kids if you pass a school bus on a dotted line but dont finish on a dotted line it was an illegal pass. the second one was the guy in front of me was going 40ish in a 50. knowing i could legally speed to pass someone i did 50 to pass. well this took longer than expected and a car came from the other direction from around a turn, so i floored it. that impala ss will go from 50 to 70 in about a second lol. now i was avoiding an accident but the cop didnt want to hear it. it got thrown out in court

[Irish_Alley]

heres the violation

[LTZ C20]

I have no idea what the rules are in your area, but here in the people's Republic of California lol if you cross the white line into the intersection while the light is still yellow, or of you come to a stop over the white line and then it turns red, you have already entered the intersection while it was yellow which is not illegal. So if your driving along and it turns yellow and you stop just over the white line and once stopped it then turns yellow, your can't be cited. Same as if you are half way thru the intersection and it turns red, you were already present when it was still yellow light so no wrong doing has occured.

I think that is all correct information, my mom was a traffic cop for like 10 years.

My city has red light cameras, non of them work tho, they used them for a few years and then shut down the program because it wasn't paying back the cities investment. They were like 10 grand a piece plus whatever is required to keep the program and system running and they already had 5, so there's 50 g's for just the cameras. Now there are 5 intersections around town with pretty, white decorative cameras. They are now as useful as a polaroid lol.

[Irish_Alley]

If your in the intersection when it turns red you're OK. This is why the put the first picture up to show where your tires are at. But they also log the speed at 29 speed limit is 45

[Stewart G Griffin]

The violation isn't going to go on anyone's record since it's not clear who was driving irregardless of who's on the registration, so i would just pay it.  Also, i'm pretty sure MD, VA, DC and DE have reciprocity with each other in regards to points and violations which wouldn't apply in the case, but it does in regards to flagging as you pointed out.

Now, in DC, if you got a camera speed ticket if you're name is on the registration, you could state, with notary stamp, that you were not the one driving the car and they would dismiss the ticket

[philo_beddoe]

Mr. Irish those pictures are too good to fight. Pay it and make it go away.

Wait, on second thought, fix my engine vib problem and i'll pay it !!! Lol