UPDATE 10/19/2005: 9 months after the ticket, I got the appeal decision in the mail. I won!
Like many cities in California, San Francisco has been using Automated Enforcement Systems (a.k.a. “Red Light Cameras”) at many of its intersections for several years now. Although the stated purpose is (of course) for safety, the real reason is revenue. If you are the unlucky recipient of one of the citations in the mail (as yours truly recently was) then this website is for you. It explains your options and relates my experience with the San Francisco court system.
Your choices:
- The picture isn’t of you. The registered owner is who gets sent the ticket. If the picture is not of you, sign the attached affidavit saying that the picture isn’t of you. Don’t lie — you’re saying under the penalty of purjury that it’s not you in the ticket. DO NOT, however, TELL THEM WHO IS IN THE PICTURE. It’s their job to figure that out, not yours. Don’t rat out your friends and family.
- Pay it. If $371 is worth less to you than a lost morning in court, then just pay the ticket and move on. You may or may not want to do traffic school to keep the points from appearing on your license. While I’ve never done it myself, I hear the on-line version of traffic school is fairly painless.
- Trial + Traffic school. This is probably the best option for most people. Go to the clerk. Post bail (the amount of your ticket) and plead not-guilty.  Get a time for trial. SHOW UP ON TIME. When the court session starts, the clerk will allow you to have your fine reduced to only $50 if you take traffic school (with a $30 fee). For a total of $80, you’re done and the points are not added to your license. NOTE: If you’ve already done traffic school in the past 18 months, you’re not eligible to do it again. Sorry.
- Plead not-guilty. Lots of options here. You can skip the arraignment and demand your right to a speedy trial (within 45 days) by going to the clerk and posting the $371 bond. Sometimes, due to the short notice, the officer isn’t properly subpoenaed and won’t know that he/she needs to testify against you (this happened in my case). If the officer doesn’t appear to testify, your case is dismissed. Or, the officer could already be in court to testify against other people and will realize that she needs to testify against you too, and will testify anyway (yep, this happened to me).Or, you can go to your arraignment and plead not-guilty there. This gives you the chance to make pre-trial motions. This makes the process very drawn-out — expect your trial date to be many months in the future.
Pleading not-guilty
NOTE WELL: This takes a lot of time and will really try your patience. DO NOT EXPECT TO WIN. In fact, you should expect to lose. Sorry, but the trial court for traffic and other infractions in San Francisco assumes GUILT. Moreover, the red light camera systems are considered infallible and therefore beyond reproach. AGAIN, YOU WILL LOSE.
Don’t waste your time
- People often say that with traffic cases you should plead not-guilty and take your chances that the officer won’t show up. (If the officer doesn’t show up, your case is immediately dismissed.) I would agree with this strategy for all non-red light camera tickets. However, from what I can tell, the officers assisting with the red light camera prosecutions do not have normal police “beats”, and instead have a desk job, probably in the same building. This means they have a high liklihood of showing up.
- If you are planning to contend that you don’t run red lights, you are a safe driver, and you’ve never done it before, do not waste your time. (Most murderers haven’t murdered anyone before, either.) You will be found GUILTY. Your fine will be lowered to $300, but they won’t grant you traffic school. You are better off taking the $80 buy-off deal mentioned above.
- If you are planning to contend that the light was really yellow and the camera was wrong or broken, DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME. You will be found GUILTY. I promise. Don’t forget the the cameras are considered infallible by the trial court judge. Even if it was broken!
Argue the law
While the cameras themselves might be considered infallible, the city has errored in the way they are set up and operated. You should expect to LOSE at trial even if you object to the evidence on these grounds. HOWEVER, these MAY help you get your ticket overturned in appeal. That’s right, if you want any chance of winning, you will have to APPEAL. This takes a lot of time and energy. If you’re fed up and willing to put in the time it takes to appeal, then go ahead and plead not-guilty. Otherwise, don’t waste your time and take the $80 buy-out deal.
