Need info on fighting red light ticket
February 10, 2010 5:23 PM Subscribe
Husband got red light ticket in the mail. It wasn't him driving. He sent it back and marked the box that he wanted to contest the ticket. What should he do in court (WA state)? Does he have to say who was driving (it's a photo of the car, no picture of the driver)? He kind of has proof as to where he was at the time of the ticket.
actually, maybe he isn't....
ok...i'm done now... good luck with this...
posted by HuronBob at 5:47 PM on February 10, 2010
ok...i'm done now... good luck with this...
posted by HuronBob at 5:47 PM on February 10, 2010
actually, maybe he isn't....
Maybe he is. Reading the linked thread, it looks like the prosecutor was able to argue the defendant did not establish he or she was not the driver, that his or her statement was insufficient. Maybe an alibi would address that. Probably best to talk to a lawyer.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 5:52 PM on February 10, 2010
Maybe he is. Reading the linked thread, it looks like the prosecutor was able to argue the defendant did not establish he or she was not the driver, that his or her statement was insufficient. Maybe an alibi would address that. Probably best to talk to a lawyer.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 5:52 PM on February 10, 2010
Why hasn't he confronted the person that was driving? I can't imagine not attempting to clear this up appropriately unless the guilty party here isn't legal to be on the road.
posted by june made him a gemini at 6:17 PM on February 10, 2010
posted by june made him a gemini at 6:17 PM on February 10, 2010
In some places a red light ticket is just like a parking ticket - it doesn't matter who was driving/parking the car. In those places, a nice corollary is that red light violations do not go on your driving record.
posted by pitseleh at 6:30 PM on February 10, 2010
posted by pitseleh at 6:30 PM on February 10, 2010
Your husband is going to have to either pay the ticker or declare, under oath, that the car was in the control of another person at the time. So he either needs to pay up or point the finger.
I'm not sure that red light camera tickets count as points on your license like a speeding ticket. Check into this. If they do not, I would simply make the other party cough up the dough to me and then pay the ticket. If they do, he's gonna have to rat out the other party.
But hey, if you drive somebody else's car through a red light you don't have much room to complain.
posted by Justinian at 7:13 PM on February 10, 2010
I'm not sure that red light camera tickets count as points on your license like a speeding ticket. Check into this. If they do not, I would simply make the other party cough up the dough to me and then pay the ticket. If they do, he's gonna have to rat out the other party.
But hey, if you drive somebody else's car through a red light you don't have much room to complain.
posted by Justinian at 7:13 PM on February 10, 2010
By the way, simply swearing it wasn't him probably won't be enough. He may well need to prove he couldn't have been the one driving the car or the person who was driving would need to give him a statement confessing to that fact.
posted by Justinian at 7:16 PM on February 10, 2010
posted by Justinian at 7:16 PM on February 10, 2010
That's strange that there was no picture of who was driving. In California there is a picture of the driver and the owner of the car who the ticket is sent to simply has to go to court, show the judge that they don't match the photo, and the ticket gets dismissed. But obviously you should find out how it works in washington. Don't know if it was in Seattle, but take a look at this and if it's not in Seattle find the website for whatever court it is in. Seems like they just want you to swear it wasn't you lol.
posted by 12%juicepulp at 7:44 PM on February 10, 2010
posted by 12%juicepulp at 7:44 PM on February 10, 2010
That's strange that there was no picture of who was driving.
According to this, in Washington State, privacy laws forbid taking pictures of the occupants of cars. The citation is issued to the owner of the vehicle determined by a photo of the license plate.
posted by JackFlash at 7:52 PM on February 10, 2010
According to this, in Washington State, privacy laws forbid taking pictures of the occupants of cars. The citation is issued to the owner of the vehicle determined by a photo of the license plate.
posted by JackFlash at 7:52 PM on February 10, 2010
ahem. someone i know who isn't me got a red light ticket in california. this woman's husband was the registered owner of the car. the ticket (not a real ticket with a fine, rather a "snitch ticket") had her photo. since the owner's name was male, and the person in the photo clearly wasn't, she decided to, on the basis of internet advice/googling, simply ignore it. nothing happened. that was about 5 years ago.
and then, this woman's brother. he got two camera speeding tickets in the mail from a road trip through arizona. he lives in california. he was driving his sister's car. again, photo of a dude, registered owner was a woman. upon hearing of the first woman's experiences he decided also to ignore the ticket. nothing happened. this was a year ago.
YMMV. I am not anything or qualified to give advice of any sort, unless it is related to astrology or unicorns.
posted by apostrophe at 8:24 PM on February 10, 2010
and then, this woman's brother. he got two camera speeding tickets in the mail from a road trip through arizona. he lives in california. he was driving his sister's car. again, photo of a dude, registered owner was a woman. upon hearing of the first woman's experiences he decided also to ignore the ticket. nothing happened. this was a year ago.
