Involved in a fender bender or accident and you need to get the red light camera video as evidence?
Not all red light camera running culprits go uncaught like this guy who plays a real-life game of Frogger. However, many more minor accidents are caught on tape and most police departments and camera operators are not equipped to handle inquiries directly from drivers. I receive several emails a week from drivers who were involved in accidents at intersections that have red-light cameras and want to retrieve the video as evidence. Most of these emails are asking simple questions like how do I obtain the video as evidence and who do I contact. Unfortunately, the answer is not that simple depending on where the accident occurred and we will attempt to clarify this as we learn from other experiences around the US.
In a nutshell, municipalities have different requirements for maintaining and keeping video. They are no current standards and each city uses variations of technology that differ in terms of features and functions to capture and store video. Some cities have set up video systems to record continuously and the resulting video can be recorded locally or it can be streamed to the local Police department. It really all depends on the city and the application of the cameras. If that city uses continuous video we recommend contacting the police department directly for that information.