What to do:
- Buy the book Fight Your Ticket in California from Nolo Press. Make sure you get thee one specifically for California.
- Go to the Hall of Justice (850 Bryant St.) with a copy of your citation many weeks before your trial. Parking hint: You can park on 6th street after 9am. so show up at 8:59 and you’ll have all the free parking you want. Otherwise you might have to pay the garages that charge $6 for the first 1/2 hour. Go to the 5th floor, turn right at the hallway, and go to the end. This is the Police Legal department. Tell the friendly officers (really, they have always been very friendly in this office) that you want to fill out an “Informal discovery request”. They will give you a short form. Fill it out, and the City’s “Photo prosecution packet” will be sent to you. This is exactly what they will present at trial, which is always a good thing to have beforehand.
Issues:
(For a good overview of many of these issues, read Highwayrobbery.net).
- The city has not property issued warning tickets as required by 21455.5. CVC (California vehicle code) 21455.5 allows cities to put up Automated Enforcement Systems if they follow the guidelines set forth in the statue. One of the statutes is that “Prior to issuing citations under this section, a local jurisdiction utilizing an automated traffic enforcement system shall commence a program to issue only warning notices for 30 days.” While most cities (I believe San Francisco is included) took this to mean warning tickets only needed to be issued 30 days before the first camera in a city, a recent court ruling in Southern California mandated that EACH camera is succeptible to the 30-day rule. At trial, I suggest asking the prosecution’s witness (the officer) if they issued only warning tickets for the first 30 days of YOUR camera’s operation.
- CVC 21455.5 also has very strict requirement with respect to intersection signage. 21455.5(a) basically says the city has to label an AES-enabled intersection from all sides. There is one exception: if they choose not to label the intersection from all sides, then it can “posts signs at all major entrances to the city, including, at a minimum, freeways, bridges, and state highway routes.” Note that San Francisco DOES NOT post the required signs on major city entrances like bridges, freeways, and state highway routes. Instead, they choose to label major freeway exits. This is not compliant with the letter or the spirit of the law. While some AES-enforced intersections ARE labeled with signage in all direction, many are completely un-labeled meaning the city is falling back on the fact that they think they’ve labeled the “freeways, bridges, and state highway routes”. If you bring this up at trial (as I did) expect to LOSE. By bringing it up at trial, though, you can use it in your appeal.
- Interesting pre-trial motions. Present them at your arraignment. They probably won’t work, but might be useful ammunition during your appeal.
- Try to subpoena the camera’s “source code”. The camera is more than a camera. It’s a computer. You have the right to question your accuser in court. Your accuser is this computer. You should have the right to know exactly how it is programmed. If this motion is granted, you will probably never see the “source code” (it’s a trade secret) and therefore I would expect the prosecution to drop the charges. It’s worth a shot. It will probably help your case if you know how (ie have the credentials) to interpet any “source code” that you might receive.
- The camera is disallowed under California’s “Speed trap” laws. This is a very interesting one, and will take further research. CVC 40801 forbids speed traps in California. “What does this have to do with Red Light Cameras?” you might ask. Well, let me tell you. CVC 40801 says “No peace officer or other person shall use a speed trap in arresting, or participating or assisting in the arrest of, any person for any alleged violation of this code nor shall any speed trap be used in securing evidence as to the speed of any vehicle for the purpose of an arrest or prosecution under this code.” CVS 40802 says “A particular section of a highway measured as to distance and with boundaries marked, designated, or otherwise determined in order that the speed of a vehicle may be calculated by securing the time it takes the vehicle to travel the known distance.” What does this mean to you? Well, the Red Light Computer decided to take a picture of you because you were headed for the intersection at a rate of speed high enough to assume that you were going to go past the ‘stop line’. It knew this because there are coils of wire in the pavement in each lane that are a set distance apart. It calculated your speed by securing the time it takes your vehicle to travel the known distance. Sound familiar? CVC 40801 now says they can’t use this evidence to prosecute you. But they did anyway, and now you have grounds to fight it. I didn’t try this angle, but I have a feeling you’ll LOSE if you do. But I want to hear about how it went, so write to me.
