Fighting a red light camera ticket

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Got nailed for running a red light on July 23rd, got the ticket in the mail just last week, how am I supposed to remember if I came to a complete stop before I made the right turn(right on red after stop). Filled out the form to take it to a judge, they called last night asking why I was fighting it, they said the video clearly shows me not stopping, figure judge will say the same thing so basically plead guilty over the phone but did get a two week extension to pay the $195 fine. There should be a statute of limitatiions of like a week on these. Mine happened in Sioux City, Iowa, I live in South Dakota and I heard that South Dakota shut their red light cameras down because of lawsuits. Now the biggest thing is will Sioux City put it on my record as being paid, or I will I be pulled over, arrested, car towed and impounded then after sitting in jail for hours, have them say "Oop's you were right." Have heard of Sioux City doing that on out standing seat belt tickets.
 
mshred, does the photo show you driving the car?
Here in Sweden we got speeding cameras ( maybe you´ve got them too)
I know a lot of those who got speedingtickets won against the law because of the bad quality of the pics.
 
swedefish said:
does the photo show you driving the car?
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That's basically what my attorney said about my son's ticket. The car is in my name, so the ticket came in my name, but it's his car (he is starting college soon). The attorney said they couldn't prove that it was me that was driving, so I could have fought it.
 
I drive in Toronto every day. I go thru many camera equipped intersections. There is a lot of leniency built into them. If you get snapped, you REALLY blew the light. While I understand the urge to fight it, I think you're wasting your time.
 
hey guys, i appreciate all the responses and opinions

first off, in no way by any means am i not taking responsibility for my actions by wanting to fight it...are you all going to tell me that because i dont want to pay 325 dollars im not taking responsibility? come on here, this isnt pocket change...and the part that pisses me off is the fact that i know im a good driver, and i know i would have stopped if i could have...some may find it to be an excuse (and the judge might too), but my car doesnt exactly stop the greatest, especially with the 4 inch skinnies up front...ive locked up the brakes once before and i almost crapped myself in fear...something that id rather not go through again if i had the choice

that being said, i realize that i was caught and that running a red light is wrong...luckily no one was around me and there was no chance for anyone (including myself to get hurt)...i realize fully what i did, im just trying to get out of paying the huge amount of money they want...i mean, in all honesty, these things are just huge cash grabs

people who say that by me fighting im wasting your tax dollars...LOL your dead wrong! im putting them to use! only 3% of all tickets in Ontario actually go to court, because everybody just goes and pays them...not only are the taxpayers paying, but so are all the people getting tickets...imagine if more people started fighting- the tax dollars would actually start going to good use

im still up in the air about what to do though...i mean, some of you are convincing me to fight it, others are convincing me that i have no chance of winning and should just pay...i still have to decide, but i have to quick since i only have 15 days

thanks everyone for your opinions and experience!
 
I would be careful telling the judge that your car doesn't stop well.
If I was the judge , and heard that, I would do everything I could to get that car off the road before it kills someone!

As for the fine amount, I think it is very high for the offense. I don't think accidents happen because of people barely missing a light.

If anything your justification is that the punishment does not fit the crime.
 
dodgedifferent2 said:
I think the talk about the timing of the light. The jp will tell you that you are suppose to stop for a yellow light as per the driving handbook (highway traffic act)
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So if I get 50 feet from a green light and it turns yellow, am I supposed to stop??
 
I know its a lot of coin, but you won't win. I can stop my 9" drum Valiant no problem in plenty of time. I can stop my 92 turd truck and 7 klb trailer no problem. I can stop a 34 year old GMC bus no problem. You pushed your luck with the light to keep up with your buddy and you got burned. Like I said previously, those things are not calibrated to catch iffy light runners that might have been able to maybe sorta stop. You have to ABSOLUTELY BLOW IT. And the fine reflects that. I see so many people blatantly running lights all over Toronto every day that I could scream.
Don't humiliate yourself telling a Judge some BS story , cause he's heard them all 1000 times.
If you're going to tell him your car can't stop, you better have a signed affidavit from an expert witness concurring.
 
I wouldn't say anything that relates to the mechanical ability of your car , a friend of mine got sent to Falstaff rd , which is where the inspection facility for GTA used to be {I haven't been home in 25 years } it was massive building that seemed like a mile long of nothing but tech stations each one manned by a government expert in some minute area of your car , fail any of these stations they would pull your plate on the spot with either a minimum time to fix or if too rusty or frame damaged no chance of return kiss your unsafe vehicle good bye . Your stall , delay and reschedule deal has promise but if it fails show the judge your student card plead extreme poverty and ask for as much extra time as the judge can allow , offer 10 bucks a month for as long as it takes but make sure the judge freezes the debt as long as you make your payments on time then pay ,I've heard of people paying as little as 5 bucks but that was when there was a law requiring creditors to accept any payment of 5 bucks or greater ,I bet that law is probably gone but if you don't talk stupid to the judge you can probably drag out your payments till 10 bucks is equal to 5 eh lol
 
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