I got a summons in the mail for an on camera speeding violation in Virginia. If the tech is to believed, I was doing 55 in a 35 work zone. I guess I probably was speeding but in the pictures there is not another car, person or piece of construction equipment in sight. It was early in the morning. You can see several hundred feet down the divided highway. There are orange barrels but my guess is that it was set up but work had not yet begun. Anyway, the summons was issued by the City of Suffolk, Virginia but the mailing address City of Suffolk. Baltimore, Maryland, 250 driving miles away. Why is this? I’m assuming this is a third party running this thing but the name of that party is nowhere on the paperwork. Why the lack of transparency. BTW, I think this just a money making scam and am glad we don’t have traffic cameras in New Jersey. Lastly, how do they not have to prove who the operator is? Maybe I was in jail at the time.
Is your face visible in the picture?
A work zone is a work zone, I don’t think it matters that you didn’t happen to see anyone. You should check your local laws to see if work zone rules only apply to certain days/times.
It’s probably a lockbox for a bank or payment processing center.
What lack of transparency? You’re looking right at it, what more transparency do you want? It’s like complaining that your local megamart doesn’t disclose who they forward all your credit card information to for processing.
Do you get points on your license or have to worry about insurance hikes if you’re found guilty? It’s my understanding that most states consider red light camera tickets to be non-moving violations. Essentially it’s a parking ticket. And for just that reason, it would be too difficult to prove it was you.
Here in AZ, the speed cameras and the red light cameras do result in points on your record.
Oregon and California as well, but the OP is in Virginia (or Maryland).
There should be a procedure listed to file if you think a mistake was made. The system assumes you were the driver. You can explain that it was not you but then you have to supply them with the name of the person who was driving.
This. Even if there’s no one working, once you reach the posted work zone speed limit sign, it still applies.
Assuming it’s legit - I doubt anyone sets up a camera at 5AM to simulate speeding tickets. You should be able to determine if it is legit.
If you want to contest it, then I’m sure every angle you want to object to has been covered a hundred times and won’t work. Some places, it’s the car owner not the driver who is resposnsible. (Hence, no demerits). You could call the local police and report a fraud phishing attempt, see if it’s legit. I’m sure they’ll tell you…
There’s a loophole here in AZ. The ticketing agency has 6 months to establish that the driver being accused has received the notification. Normally this is established when the driver responds by paying the fine or by contacting the enforcement agency re: the ticket.
If 30 days (from the violation) have gone by with no response from the accused, the name and address of the accused is given to process servers. If the accused can lay low and avoid answering the door to strangers for the next 5 months the ticket is nulled, 180 days after the violation.
In the UK, all cars have a “Registered Keeper” who may or may not be the owner. It’s this person who gets the initial notice, which demands that they identify the driver at the time. Failure to identify a driver results in the RK being prosecuted.
Being caught doing 55 in a 30 zone would get you at least three points and a fine of 150% of your weekly income.
Holy crap that’s a hell of a fine. Here in Illinois it’s normally like $120. Doubled for work zones.
I admitted I was wrong (probably). That said, the letter of the law and the spirit of the law are often two different things. I am not a leadfoot wantonly blasting around and just drive at the same speed as the flow of traffic. I suspect that’s what most of us do. Virginia law says workers must be present. Like I said, there is nothing in the photos showing workers or any construction activity going on. Wouldn’t the burden be on the issuing entity to prove that was the case? But who is going to contest this over $100? My understanding is that third parties actually handle the operation and bookkeeping and, in fact, there is a Suffolk City ordinance providing for that. It also says that you can claim that you weren’t the driver but must do so either in person or in an affidavit. Additionally, you must also identify who was the driver. My friend got a similar ticket on a major highway near Baltimore but his picture has his face, as clear as day. He said that traffic was pretty heavy and couldn’t imagine the number of tickets issued in one day. The income must be enormous. BTW, failure to pay the fine results in the case being turned over to a collections company but there are no DMV ramifications. The whole thing is civil in nature. I thought about filing a FOIA request regarding details of the arrangement but a) it appears you have to do it in person and b) Virginia law says information to be released to “citizens of the Commonwealth” and the media. I’m not either of those and can see overworked FOIA workers denying the request on that basis, alone. I spent my career in law enforcement (some of it writing tickets) and am pretty uneasy when it comes to the government partnering with a private business that exists to maximize profits based on enforcement of laws or even the government, alone, using traffic laws to generate revenue. We all know that happens. Finally, I have never seen payment for a fine to a municipality be sent to another jurisdiction, much less a different state, payment center or not. I’m over it now but the whole idea doesn’t sit right with me.