I’d love to hear from you. Write to me at aren /at/ thesandersens dotcom with your experiences.
Hi Aren,
I posted my question on Nov 2 about a right on red light at Octavia. You asked if I saw flashes – all the lights were so bright across the road that I didn’t notice…however, it’s now 12/1/10 and so far no citation 😉
Thanks for being there – this site helped me get ready for a huge ticket – lots of great info.
Jet
thanks aren for keeping up this blog!!
it’s great to be able to connect with other people who are experiencing the financial terrorism of the SF govt’s ticketing programs. i also got a redlight camera ticket, and felt that sickening feeling from seeing the $466 fine. then plus $52 more please! i am SO tired of the tyranny of the DPT and now the SFPD giving as many tickets as possible to get some cash for the city. it’s cruel and unusual punishment! RRRR!!!! my ticket time was for 0.3 secs. i was distracted for a second, i didn’t see when the light turned yellow, i was close to the intersection, so i speeded up a bit, (yup, i realize this wasn’t the best insta-decision) and then i realized that i was on the edge of going through the red light. but 0.3 seconds? $518? i’m fighting it.
SO. thought i’d just give a bit of info here from my experience and obsessive research!
one great resource is a book from Nolo Press (nolo.com):
“Fight Your Ticket & Win in California”
they’ve got a copy at the SF Public Library: read it and be empowered people!!
also, i just went to court for my arraignment. they presented me with a packet of “evidence” to look at. it included the camera photos and a mailing certification for the ticket, as well as maintenance logs for the camera showing that they serviced it a few days before and a few days after my ticket, and two letters from the camera company employees stating how the camera works and their personal qualifications for maintaining the cameras. the female judge (Dept B) offered everyone with camera tickets a reduction for pleading guilty or no contest. i think it was like $292 + $52, as Al says above….so $344 total. traffic school was an option with that route. (and in general, she was really nice to everyone.)
i asked for a continuance on my arraignment, which i received till end of january, so i could review the evidence packet and do some more research. so far, i have found that many cities using cameras have a “grace period” of between 0.3-0.5 seconds for which they do not issue tickets. possibly this is also because the cameras are not so exact at 0.2 secs or less. i’m looking into how exact the camera companies believe their cameras are. and i’m going to talk with my one lawyer friend to try to understand whether i could make a case. apparently san diego makes an extra $2,000,000 just off tickets like mine with very short times:
http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/20/2049.asp
well, thanks for listening and thanks again for keeping this up, aren!
peace
I just purchased a used vehicle and the car was not yet registered to my name. The dealer said he would do it 2 weeks later. I went to San Francisco and I THINK I encountered a flash while making a right turn without stopping. Its been over 30 days. Will I recieve a ticket? Thank you for your time!
ALSO! The car is registered under my dad, is it possible that he just says it wasnt him??
So I got a red light ticket at 16th and bryant. No camera. I almost wish there was so it show the whole situation. My two front tires were in the intersection on the green. The car in front of me took along time to make a left. I wasin motion on the yellow, but the light changed to red very quickly. I don’t think my back tires cleared the crosswalk before the red, however, my front end was in the intersection and i was afraid i would get hit by cross traffic if i didn’t go. There was a cop directly behind me. I knew he was there, I went because light was still yellow and i was already sticking out on the green. He write me up. I am curious if there is information about how fast the lights change and where to get it? If there are laws about the length of time the light must be yellow before it turns red?
Gina
Hello Aren, I’m from Los Angeles and I recently got a red light camera ticket in a friend’s car. unfortunately he told the court my address and they have sent me the ticket. after opening up the ticket I realized that the name wasn’t my legal name and my drivers license # wasn’t there along with a wrong birthday but correct in year.