YMMV. I am not anything or qualified to give advice of any sort, unless it is related to astrology or unicorns.
posted by apostrophe at 8:24 PM on February 10, 2010
you're in WA? i know people who swear by jeannie mucklestone
posted by rmd1023 at 8:37 PM on February 10, 2010
posted by rmd1023 at 8:37 PM on February 10, 2010
actually, no, the ticket wasn't a court summons. it didn't contain any actual information for a hearing, like a court address or time. if you click this link and forgive the psycho-internet-guy aesthetic, you will get an explanation of what i'm referring to. basically, the "ticket" was an attempt to get the woman's husband to turn in his wife, thereby giving the cops an id beyond a photo that could be anyone.
but this isn't relevant to the asker's question, because the guy in the question wasn't actually driving.
i just saw several comments suggesting that a camera ticket is similar to a parking ticket, in that it doesn't matter who was driving. in at last two states, that's absolutely untrue. if it's different in washington, that would surprise me.
and i thought it was relevant that in my friend's experience, the registered owners of the cars declined to answer the written question of who was actually driving, and it never came up again.
posted by apostrophe at 9:19 PM on February 10, 2010
but this isn't relevant to the asker's question, because the guy in the question wasn't actually driving.
i just saw several comments suggesting that a camera ticket is similar to a parking ticket, in that it doesn't matter who was driving. in at last two states, that's absolutely untrue. if it's different in washington, that would surprise me.
and i thought it was relevant that in my friend's experience, the registered owners of the cars declined to answer the written question of who was actually driving, and it never came up again.
posted by apostrophe at 9:19 PM on February 10, 2010
Hm. Has anyone thought that the person who WAS driving husband's car was the OP? That puts a new spin on it.
posted by arnicae at 11:28 PM on February 10, 2010
posted by arnicae at 11:28 PM on February 10, 2010
Honestly, this is probably not worth the time and effort it will take the fight the ticket.
My husband drove my car through a red light camera intersection once. I received the ticket with photo evidence--there he was, blowing through the intersection. I had an alibi--I was in the hospital recovering from an appendectomy.
I looked into pleading "not guilty" or appealing the ticket (I don't know the technical term) but found out some interesting things about red light tickets in my state (GA):
1. The fine is capped at $70 (or some other amount, it's under $100) by the state legislature; and
2. This is not a criminal offense, it's a civil fine and no points go against your license.
To challenge the ticket, I would have had to take a day off work, go to the courthouse and go through a pseudo trial type situation. That was not a good economic decision for me.
Most states are set up this way when it comes to red light cameras. It's a cash-cow and everyone knows it. So, if I were you, I'd make my husband pay the fine, and then make him take me out for dinner as an apology. :) That's what I did.
PS Almost all of the red light cameras in my county have been taken offline as they have been proven ineffective in reducing the number of accidents at busy intersections, and as operating costs have exceeded the revenue realized by the municipality. They are moving out of favor here.
posted by FergieBelle at 5:55 AM on February 11, 2010
My husband drove my car through a red light camera intersection once. I received the ticket with photo evidence--there he was, blowing through the intersection. I had an alibi--I was in the hospital recovering from an appendectomy.
I looked into pleading "not guilty" or appealing the ticket (I don't know the technical term) but found out some interesting things about red light tickets in my state (GA):
1. The fine is capped at $70 (or some other amount, it's under $100) by the state legislature; and
2. This is not a criminal offense, it's a civil fine and no points go against your license.
To challenge the ticket, I would have had to take a day off work, go to the courthouse and go through a pseudo trial type situation. That was not a good economic decision for me.
Most states are set up this way when it comes to red light cameras. It's a cash-cow and everyone knows it. So, if I were you, I'd make my husband pay the fine, and then make him take me out for dinner as an apology. :) That's what I did.
PS Almost all of the red light cameras in my county have been taken offline as they have been proven ineffective in reducing the number of accidents at busy intersections, and as operating costs have exceeded the revenue realized by the municipality. They are moving out of favor here.
posted by FergieBelle at 5:55 AM on February 11, 2010
Although the ticket will not cause any loss of points to the car owner, failure to pay will result in the car owner being arrested and/or worse. His first step is to pay the ticket unless he wants to go through the hassle of fighting it in court. If I were him I would definitely confront the person driving the car and get the money from that person and call it a day.
posted by JJ86 at 6:12 AM on February 11, 2010
posted by JJ86 at 6:12 AM on February 11, 2010
The National Motorists Association has a decent section on how to fight your red light camera ticket.
posted by dalesd at 8:24 AM on February 11, 2010
posted by dalesd at 8:24 AM on February 11, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by HuronBob at 5:41 PM on February 10, 2010