Fighting the Red Light Traffic Cameras in Washington D.C.

In 2012, Washington D.C. raked in $12.9 million in revenue from red light violations that were issued from a red light camera. The fine for a red light camera violation is $150 since 2011, before it was $75. Many people in Washington D.C feel that these red light tickets are more for revenue than actual safety.

With an increase in fine and technology being able to better detect more types of violations the increase in tickets and revenue from 2007 to 2012 is pretty drastic.

• 2007 - 63,837 tickets, 4.2 mil in revenue
• 2012 - 91,550 Tickets , $12.9 mil in revenue

This news release from 2002 is well before the fine increase and is pretty disappointing for our nation’s capital. Washington D.C. city council was the first government body to admit that the cameras were for revenue, not necessarily safety.

AAA News Release10/2/02

THE DC BUDGET DESTROYS ANY AUTOMATED ENFORCEMENT CREDIBILITY

Statement by Lon Anderson

Director, Public and Government Relations

AAA Mid-Atlantic

It is outrageous that the DC government has approved a budget expanding the use of automated traffic enforcement—speed and red light cameras—for the sake of helping close its budget deficit.

AAA Mid-Atlantic supports traffic enforcement and the use of automated equipment when it is done for safety purposes and with appropriate policies in place to protect the rights of motorists. But when both the Mayor and Council advance automated enforcement for the purposes of revenue raising, they reduce DC to the level of the southern speed trap towns that are avoided by travelers and lampooned by comics. Welcome to the Dukes of Hazzard, DC version!

Automated traffic safety enforcement already has serious credibility issues nationally, but especially in DC where it has been egregiously abused—remember the 20,000 red light camera tickets issued from one camera in the middle of a block with a blinking yellow signal?

Police Chief Charles Ramsey has continued to insist that DC’s automated enforcement systems are for safety, but now his bosses, the Council and Mayor, have spoken and have contradicted their Chief. They have admitted that these systems are being expanded for revenue raising. While safety was undoubtedly the Chief’s intention, that clearly has been overridden by his superiors who want this program for its money making.

This is a sad day for the Chief, for city law enforcement, for the city government’s credibility, but most especially for motorists, who now will have every good reason when they get a ticket to wonder if they were just the victims of the latest iteration of a new commuter tax.

http://www.highwayrobbery.net/redlightcamslinksref.htm#States

Getting Out of a Red Light Ticket

There have been some articles out there on what to do when you get a speeding ticket via a traffic camera and they claim success. But, as far as red light cameras the story is usually about battles lost rather than won.

In Washington D.C. the owner of the vehicle is liable, so you don’t even have to be driving. On the mpdc.dc.gov site they state that, “In these situations, the owner is responsible for returning a sworn affidavit to the Automated Traffic Enforcement Office (PO Box 37075, Washington, DC 20013), providing the name, address and driver’s license number of the person responsible for the violation. The affidavit will be included in the re-issued citation to the driver. If the car had been reported stolen at the time of the violation, the owner must submit a copy of the filed police report..” In other words, unless your car was stolen, someone is getting a ticket. If your friend was driving, you may have to throw them under the bus. Even if they pay the fine, if it’s still in your name it can have an affect on your insurance.

Images of the violation are online at www.cite-web.com, be sure to check out the evidence to make sure there was a violation. If there was a violation, it’s pretty hard to get out of the fine. In Washington D.C. the only grounds for appeal when there was a violation are as follows.

Grounds for Appeal

1. vehicle of license plates stolen
2. part of funeral procession
3. yielding to emergency vehicle

The best way to not pay $150 dollar red light camera fine is prevention. There are about 50 red light cameras in the D.C. area, check out this list that can be found on this Washington D.C. car accident lawyer’s site?be sure to find out where they are. If there is a red light camera in your neighborhood where you drive everyday, be aware so that you are extra careful.

With red light cameras, what is considered a violation is a bit more rigid and there is no one there to talk to or explain the situation to. It’s not just running a red light that you can get a ticket for. Therefore it’s important to be aware of the different ways you can get a ticket from a camera.

For example, you could be making a perfectly safe move by changing lanes from the left turn lane into the straight lane. With permission from the driver in the car next to you, you pull in front when the light turns green. There may not be any issue of safety, but if a camera catches you it’s $150 even though if an officer saw this he might use some reason in the matter.

Also be sure to alway stop before the crosswalk, while an officer may not fine you for being a little over the line, a red light camera will. Another fine you could get that you might not realize till it’s too late is turning right on red without making a complete stop.

It’s pretty sad state of affairs that our tax dollars are going towards a revenue builder instead of a real safety precaution. If anyone can turn it around lets hope it’s the citizens in our nation’s capital.