They must have changed that slightly. When I was in Phoenix they would start out by sending you a notice informing you that you have 180 days to respond and to send back the postcard waiving that right (to give them more time) otherwise a cop might be sent to your door and give you a copy of the ticket in person. So many people threw theirs away and the time expired. The consequence was that a cop would verify the ticket to you - no added penalty so why not take the chance.
Can you contest by mail? Do so. Costs nothing at least here in Illinois and I have had both red light and speeding tickets reversed. (Both for myself and others.) One was a school zone ticket that required children to be present. There was a human in the photo, but it was clearly not a student (a uniformed worker of some sort) and they found in my favor.
This seems like good grounds for contesting the ticket. The city where it happened will have no evidence that workers were present, and if the photo shows no workers, that would provide at least some support for your claim that no workers were present.
Anywhere I know - in Canada - you can go to either the courthouse or city hall office to pay fines, clarify the details, or set a court date to contest. My last (human written) ticket had a place on the back to mail in saying you wanted to contest. I did. It took 4 months to receive a response and a date was set a year hence. When I showed up at the courtroom, about half the 3 dozen or so people had their cases immediately dismissed -clerk read a list of names before the judge arrived “these tickets are cancelled”. Fines would be payable to the court, not some odd entity.
I would still check with the city hall or the police to ensure this is not some form of scam.
We beat a school zone ticket because the time stamped on the ticket was outside the times established for the school zone reduced speeds. I got the times from the school’s principal and had to appear at the arbitrator. The stamped time was only 45 seconds after the end of the 20 mph flashing sign authorized time. The arbitrator whined but I insisted, showing him the official time on the ticket was illegally obtained. I won.
As a side note the voters in Cleveland passed a referendum outlawing speed cameras since they denied due process. You never have a chance to appear in court to plead your case. The speed camera company and arbitrators were not a court of law. All the cameras were promptly removed. suburbs were not affected by this decision however.
I only know about red-light camera tickets in my state, but I think according to what I see online this is also true for camera speeding tickets. All I would have to do is fill out an affidavit (found at many websites for download) that I was not the person driving, and the car was not in my control at the time. Submit it and the ticket gets dropped.
I was surprised that California still allows red light cameras. Many local municipalities had to remove their red light cameras when it was revealed that the third party that runs the cameras had shortened the yellow light duration below that legally required in order to boost revenues (which they got a percentage of).
I found a law firm’s page on red light cameras in Virginia (dated 2019), and they have the following:
Is the Owner of the Car Responsible for a Ticket?
In some states, the driver of the vehicle is responsible for the red light violation. In other states, the owner of the vehicle is responsible for the red light violation. Per Virginia State Code 15.2-968.1, the owner of a vehicle is responsible for a red light camera ticket even if they were not driving. This is the same way a parking ticket works.
But there’s good news:
What Are the Penalties for a Red Light Camera Ticket?
In the state of Virginia, a red light camera violation is treated differently than a ticket that is issued by a police officer who caught you running a red light. A red light camera ticket is not considered a moving violation in the state of Virginia. This means that it will not go on your driving record, nor will it affect your auto insurance rates. The maximum penalty for a red light camera ticket in the state of Virginia is $50.
It’s not on the Virginia site, but this advice from a California law firm is probably good for Virginia too:
How Do I Know If a Red Light Camera Ticket is Legitimate?
There are scammers who try to make money off of red light camera tickets. So here are other things to watch out for:
Telephone or Email Scam: Scammers try to intimidate people into paying for fake outstanding tickets over email or telephone. Know that police officers or traffic courts will NOT call or email you about a red light camera ticket.Missing Information: Do a thorough review of the ticket you receive in the mail. Many scam red light camera tickets will have missing details such as court date, court address/hours and a “Notice to Appear” section.
If unsure about a red light camera ticket, go to the official county court website of where the violation is claimed to have occurred and check their system for a record of the violation. Additional information, feel free to contact us at GetDismissed. We can help establish if a ticket is legitimate and what to do next if it is. We specialize in helping California drivers dismiss their unfair red light camera tickets.
And, by the way, I once received a photo speeding ticket from Italy! The rental car company sent it to me. I called a friend in Italy and he checked it out and told me it has to be delivered by mail to be enforced. I never received a snail mail ticket, so I guess I’m OK. But I always have this thought in my mind when I clear immigration into Italy…
I’m surprised you didn’t deal with red light cameras in NJ. I know not every town had them. We had several. It was treated as a civil penalty. Like a parking ticket it went to the registered owner with no need to determine operation. Sounds like Virginia is similar.
I’m also surprised you don’t know Virginia’s reputation. Don’t speed. Ever. You don’t get breaks.
For everyone else, NJ had red light cameras. I don’t know who’s genuinely great idea it was to put a time limit on the law. After a couple of year trial period the legislature had to renew it to make it become permanent. The law was so hated by voters the politicians didn’t dare vote it back in.