O T Speeding Ticket

Took a little trip Nov.6th and went through Morristown Tn.Yesterday I got a letter with a picture of my truck,displaying the tag and said I was doing 56 mph in a 45 mph zone.now the ?????? Are these things legal since no one sees you and the officer that sighed the ticket could not swear that you was speeding?Is there any way to beat it?Thanks

Very legal . We have them here in Cedar Rapids Iowa . You can protest them , not sure how or what steps are involved . People here cry about them being a TAX ..Way I look at it ,don't want a ticket , don't speed .

Depends on what the state law is. In Nebraska cities couldn't use red light cameras because the law is explicit on an officer witnessing the infraction...

Are they legal? Depends on jurisdiction. They are legal in some states, illegal in some states, in some states they are something less than a ticket actually written by an officer. You need actual legal advice from Tennessee.

My neighbor received 2 speeding tickets while in DC. He had to pay them. Hal

Heard a story about a guy getting one of those camera-speeding tickets for a couple hundred bucks. He thought,ok, they sent me a picture, I'll send them one. Laid out a couple hundred bucks on his table, took a picture of it and sent that in. Week or so later he got another letter in the mail. This time with a picture of pair of handcuffs.

Someone at the court obviously had a sense of humor...

He sent the money in that time.

Ben

got the camera"s here in ontario ( red light camera"s ) when you get sent a pic, it"s a $200.00 fine against vehicle owner no way to tell who"s driving ), pretty tough to beat, they send pic"s going in to intersection, in the middle & leaving, all with the traffic lights showing
bob

I live in Pa, and I recieved one from the New Jersey Turnpike Authority a few years back with a photo of a motorcycle that had ran through a toll stop. It was the same model bike but the wierd thing about it was that I have personalized tags and so did this guy. He had the same personalized tags but they were Jersey tags, not Pa tags. It was obvious to see this in the photo. I hadn"t ridden mine in a while and I had to double check and make certain my bike was still in the garage. There were a few other obvious things different with the bike in the photo. I called and proceded to tell them that I"ve never been in Jersey on my bike and that I don"t own the type of jacket the operator was wearing. I was put on hold for what seemed like forever and when they got back on with me they told me not to worry about it, it would be taken care of. This seemed to easy and I was a little concerned about it, but I left it go and nothing ever came of it. In the conversation with the guy, I asked how they got me instead of the rider with the Jersey tags and he said they ran the tag number and went with the first one that came up, lucky me. You can"t win "em all but you can get lucky every now and then.

730,

I haven't received a traffic ticket for many, many years, but I figure when I get one, whether I deserve it at that time or not, I'll pay the fine and move on. I've exceeded the speed limit many times when I didn't get a ticket.

It's not worth the hassle or the worry.

Tom in TN

I read an article about the whole state of Arizonas people refusing to pay them and they took down the cameras.
I had a tractor trailer running with a driver on it and got one of those tickets and paid it.It is a rip off because in a situation like that,the guy driving didnt get the ticket,but what are you going to do?Get arrested for a bench warrant because you were too cheap to pay it?I dont know what it would be like in Tn but they are money hungry or they wouldnt be doing it.So if they are money hungry,you can bet they have some way of making it hard on you if you dont pay it.Ask a lawyer from that area if possible.If he says he can beat it,go for it.

I believe I'd make them earn it. I'd rather spend an extra 500 on a local attorney and have to pay it anyway rather than just roll over and pay it without protest.

If I never intended to go back into Tenn I would just forget it.

Its thug government at work, they know most people are law abiding and do not have the time or the inclination to fight a speeding ticket or a red light ticket etc. Its all about revenue enhancement. Welfare riders and dopeheads are excluded, they don't pay, they cost money if you have to lock them up.

Depends on the state, in VA if you do not respond to the ticket or get in touch with anyone at the court or law enforcement (which means you acknowledge getting it) you can ignore the ticket and it will be dismissed automatically in court.And the court is forbidden from issuing a failure to appear warrant by law.
Also they have to prove who was driving (innocent until proven guilty).
So who gets the ticket anyway if there are multiple owners or if its registered in a company name?

Here is a camera in action...
Red Light Cameras

I would call and make arrangements to pay it. I couldnt walk around for the rest of my life knowing that some good-ole-boy cops from Tennessee were out to get me.

730
Check laws where the photo was taken.
A few years ago Minneapolis put up red light cameras, mailed out a bunch of tickets. Some drivers fought & won. Minnesota law states that the DRIVER has to be identified. City had to dismiss all the tickets & refund over $1,500,000 in fines that had already been paid.
Willie

depends on state laws. If law is written like a proof of insurance required of owner of vehicle, then probably written as similar to parking ticket where no drivers lecense points, etc for non payment--BUT your vehicle registration won"t be renewed until paid and driving with expired plates from failure to pay will get your vehicle impounded until tickets and tow bill paid. Maryland has a sneaky inspection law that a article noted- no inspection sticker means impound, inspection sticker not issued to vehicle with unpaid parking tickets, parents of college students that borrow car are disclaiming kids financial support on grant applications that require matching funds. Some states that call it a moving violation will probably have a officer observed or driver identification needed to process. Some speeding tickets by license number picture when officer stops pursuit or can"t catch speeder in some areas have to be nullified. British cops had that problem with some cars they couldn"t catch with old Rovers and Austins, can"t catch driver means can"t pull drivers license or get big fine. Ford rally class winner with 302 hotrod engines in production class required 200 or 500 cars to be made to be called production- the class rules changed and Ford had about 1/2 of the race/rally cars left over and the engineers said don"t scrapum, we want more test data on traffic use--give them to British traffic police under deal that we get to check oil and brake wear, computerized road log data, etc. English traffic cops very happy after 3 months- chronic plate numbers register to upperclass speeder they couldn"t catch before down by 1/2 as they caught the driver in the act- sometimes kid of registered owner- and pulled drivers license, impounded cars, got the big fines and got themselves on promotion list for making roads safer. Couple Diplomats and members of Parliment not so happy to be caught. RN

I agree bryan.