Hi Aren. I was driving my Dad’s car when I was being caught by the red light camera. My dad is dead before the incident happened. So who’s name is gonna appear on ticket? If it is his name what should we do? The car is currently registered on him. Thank you
Dear Aren,I went through a camera light at olympic and soto in La,cameras front and rear,Flash pics were taken daytime,however my vehicle has no front and no rear plate,only temporary pink operating permit in passenger side window with a very small id number. Will I recieve a ticket?
A reminder to all – the best way to avoid this is remove the front plate.
Don’t cover it, as this looks sneaky. Just crunch it up a slighty, throw it in trunk, and if the cops stop you, just claim it got damaged and fell off and you have to replace it. The avg cop is more lenient than the judge.
No more red-light tickets.
You’ll notice that bicycles don’t trigger the red light cameras,
so if the city wants the revenue, they should enforce that equally.
Until it is equal enforcement, my plate stays in the front.
Hi Aren,
This is a great site/idea. I was in a zipcar on Dec 29th turning right from EB HICKEY BLVD@EL CAMINO REAL when the light turned green and the car in front of me drove forward with me following. Even though it showed green I saw the two flashes of light and just received a ticket through zipcar saying I would get an official ticket in a month. After reading highwayrobbery.net I learned how to read the photo and it shows me as 47.3 seconds into a red light?!. I am 1000 percent positive it was green when me and the car in front of me turned and yet the camera went off anyway. Can I fight the accuracy of the camera? If so how? or am I going to be fighting a battle I can’t win?
recieved ticket in the mail. I was turning right on bush from van ness when flashes went off. light was still green when i made a turn. when i zoom at the photos there was a car on my left side which i think was the one triggered the camera. do i have a chance to fight this?
@Maria — see what happens if/when a ticket is sent to you. No sense stressing about it now.
@Jack — visit highwayrobbery.net and read up on hearsay evidence when it comes to this evidence.
@Justin — the ticket will appear is his name. It will be dismissed once the DMV learns of his passing.
@Tony — no.
@Jack — that intersection has video footage. Does it show the light was green?
@Jenn — Yes you do have a chance. Please scan a copy of the ticket and email it to me. I’ll take a look.
Any options for out of staters who may get a red light ticket? I had a rental car from Hertz and got notification that my information was passed on to the county in San Francisco. We called to be proactive but did not get to talk to the person in charge, but the person on the phone let us know that we could expect a ticket in upwards of $470. If I do get a ticket in the mail do you know of any options for someone who lives on the east coast to reduce the fine?
Thanks,
A.
Hi Aren,
Thanks for all the good info. I am from Canada driving a rental car on Dec 23, 2010 and making a left turn on El Camino/Millbrae when I was blinded by two bright flashes. At the time I suspected the light came from a red light camera and sure enough several weeks later I got a letter from the rental car company informing me I was the driver of a traffic violation, and that they had forwarded my driver information to the city of Millbrae. Then I got a notice last week, issued on 1/24/2011 saying I must respond to the court on or before 2/28/2011
Being from out of town it would be too expensive for me to go to court in person. However, from reading your blog I did notice a few things that make me wonder if I should contest the violation by written declaration. Any advice you can give will be much appreciated:
1.It was pitch dark and there was no way to see a red light camera sign being posted;
2.I never got a courtesy warning letter (or was it the notice from the rental car company?). In addition, I am supposed to receive a separate courtesy notice with bail information and instructions within 21 days (not clear if the reference is to the notice date or the court date). As of February 9, I still haven’t received the notice.
3.There were four pictures taken: driver, rear plate, plus the two violations. I also went online and checked the video. My speed was 15 mph and the elapsed time between the two violation photos was Rtime 000.2 and 002.0, which I assume is 1.8 secs. Can the short time lapse be used as defence?
