Red light cameras in Sacramento

I know little about professional truck driving but nearly everything about red light cameras in California, so will try to answer some of the questions that have come up in this thread.

1. If they have a photo showing that the light is red and front surface of your front bumper has not yet reached the limit line, and then a second photo (taken a second or two later) showing your vehicle in the intersection, that's all the proof most judges need. Except that in California, and one or two other states, they
also need a photo to prove it was you behind the wheel. To get the owner to hand over the name of the driver of a vehicle belonging to a fleet, the police will sometimes send out a fake ticket to the owner. Which the owner can ignore, if he wishes. Do a a search on Snitch Ticket.

2. In California - unlike most other states - a red light camera ticket goes on your driving record.

3. A red light camera ticket from a city inside LA County (Beverly Hills, Commerce, Covina, Culver City, Hawthorne, Montebello, West Hollywood, or near the MTA/Metro busway and tracks) can be ignored. Skeptical? Search red light camera no consequence and read the hits from the LA Times, NPR, NBC, LA Weekly.

 

I had the same thing happen in Sac a few years ago, never got anything in the mail.

 

Are you an attorney?

 

I am not an attorney, nor do I work for one.

 

I'm sure that's true in Maryland but it's a different story here.
One of our drivers busted a camera intersection in Yuba City a few years ago. Tanker load of Jet-A. Three in the morning, not another soul in sight but that camera was merciless.
I saw the pictures and the driver admitted that he was a little late on the yellow light. Late as in entering the intersection on red.
There were two pictures taken, one of the truck itself showing the license number, and one of the driver that was clear enough for easy identification.
We recieved a letter from the court asking the ID of the driver. Just out of curiosity I asked what would happen if I refused to ID the driver. The answer was that I could be, and probably would be, charged with obstruction of justice. I ID'd the driver.
The driver recieved a ticket in the mail. He called the court about pleading not guilty and was told that there was also a short video taken at the time of the photos.
He plead guilty, paid the fine...and wound up with a moving violation on his record.

 

I agree with REO6205. And disagree!

REO is right - here in California the tickets are a criminal charge - albeit a minor one - and like any other criminal charge they're not supposed to be sworn out against the wrong person, or a company. Nevertheless, some police do that anyway - which is a perjury. But the police have an option. They can send out a fake ticket (street name: Snitch Ticket) to the owner of the vehicle, to bluff him into revealing the name of the driver. (There's a picture of a Snitch Ticket in Cal. Veh. Code 40518.) That could be what REO's company received. The Snitch Tickets can be ignored, with no repercussions.

But if the fleet owner is sent a real ticket in the company's name, he can also ignore that - because the ticket does not name a real person with a drivers license - or he can opt to send a company representative, or a lawyer, down to the court, and the court will quash the ticket. But most fleet owners end up ratting out the driver.

If driver ILuvCats' owner does receive a real ticket in the mail, I suggest that ILuvCats act without delay and tell the owner that he - the driver - will have a lawyer go to court to quash the ticket, if the owner will please not contact the police and give the police the driver's identity. The driver can hire a lawyer to handle the matter for about $200, because it is a bread and butter easy job for a traffic ticket lawyer.