It is also much safer making that s curve in downtown Cedar Rapids on I 380.

The traffic use to travel 70 to 80 around those curves and you had to move with them to keep from getting run over. I like speed but those curves scared me a few times. I bet the winter wrecks on that stretch will be lower this summer.

After several thousand tickets the speed of the traffic is now 60 instead of 70+ in a 55 zone.

If your gonna break the law what difference does it make how they caught you.

You were in the wrong.

I think I would just pay it--it is less hassle and might end up being lots cheaper in the long run. And be careful not to speed, especially in unfamiliar territory.

In my state, all but the most serious traffic charges are now "civil infractions" rather than criminal offenses. So going to court on one of the "civil infractions" will probably result in the State winning, as "guilt" needs to be proven by the preponderance of evidence, rather than "beyond a reasonable doubt". Very tough to beat a civil infraction... But failing to respond to an infraction notice WILL result in a bench warrant being issued. And usually getting arrested for a warrant will result in the named person getting booked into jail. That could be very inconvenient and far more expensive than just dealing with the infraction appropriately.

A few years ago, some cities in my state began using red light cameras, and according to what I have read in the newspaper, lots of those resulting tickets have been thrown out because the driver couldn't be sufficiently identified in the photo. I suspect that the law will be rewritten to allow some form of an infraction addressed to the registered owner of the offending vehicle, sort of like they do with parking tickets. But hopefully such an infraction would not be so very costly: I think I recall the photo red infractions being over $200. On the positive side, I have also read that collisions in the intersections that have the Photo-Red camera systems in place and clearly marked have gone down significantly. Hopefully the statistics are real, true data. And also hopefully, the true reason for the photo-red system being used is to reduce accidents, and not just to produce revenue.

You might want to research the law in Tennessee that allows the photo speeding tickets. It should be listed on your "citation" or whatever they call the notice they sent you. Most states have their laws available to look at on the internet. You might be able to come up with something that will help you out of the trouble.

But like I wrote before, if I got the ticket, and was pretty sure that I might very well have been speeding at the specified location, I would just send in the money, to be done with it. And maybe be a little more careful in the future. Good luck!

After viewing that vidio, that Gene Stevens sent in, I guess those cameras are worth while, to say the least! I can;t belive that people can expect lady luck, to keep paying off, with that kind of behavior. Kind of hate to let my loved ones, out on the road after that vidio!

Meant winter wrecks this winter.

If you have no intentions of ever going back to Tennessee, blow it off. But if you do plan on going back one day, send them the money and a note, "I'm sure glad you didn't pull me over because I was so drunk I didn't even know I drove to Tennessee until I got your ticket proving my wife was telling the truth".

Mark

YUP ---- That's a Smart move, then you'll get a ticket for DWI .... ha ha ha ha

I think that if Tenn, is a co-operating state with the state in which you live, your state won't issue you a new driver license when yours expires unless the fine is paid.

You may not like my direct answer, but you kinda did ask and all.

Simple answer! Were you speeding? Or was it a stolen vehickle? Why not pay it and learn a lesson? Isn't this the exact type of thing we all get upset about? Some one who is wrong --getting off because of something over the top?

Right is right, wrong is always still wrong, and I hate attorneys that take a case like that.

However if you feel they were wrong, fight it by all means. With my blessings..right still being right, wrong being wrong.

I had a guy who had taken a human behavior type of class. He said speeding is no different than jumping in front of a line of folks because you are more important than anyone else. Hey everyone clear a path for me! I'm in a hurry!

Honesty is always the best policy, unless your name has O.J. in it, then you can probably get away with it with a good attorney.

Pay it or wont be able to renew drivers linseces.Had identy stolen few years ago. Had and still my have tickets out there. Because when renewed this year they said had resisting aresst and dwi in another state. So had to prove I wasnt the guy and hadnt been there.

Seems like not a good lottery to win! Hopefully you aren't similarly lucky in the future.

Christopher

I read this today then on the way home from work I saw at four different stop lights four people flagrantly run red lights. I think I'm in favor of the cameras. Consider it a red light tax. Incurring it is optional.

When the city of Clive Ia put up red light cameras, the citations issued did not go against your driving record in part because an out of state private company operated them and received 1/2 of the money collected. As much as it stinks to get a ticket, I'd pay it unless you have a lawyer that can beat it. Quite a few years back my brother got a ticket in Illinois. Back then Il and Iowa didn't "communicate" driving violation info. The next time he went to renew his license, it showed up and cost a small fortune to straighten out.

I agree with everyone who says if you broke the traffic laws, pay the fine. If you didn't, protest it.

The cameras may be enhancing the revenue for the local gov, but stop talking like it's the law breakers that are caught on camera who are the victims. Look at that red light camera video that was posted - tell me who the victims are there!