4.It was clear from the first photo that the car was behind the line when the light turned red. However, being from out of town and not familiar with the area I also hesitated when going up to the intersection, hence slow in crossing the line.
Thanks again Aren.
Andrew
I just got back from court where my case was dismissed because the officer was a no-show !! YAY. I had a $476 ticket from a traffic camera on Mission and 7th in SF. Check is due back in 4-6 weeks!!
This website was most helpful….Thanks.
First, I just want to say that this is a great blog!
The suggestion for removing your front plate is a bad idea. Last year, I was issued a ticket for no front plate while my car was parked in front of my home, in a nice SF neighborhood, at 4am! I complained about it to a neighbor who had recently gone to traffic school where they were advised that PD are going to be cracking down and looking for vehicles with no front plates. Fortunately, it was a $10 fix-it ticket ($100 otherwise). Unfortunately, I ended up having to spend $60 for the license plate bracket from Toyota in order to put on a front plate, $10 for the tamper-proof bolts so it wasn’t stolen again, & $10 for the fix-it fee. Major hassle!
On KGO radio they discussed A LEGAL STRATEGY FOR BEATING A RED LIGHT CAMERA TICKET. I don’t know if this was mentioned here~ I think it’s a very recent development that a California Appealet Court published their decision for the first time, finding that the evidence collected by cameras is hearsay and the exceptions to the hearsay rule do not apply. There have been a handful of people who have challenged their violations and won in California~ but the decisions were not published until recently~ one from Santa Ana & another from Menlo Park which, apparently, set a precedent.
After the brief discussion on the radio, out of curiosity, I googled “red light camera evidence hearsay” and found more specific information. It might not be anything to get excited about but knowing about it can’t hurt!
Hello-
I got a ticket for supposedly running the light on 5th & Mission. The 2nd car in front of me stopped & caused us to gridlock. I was in the intersection when the light turned yellow, then red. The camera flashed twice, one for me & the other for the car in front of me. Will this be a valid reason to fight the ticket? Thanks.
I Got the letter fromcourt for Failure to Stop at red light under VC21453(a). But i was not driving my car. Photo is not mine but car is mine.What should i do?
I got a left turn red light violation. I was in 40 mph speeed at mowry , fremont blvd intersection. The car which went infornt of me literally stopped (Slowed down suddenly) in the middle of intersection , So I reduce my speed but i was 25 mph so i canot stop complete completely so it turned red before I crossed the line.
Now they charge 480 , this is my first ticket. So tell me hwich is the best way to reduce teh ticket fine.
mail me to . ilaya123@gmail.com
Got a red light violation notice in the mail this week E/B Millbrae and Rollins while we were visiting SF from Nevada.
Two things about the notice,
1. The picture of the person driving is not complete since the visor and the windshield mounted GPS covers part of the face making it only about half visible.
2. the RTime entering the intersection shows 000.1, I remember entering the intersection while the traffic light was still yellow……but still 000.1 …
Looking for some feedback on this since I am out of state can I fight this by trial by written declaration?
Thanks
Hi Aren,
A vehicle registered in mine and my husband’s names got caught on a Red Light Camera in SF. I shall not say who might have been driving it. Clearly the photo will not show me or my husband, any advice?
I would send back the affidavit of non-liability. Where it asks for the driver’s name, I’d write “decline to state”. See what happens. Worst-case, you go to trial and when it’s obvious it’s not you, the case will be dismissed.
Hi Aren,
Need your advice. I recently got a ticket for red violations at sf. It was my fault and the photos clearly show that. But it happened by-mistake as I was looking at the GPS. The fine is $480 + traffic school(otherwise points on the license!), which is very high for me.
I can attend the school and Is there any way I can get my ticket lowered?
I got a little confused reading your article. Can I do “Trial + not guilty” and get away with $80 in total? But won’t they ask me why did you plea “not-guilty”, and all the other questions?
Thank you.
