Camera Light Ticket Nonsense...... please read

I ignored a red light ticket in Phoenix. I don't live there, all the online research I did said no worries. The City of Scottsdale paid someone to serve me AT MY HOUSE, bumped the fine, then got even uglier. Threatened license suspension, made it so I couldn't rent more cars there. (I go there on business a few times a year).

Just pay it. Move on. You did the crime. Post the picture!

 

Next was a visit from Knuckles and Lumpy.

Yeah probably. The bastages win again. They know it.

Just imagine how many "crimes" everyone commits in a day. Not enough cameras thats the problem.

 

Interesting that we have cameras that capture a perfect image of someone running a red light, but when we see footage of film from a robbery, or a kidnapping, or other crime, the image is almost always AWFUL.

Maybe they could lend a little of their technology to the guys making video surveillance equipment.

 

The camera's are not stupid they just bust people with excuses. There are two sides to every coin. You implied "you were at the point of no return" which implies your intent was making all the green lights thus most likely exceeding the posted speed limit. You would not have had to worry about the load you were carrying if you were obeying the law, I wonder how much a few extra minutes your ticket will cost you?

Also how often do you take this route or take another route in the vicinity? One should remember particulars about well trodden paths. Another solution you may want to consider is securing the equipment in the bed of your truck and in the cab. Imagine the fallout if you once again had to "slam on the brakes" and had something fly into your foot well and block your brake pedal?

Just saying.

 

No profit in it. Quite the contrary. Crime results in higher budgets. Being efficient is contrary to the basic needs of government and job security of the bureaucrat.

 

I had someone go ballistic and chew ass on his employee's after he said he was pulled over by a LEO because his vehicle had been caught on camera running a red light, complete and utter BS (ignorance is not a valid excuse and has no standing in a court of law)!! The stop was illegal for said infraction but I bet they were stopped because they were either speeding or failed to utilize that stalk called a blinker. A ticket must go into the "bench warrant" stage before a LEGAL stop can be made.

All faith was lost in said person, I was a sucker thinking they were different.

 

Yep! (see above)...apparently 40% of Houston.

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Found this on my credit report. Didn't ignore it, but was in a rental and moved at the same time...Dropped the ball on changing my DL address. Wasn't happy but has been removed.
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Sad but true.

I watch the surveillance videos on TV news regularly. A fuzzy, grainy, out of focus perp grabs a kid and runs off with him/her and despite the fact that you should have a full face view of the bad guy in tight focus, you have squat.

On the other hand, run a red light at a nearby intersection and they'll be able to tell you if you shaved that morning or not.

Just makes ZERO sense.

D

 

I got one about six months ago in dallas that was miscalibrated and tried to extort me for turning on a green while the other direction was red. I just don't have the time to go 30-45 min across town to the ghetto and waste a day fighting with the scum over it. Ignored it so far and nothing but letters to my PO box that to straight into the trash. I did take my license plate off after two of those though and it solved my problem.

 

That's effing bonkers.

I wonder if it was a DFW collections company that bought the debt? And figure knocking on the door is an effective way to collect? With somewhat empty threata? Not asking you to prove it was actually the City of Scottsdale or anything, I'm just thinking through the moving parts of all that taking place.

Bonkers.

 

If I recall, back when I was in Hawaii, there was a group of Samoans that decided to violently remove all traffic monitoring attempts without a live police officer present. Became a money losing endeavor for those involved in setting them up real quick....

 

I received my first (and only so far) for my tire arguably TOUCHING the beginning of the paint line. GTFR.

So, you're implying that the lights are timed NOT for traffic efficiency to allow a waiting car to cross an intersection after a prescribed, but short time, but simply as a conditioning exercise in submission (I was told about this LEO function over two decades ago by one of the few officers I would associate with - a Sergeant at the time, IIRC). How wonderfully Statist.
Just sayin'

There are several in FW that I regularly have to run, because they are dependent upon someone on the primary-flow street tripping a "need to stop for no other reason" trigger, and nobody was coming for a while. Yes, I've tested them when I've had nothing better to do. I noticed several years ago that the city was installing new trigger loops at some very interesting distances from light-controlled intersections, and wondered "Why so much further back?" Got my answer by observing the timing at different speeds (with no-one present to trip any "need to cross" signal): Crossing the new trip location immediately triggered a yellow/red cycle that timed you at red if you were at the prescribed speed limit. If you were barely over (but over), you could get through on the yellow. I expect this to become a new way to argue that a driver was speeding - "If Mr Smith had been at the speed limit, he would have been either stopped, or run a red light" Catch 22 type of prosecution.
Again, how wonderfully Statist. We're just not supposed to notice it yet. If you've noticed any newly relocated signal trips in your area, try it yourself.

