We can all agree that getting a ticket of any sort can ruin your day, but getting one from a traffic camera is downright aggravating. You just catch the flash of it as you speed through an intersection right as the light turns red and then face a few days on tenterhooks waiting to get the dreaded slip of paper in the mailbox.
Once you finally get the offending evidence, you might believe that all there is left to do is to pay it and get on with your life. However, there might be more than that option for you.
Is it Real?
Look very closely at what you got in the mail and make sure that you read it carefully to ensure which action you need to take next.
Bogus Tickets
Bogus, or “snitch” tickets are fake tickets. These are utilized by many cities in California. To recognize one of these bogus tickets, look for the court information. If this information is missing or if you are instructed not to contact a court then you have a “snitch”. Now there is a law in California that stipulates that this type of ticket is required to have “Courtesy Notice: This Is Not A Ticket” printed on them right at the top.
These fake tickets are the result of a photo from one of these traffic cameras not being clear enough to warrant an actual ticket. While this is not an actual ticket and as such you are not required to pay it, law enforcement and the company that owns the traffic camera hope that you do. Upon admitting that you are the driver in the picture, you would immediately be issued a real ticket.
Actual Tickets
If what you receive in the mail is an actual ticket, you are required to respond to it and failing to do so might have consequences that are serious. These consequences might include the addition of more fines or even having your license suspended. To know if what you received in the mail is, in fact, a real ticket, it should have both the name of the court and the date by which you need to respond. This is what is required on real tickets that are issued in the state of California. Another way to confirm that what you received is not a snitch is to locate it in the lookup system for court cases. If you choose this route though, keep in mind that it might still be an actual ticket even if it hasn’t been filed with the courts when you check.
Once you have determined that you did receive an actual ticket, it should have instructions for you to follow to respond. Make sure that you respond by the appearance or due date that is indicated on the document.
There should be the following options:
- Name the driver in the event that you were not behind the wheel
- Fight the ticket
- Pay the fine
California – Driver Responsibility
California is known as a Driver Responsibility state. This means that a traffic ticket that is issued by a traffic camera has the exact same penalties as a ticket that is issued by an actual officer. This means that you get a fine and you will get points on your driving record.
Since in California the person who is driving is held responsible for the actual violation, the picture that is taken must clearly show both the driver and the vehicle. If you were not driving, just fill out the form that has been included with the citation and provide both the name and the contact information of the person who was driving. This will be the end of the line for you.
California Traffic School
If you received a ticket of this nature in California then you might be given the option to attend a California traffic school. The easiest way to do this is by option for an online traffic school. These online courses can be found by doing a simple Google search for online traffic schools in California. There are even some out there that are quite entertaining and try to put a bit of fun and comedy into the course so as to make it more bearable. Taking one of these courses will help with getting those points off your record and then you just need to be more mindful of the traffic cameras.
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