Kartik
Hi Aren,
I am confused about the SF process in general. My husband received a notice in the mail that he had violated code V22526A, blocking intersection. We just received another notice that our failure to pay has made us delinquent, and the fee is higher. The thing that is confusing to me is that we never received an original ticket. There was no ticket from a traffic cop, and there was no traffic camera photo of my husband in his car at the intersection they say he was blocking. There is no original document at all, just a notice in the mail that he had violated this code section, and pay this fine by this date, etc. There is supposed to be an original document, right?
Thanks,
Judy
Hi Aren,
Just received a Courtesy Warning Notice for running a red light. I haven’t received the actual ticket. How can I request a copy of the actual photo? I imagine that wouldn’t be a good excuse to contest the ticket, but I really don’t want to pay the $480 + $52 fine.
Can I also argue that there are no signs in the area where I think I got the ticket that says there are photo enforcements?
Thanks!
Hello! Thank you for maintaining this informative site.
I just received a notice to appear for a red light infraction along with a notice of bail from the city of South San Francisco. (I know you are located in San Francisco, not South City, but I’m rather desperate for help here.)
My infraction involved turning right on red (split-seconds after the light had turned from yellow to red) at an intersection without stopping. This is my first and only traffic violation.
I’m also curious about the Trial + Traffic School option. I seriously cannot afford the $480 fine plus the $57 traffic school processing fee, and then there are the additional traffic school fees to worry about on top of that.
I expect that appearing in court may reduce my fine significantly, but I worry that I may also lose the option of traffic school if I do choose to appear (resulting in higher insurance costs), and I am unsure of how to plea. What do you recommend?
Thank you again for the information!
@Kinoko — Go to your arraignment. They will likely offer a lower fine there if you agree to do traffic school. In San Francisco you can save around $150 just by going to arraignment and/or trial.
I too got a violation for a rolling right hand turn at the infamous Rollins Road in Milbrae. Just like Kinoko, I got my $480 fine plus the $57 traffic school processing fee. I thought about fighting it since I couldn’t pull up my video on the Violationinfo.com site, but based on what I’ve been reading here Aren, I think you’re going to recommend me to go to arraignment and take the lower fine with traffic school.
What about pleading not-guilty and then showing up to trial to receive the best reduced fine + traffic school option?
This is also my first violation as well in my 11 year driving history. The funny part is that my first speeding ticket was in Canada and I was 25 mph over the limit. The fine then was only $350 vs. the crazy $480.
Hey Aren I really want to thank you for this very informative info you give. Ok so I got a picture taken making a right turn at Soto and Olympic in the city of Los Angeles going down Soto and turning in to Olympic. I slowed down enough to kinda have stopped but not 100% sure but as soon as I started making that right the light turn green as I got the picture taken. But the funny thing is that that same day as I was making a left turn from Olympic on to Soto me being the first car and the light just had turn green to make a left the camera took a picture when I was making that legal left turn. Do you think I can use that against them maybe being that the cameras are defective?
Hi Aren,
Thank you, you were right, I did NOT receive a ticket.
Thanks!
