- Red light camera fines still confuse California drivers.
- Experts say many of these fines lack legal strength.
- A new law may help cities enforce red light tickets.
Seeing a traffic camera flash as you go through an intersection never leaves a driver feeling good. In California, that sort of thing happens countless times every day, but drivers are starting to grapple with a new question. Do they actually have to pay the tickets these cameras issue? Some experts think the answer is no.
The safe answer is, of course, you should pay any lawful ticket. Therein lies the potential wiggle room, though, because traffic camera citations might not hold up to scrutiny.
What Makes a Ticket Valid?
When police pull a driver over, they have to abide by the law in the manner and technical detail of the stop and potential citation. Traffic cameras have similar standards, and sometimes the tickets they issue don’t always follow them.
Unlike traditional traffic stops, camera tickets rely entirely on electronic systems and third-party review. There’s no human officer witnessing the violation in real time, no first-person testimony, and no uniformed declarant reviewing the footage. These are just some of the issues that can turn a valid ticket into just another piece of paper.
More: Thousands Of Drivers Cited, Hundreds Arrested During California’s Special Enforcement Period
Jorian Goes, founder of Ticket Snipers, spoke to CBS about the situation. “They have calibration issues with the sensors, the cameras, and then there is a non-uniformed declarant that looks over the footage that works for the camera company and the city that actually issues the violations,” Goes said.
Limited Power to Enforce
On top of his concerns, it turns out that California doesn’t have much in the way of enforcement power either.
Jay Beeber with the National Motorists Association says the state can’t do much if drivers ignore traffic cam citations. “The only thing they can do is, they can send it to a collection agency and a collection agency has no power over you,” Beeber said. “They can’t send it to a credit reporting agency, so it doesn’t affect your credit.”
He goes on to point out that many of the tickets are for things that the average officer wouldn’t cite a person for. “They’re a fraction of a second violations that nobody can even see with the naked eye, which the violator wasn’t even aware that they actually committed the violation — or they’re slow-rolling right turns.”
Read: Californians Pay Fish Fees With Bloated Traffic Tickets, And Most Don’t Know It
Hilariously, I’ve actually picked up just such a citation in California. I paid it. But if it happens again, I might think twice.
Could the Law Soon Change?
Of course, a new law could change things for everyone. Cities can now classify traffic camera citations as civil penalties instead of criminal ones. That sounds like a tiny change, but it allows the government to enforce the fine without getting a court involved.
Until cities actually begin to make that shift, questions around whether or not to pay these tickets will likely continue.