Red light camera tickets are different to other traffic tickets in three main ways.
- You won’t know you got a ticket until you receive notification in the mail.
- You might get a ticket even if you weren’t driving the vehicle, or even in the vehicle, when the infraction occurred.
- There’s photographic evidence of the infraction.
How Red Light Camera Tickets are Issued
The purpose of red light cameras, and the tickets they trigger, is to reduce the incidence of drivers running red lights. Cameras are not installed at every intersection. Instead, locations are chosen according to collision data for intersections.
If a driver’s vehicle crosses the stop line at an intersection after the traffic light indicates red, the camera takes a picture of the vehicle and its licence plate. All red light camera photos are reviewed by officers to confirm that there was an infraction.
If so, a traffic ticket is mailed to the registered owner of the vehicle because there is no way of identifying the driver. In this way, vehicle owners may receive a ticket even though they weren’t driving the vehicle at the time of the infraction.
Fines & Penalties for Being Convicted of the Charges on a Red Light Camera Ticket
The fine for a conviction of the charge ‘Red Light- fail to stop’ is $260. A victim fine surcharge of $60 is also incurred, as is a court cost fee of $5. The total of all fines and added charges is $325.
Demerit points are not issued. That means your driving record is not affected by a conviction and your car insurance rates will not go up.
Want to get your traffic ticket dismissed? Check out our article How to Get a Traffic Ticket Dismissal.