I just got back from my Hearing in SF for a red light ticket I received back in December. I wanted to report my experience today so it might help others reading this blog. In my case, traveling at 28 mph on Van Ness toward the Pier at 7:00p, as I crossed Bush, bang, two flashes startled me. I never saw a yellow light much less a red light and I was paying attention. I think I was watching the back of a truck as we, a clump of cars, moved down the blvd. The pictures that turned up show the signal was Red .5 sec when I was at the cross walk lines. On the day I went back to SF to book a hearing date (I live in Sacramento), I returned to the signal that got me and made a video of the light timing the yellow, and, it was 3 sec. I thought it was short but after reading everything I could, it was in spec for 25 mph, however stupid and dangerous that might be. Anyway, I decided after lots of research to call and pay over the phone with my CC. The girl that answered was really nice and insisted I show up for my hearing and it would be “worth my while”…. so, I did. That was today. Once in the actual room “A”, the group of us listened to a short “pay attention and don’t be a problem” talk from an officer he said he had all the specific details for ea of us to look at for our Red Light ticket and passed out packets with pictures. It was easy to see they had their act together, all of the spec data was there, along with signed calibration records so you can see it would be hard to prove the camera was out of spec, they’ve been down all of those roads before. After the short speech we were told the options we had, one of which was, “traffic school”, which is, not admitting guilt but accepting a reduced fine and going to traffic school. I took it. All other options involved a long process that would end up being expensive and the outcome almost certainly would be guilty, at least in my case. And Traffic School was off the table at that point, unless the judge specifically allows it. The fine was reduced from $476 to $294, + driving school $52. And, I don’t have to pay it until August, the date that I must complete driving school by. So, that was it. The entire time in the room was about 20 mins., we waited for about 20 mins outside the room before hand. I still think it’s more about revenue than safety with a 3 sec yellow….but given the budget problems in Calif currently, I’m glad I got at least some reduction. Hope this is helpful to a few of you.
Hello,
I was driving down from Oak Street to turn right to Octavia to enter the freeway today at 3:00am. On may way down (I was driving under 25mph) I saw a sign that says do not turn on the red right. And the signal light I saw was green up arrow and there were no other signals in RED. Since it was a GREEN LIGHT, I turned right and the moment I turned, I saw a small flash twice. I came home and checked GOOGLE street map whether there was any other signal light other than the ones that I saw, and there was. But, I am bit confused whether it is illegal that I turned right from the Oak street when there was no lights on the signal. (NONE it was dark black) From reading this blog, I have a feeling that I am going to receive a citation ticket (and not qualified for t.s), and if I do, should I go to court and talk about this whole situation? since there was no other RED LIGHTS from the traffic signal.
Thank you,
To Aren and all RLC violators: If anyone can tell me if the back of their “Notice of Traffic Violation” which they received in the mail has this (or similar) sentence:
“If you choose to appear in court you must first view the video of this violation at http://www.photonotice.com”
I would greatly appreciate knowing about it. So far, I have seen Fremont, Newark, and Hayward have included this sentence in the first paragraph of the “What To Do” section. This may be grounds to contest any citation.
The “Notice of Traffic Violation” I speak of is the ticket which includes the 4 color photos of the infraction.
email: rlouisj@aol.com
I just went through Howard and 9th and got a single flash from the lower left flash (there are two, side-by-side). The light was green. i was not speeding either. Even when I was through the intersection I checked in my rear-view mirror and it was still green! I’ve gotten one of these tickets before so I’m VERY careful. Why do the cameras flash on a green light?
I got two camera flashes last night in front of me,I did jump the light,my own fault,it was behind the Bill Graham auditorim in San Fran,cant remember cross streets.But my point is,Ive no licence plate on the front on my Vehicle,and the camera seemed to be only in front,so how will they send me a ticket?
Camera malfunction. If it generated a “camera activation” event, it should be forwarded to the Red Light Camera officer in SF, who would not issue a ticket. However, he would see the evidence of the malfunction. Why not call him or her. It would be especially helpful if you could give him the date, time, and vehicle license plate so he could talk to you specifically about the camera activation.
how long does it take to get a red lite camera ticket in the mail if u was driving a big rig in sf and belmont if ur not the registered owner,,my boss did say who the driver was but i havent heard nothong from it
Why did your boss say who the driver was? He received (most likely) a “snitch” ticket in the mail (black and white photos instead of color). He could have disregarded it. If he received a real ticket he could have just presented the ticket to the judge at arraignment, “it’s not me.” Anyway, I would expect you would receive a ticket in your name in about 2 weeks after your boss finked you out. It should be pretty easy to be it, however. Your boss’s statement which the cop may try to introduce as evidence at trial is hearsay. Best to let this cite know if and when you get a ticket. Good advice is available. email: rlouisj@aol.com
Thanks to all for this info.
