Got a ticket from a Red-Light camera? THROW IT AWAY!!

Got a ticket from a Red-Light camera?
If you live in Virginia, throw it away!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009

(skip to the last paragraph for the explanation of the law)
Red-light cameras are making their return to Virginia. Don't believe the propaganda that this has anything to do with safety - it's all about money.

In two weeks, a for-profit company will begin mailing traffic tickets to the owners of vehicles passing through three Alexandria intersections. The private company, American Traffic Solutions, Inc., operates the traffic cameras, makes the initial decision who is guilty, mails the tickets, collects the fines and then gives the city a cut of the windfall.

This isn't the first time Alexandria has tried to cash in on photo enforcement. Between 1998 and 2005, Alexandria's cameras snapped more than 50,000 citations.

Did this multimillion-dollar program improve safety over the course of those seven years? Not according to data compiled by the Virginia Transportation Research Council (VTRC), a joint venture between the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and the University of Virginia.

Before cameras were installed, the accident rate at the Alexandria study location was 535 for every million vehicles entering the intersection. After traffic cameras were activated, the accident rate jumped to 765. This 43 percent increase can be attributed primarily to rear-end collisions that happened as drivers, faced with short yellow lights, slammed on the brakes to avoid receiving a ticket in the mail.

Although spin doctors for red-light cameras will try to pass off the bromide that rear-end collisions are preferable to T-bone accidents, the VTRC study showed that the number of accidents serious enough to cause injuries increased 18 percent at red-light-camera intersections throughout Virginia.

Unfortunately, Alexandria has failed to learn from the past and is still depending on all-too short yellow-light timing to make the most of its reinvigorated program. Two of the city's cameras are stationed on South Patrick Street - one at Gibbon Street and the other at Franklin Street - which is on the busy Route 1 corridor just before drivers begin to merge onto the Beltway.

Drivers get 4.0 seconds of yellow time to cross Gibbon Street before the camera begins snapping, but on the very next block, at Franklin Street, drivers get a half-second less of yellow.

That may not sound like much of a difference, but "85 percent of all citations occurred within 1.30 seconds of the signal changing to red" at Gibbon Street, according to a 2005 VTRC report. Take away another half-second, and Alexandria is betting the number of violations will skyrocket. In fact, VTRC specifically condemned what Alexandria is trying to do. "The practice of issuing citations to motorists by adjusting yellow light times to be inconsistent with the surrounding traffic lights should be avoided," it warned in 2005.

If Alexandria truly cared about safety, it would increase inadequate yellow-light times. An extra 1.3 seconds at Gibbon Street would eliminate 85 percent of violations. Time and time again, increasing the yellow duration has proved to be the most effective means of reducing violations and increasing safety. But doing so puts profit at risk.

Fortunately, there is some good news for motorists who might receive a ticket in the mail after toodling through Old Town. As The Washington Times reported four years ago, state law says a private company may not simply drop a ticket in a mailbox and expect it to be considered valid service. Unless a driver receives a hand-delivered copy, the citation can be thrown away without consequence. Depriving Alexandria and its revenue-collecting partner of cash is the surest way to ensure this unsafe program disappears for good.



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[Its Just Ol' Red]

good stuff! i live semi close to alexandria and that is great news

[bexxx]

why cant this be in Washington we have them here and the are bullshit

[ThatHaole]

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Actually a law firm just filed a class action lawsuit in Washington naming the same company and every municipality that has those things.

I'll try and hunt down the website. Those fuckers owe me some $$

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Found the law firm:

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[strommsarnac]

Kinda along the same line, but I'm not sure it's still enforce today as I haven't had need to check since more than 10 years ago.

Ohio law states that any traffic citation not signed by the officer witnessing the offense at the time of the offense is not valid.

So, back in the early 90's when Columbus put 4 radar activated camera on both Northbound and Southbound Rt. 315, I accumulated 160 such speeding tickets in 2 weeks (I lived South of the cameras, but worked North of them). I got the first set of 16 in the same envelope along with a notice of suspension due to excessive points. I called a friend at the courts and asked about them and that's when I was told about the law. He said to just send a letter in stating that they were considered "hearsay" under the Ohio Revised law.

Also that my license can't be suspended without a hearing which I never had. I got out of every citation because no officer witnessed the offense at the time of the offense. Same holds true for being cited by a ground officer when the offense was witnessed by someone in the air or back down the road and that officer isn't the one signing the ticket.

Once another officer signs the ticket, BAM! It's now hearsay. My guess is this also applies to the red-light cams we have in central Ohio, but I haven't checked. Hearsay laws overrule all other laws, so I'm guessing even though citation by camera is "legal" in Columbus nowadays, it can be fought.

My guess is other states have similar loopholes.

[FortySuz&Two]

for once in my life living in va might payoff

[squashed possum]

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same here. i'm in virginia beach, they are putting those damn cameras up everywhere.

[bexxx]

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you live in the same state as my favorite band can i come live in your bed?

[Mr Handlebars]

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Besides corndogs, music and sex, is there anything else majorly important in you life? Always wanted to ask you that.

[FortySuz&Two]

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my 1st threesome. what band are you referring too?