There are two, in particular, where the proper way to get through is to turn right, then immediately make a U-turn (both times using a blinker for the badged revenue agent hiding in a nearby parking lot!!), then either another right or straight through, depending upon which restricted direction you actually needed to travel. Absurd. I joke that "We have VERY safe air right here - it's completely safe from being hit by moving vehicles!!"

I may have heard that a randomly malfunctioning paintball gun can accidentally blind the lenses of the cameras for a couple of days, or until a revenue crew comes out to clean the camera. Blue is particularly pretty on the poles, from what I may have heard.

 

This is gold!

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Why not just get rid of the damn things?

We did in College Station.

College Station Red Light Camera Referendum, 2009 - Ballotpedia

 

Im just gonna say, as a potential member of a jury, I would be hard pressed to find that the owner of a paintball gun would intentionally set a gun off towards our red light cameras.

 

Yup. Served at my house, gave the papers to my kid when they asked how old he was. 16 was enough.

Picture was VERY clear it was me, would be hard to deny.

 

The security cameras on my house are 1080p, zoom for over a block, and track movement. But things bought with tax dollars are usually crap, unless they generate revenue.

 

I am not aware of any traffic cameras here but I am a total loss to explain why the lights are timed the way they are. One thing for sure it is not to expedite the flow of traffic. Whoever is responsible they are devoid of any understanding of traffic engineering.
You'll have a 4 way intersection with 75% on one road and 25% on the other but both get equal green time. Then near as I can tell there are zero car sensors so when you are there late with no traffic you wait an entire cycle looking at empty roads.

 

When I leave my neighborhood and head east on Westheimer there is a light at Westhollow Dr. that you never make unless you exceed the speed limit during rush hour traffic. Then around 10-11am the light stays green and is easily made so something is definitely up with the timing.

willrace,
The only thing I can tell you (and this was part of my traffic law classes in the police academy) was that the front end of your vehicle should not pass the wide solid white line. This conforms with the 'stop sign' law meaning that the front end of a car should not pass the actual sign itself. These are laws that are required to be known when someone takes their driving test thus brings up the old saying "Ignorance of the law is no excuse" but on a positive note "Now You Know" .

These are traffic laws that are almost impossible to enforce simply because of the number of vehicles on the road, the number of stop signs in a large city and the huge number of pedestrian cross walks. Nobody is perfect all the time and it just seems it was a matter of timing regarding your citation.

Have a great day.

 

Not installed in Austin, Houston had them but turned them off.

I see them in the Woodlands, and also in Alvin, Pearland.
Those would be active as far as I know.

This thread started in Dallas.
As long as they pay for the camera monitoring you would run the risk of a citation.

In Houston, you just watch and assume someone will bust the light.
Look before proceeding!
LOL!

 

Yet, the most consistent violators of this (hell, almost any regularly ticketed traffic law) have a particular signage on the doors, red & blue lights, and people inside paid for by my taxes. I would like to assume that they are the polar opposite of "Ignorance of the law.....", and so, are even greater offenders. But, I digress.

My reason for bringing-up the "tire touching the line" was that it was the standard cited by the revenue facilitator on the phone, as we both watched the video of me stopping and sitting while the two cars of cross-traffic traveled across my nose, before making a legal right turn on red. Apparently, ossifur skippy doesn't know the law either.
Repeat after me:

FOLLOW THE MONEY
FOLLOW THE MONEY
FOLLOW THE MONEY.....and NEVER confuse it with a claim of "Safety"​

 

And I did not disagree, I only stated facts.

Revenue facilitor? LMAO

I always get a laugh when violators of the 'OBVIOUS TRAFFIC LAWS' (which you can Google)try to make a infantile attempt, their best thespian excuse, for breaking the law. The proper spelling of "ossifur skippy" is spelled "I might save your dumb ass one day, DB!"

I bet you have a Ferrari?

 

An Officer's JOB is to "save my ass", a.k.a "Protect & Serve". NOT revenue enhancement.
REs get the respect they deserve, thus why I freely use the term "ossifur" when it applies, especially those with dreams of authoritah (as ossifur Eric Cartman would say) and dominance over us little civvies.

Love to hear the reason for the Ferrari snark, though. I was driving an Audi.

 

Safe travels and at least you learned something about Texas traffic laws, all your crying was not just another "Oh poor me" thread, you learned something that could be helpful.