I ride a motorcycle, and today approaching the Bush/Van Ness intersection, the light turned yellow, I checked my mirror and there was a truck too close behind me, I had to go through. Do you think this will be a worthwhile defense. I haven’t had a ticket in over 20 years. Lastly, what was the total cost with the $294 + 52 + traffic school? As with many, I’m unemployed (in fact I just left an interview).
Thanks
@Carl — you aren’t going to get a ticket. 1) the cameras in SF only photograph the front. There is no motorcycle license plate in front. 2) you were (presumably) wearing a helmet which would make positive photo ID very tough in most cases.
Great blog, thanks for the resource. I moved a while back but notified DMV of the move. I got the red light ticket but the notice went to my old address anyway. By the time the notice got to me it was too late. I’ve missed the deadline by almost a week. Is there anything I can do at this point?
Glen: You may have a “failure to appear” which is dealt with separately. I suggest you prepare your defense to this and go to the traffic window ready to submit your evidence. When did you notify DMV of address change? How did you inform them? Show the court you are here almost immediately after finding out about the ticket. (you would not have been late if ticket was issued by an officer). While at the window, either schedule an arraignment date or a trial date. To skip the arraignment, however, you might have to post bail amount. At arraignment, I would suggest asking the judge to dismiss based on lack of ID (blurry photo). If no luck, plea Not Guilty and get a trial date. The further into the future, the better, most likely. Some traffic courts are booked for the next 12 months. Use the time to prepare your defense or save your money. You must read Defect #5 on website: highwayrobbery.net
i was driving a friends car went half way through on a red then backed up after realizing it was red whats gonna happen there?
Patrick – If the camera was activated and the police see enough evidence to issue a citation it will be mailed to the registered owner. It must be received in 15 days, I believe. Most times tickets come in the mail in about one week. Contact your friend. Ask him to not do anything without contacting you. If a fake ticket arrives at your friend’s mailbox, it can be disregarded. If it is a real ticket your friend should easily be able to beat it. Make sure your friend does not fink you out by filling out the back “nominating” you as the driver.
rlouisj@aol.com
Hi Aren & others,
I’m from Malaysia. I’ve a business trip traveled to Fremont on Oct 2007 and I had got a red light ticket from Newark Police Department forwarded by the Car Agent to my company. I sign off everything and return the email to my counter part in US. after few months, i ask my US counter part about this violation as i did not receive any letter or email from Police Department. He said if I need to take further action, I would have heard more by that time. But until today, year 2011, I yet receive any from them.
What should i do now? did anything happen to me if I travel to Fremont again? and What should i do if I need to travel to Fremont again? Pls. kindly advice.
! Please help !
Got a red light camera ticket in San Francisco. It is me but in a company vehicle.
So sfpd sent the ticket to my employer and they passed it on to me.
My name & license are not on the ticket. It’s just the lic. plate of the company vehicle and my picture.
I mostly do not want a point on my license. Can I just send them a check with the citation # on it and make this go away with out giving them a license # to attach a point to on dmv record ? Will that work ? Or will they demand from my employer a driverse license number for the citation ?
I can’t find a way to email highwayrobbery.net there is no option to ask them about this.
Chey How – Do you have a copy of the red light camera ticket? Is it in your name? What is the citation no.? Did you have a California Driver’s License? rlouisj@aol.com
Hi Roger,
Sorry for my late reply
I still have the scan copy of the red light camera ticket with me. The violation # is N010179B. I don’t have California Driver’s License.
Chee How – Call Newark Police at 510-578-4237 and Fremont Court at 510-818-7502. Get as much info as possible. Fines due, civil assessments for being late, etc. Is ticket in your name. Ask them. If you are in the states and are driving, you could be risking a lot if you are stopped by police.
thank you & will do.