Red Light Camera Tickets Are Going Unpaid


Some people may choose not to pay the fines for various reasons, such as disagreement with the program, financial constraints, or other personal factors. Unpaid red light camera tickets can have consequences depending on local laws and enforcement practices. In some jurisdictions, unpaid tickets may lead to additional fines, late payment penalties, or other legal actions such as vehicle registration holds or potential impacts on credit scores. However, the specific consequences can vary by jurisdiction, so it is advisable to consult the traffic laws and regulations in your specific area to understand the implications of unpaid red-light camera tickets.

A growing percentage of drivers caught by red-light cameras around town aren't paying for their tickets. But beyond sending their names to a collection agency, there's little the city of Columbus can do to collect that money.   Nearly $1.6 million in Columbus, Missouri much of which would go to the city's public safety department. The department has used these fines to pay for new police cruisers and the city's summer-crime strike force.

Last year, 28 percent of all red-light-camera citations issued by Columbus were sent to a collection agency, up from 12 percent in 2007. Part of any funds collected now would go to the collection agency and Redflex, which operates the cameras for the city. The poor economy might be one reason why drivers aren't paying, said Deputy Public Safety Director George Speaks. A $95 ticket is a big hit.  But once your ticket is sent to a collection agency, the fine grows to $120. If you don't pay, the city will send you a notice. After 90 days, your case is sent to Capital Recovery, a collection agency. Running a red light is a civil infraction that doesn't add points to your license.

Capital Recovery collects about 17 percent of the delinquent violations the city sends its way, said Craig Klein, the company's president. He said the national collection rate in civil cases such as these is less than 10 percent. "The only way to attack it is to file lawsuits," Klein said. But that would likely cost the city more than it's worth, said City Attorney Richard C. Pfeiffer. If the problem grows, he'll consider it. Speaks said city officials are discussing reporting scofflaws to credit agencies.

Stephanie Palmer, a victims advocate in Pfeiffer's office, has three unpaid tickets. Two offenses were captured by the camera at Livingston and Fairwood Avenues. The tickets say Palmer didn't stop completely before turning on red. "I'm not sure if I didn't come to a complete stop," she said. "Usually I'm pretty good." In all, there are 169 individuals, companies, and agencies with three or more outstanding citations, totaling close to 900 unpaid tickets.

The biggest offender is the holding company for Avis and Budget rental cars. That company is responsible for 144 unpaid tickets. University Area Commissioner Ahmed Ebady has five unpaid tickets. He said contractors who maintain his residential properties and drive vehicles registered in his name must be responsible. "If the city is going to come after me for a moving violation, let them come up with proof who was driving," Ebady said.

Speaks said the cameras reduce crashes. He said right-angle crashes have fallen by 73 percent at the 18 intersections where cameras have been installed. "The system works," he said.

Topics

A93820014BS Abu Dhabi accidents ACLU ACS Advertising Aha Mobile AI Airsage ALPR ALPR Cameras Android Apple Arizona Atlanta ATS Attorney Australia Auto Insurance Baltimore Belgium Beltronics Bikes Bribe Brooklyn Buy Buying California Camera Vans Canada carplay Carpool Cars CDOT cell phone Chicago City Council Class Action Cobra Colorado Connected Signals Connecticut construction contracts Corruption courtesty notice courtesy notice Crashes crime Crosswalk crowdsourcing Culver City Dangerous Intersections Dash Cam Data Database Des Moines Distracted Drivers DIY DOT download Drivers License Driving Instructor Drowsy Drunk Drivers Dubai DUI E-ZPass England Escort Europe Facial Recognition failure to stop Fake Cameras FasTrak Fighting Tickets Finance Fines Fleets Florida FOIA Ford France freedom of information act request Garmin Gatso Georgia Germany Glendale Google Google Maps Government GPS Angel GPS Navigation Guest Writer Hawaii Here Highway Robbery Highways HOV Cameras How To humor Illinois Injury Inrix Insignia Instagram Insurance Insurenet iOS IOT Iowa iphone iRadar Italy Iteris Joe Biden Laser Craft Law Suit Laws lawyer Left Turns legal Legislation License Plate Local London Long Beach Los Angeles Loud Exhaust Louisiana LPR Cameras Lyft Machine Learning Magellan Maine Maintenance Manhattan maps Marketing Maryland Massachusetts Microsoft Minnesota Missouri Mitac Mobile Ads Mobile Apps mobile speed zone MTA Navigation Navigon Navteq Nestor Netherlands New Jersey New Mexico New Orleans New York New Zealand News NHTSA Nokia NTSB Oahu Oakland Ohio Parking Parking Tickets Parks Peasy Pennsylvania Phantom Alert Philadelphia Phoenix Photo Notice photographs POI Points Poland police Politics Poll Portugal Privacy Progressive Web App Protest Radar Railroad Reckless Driving red light cameras RedFlex RedSpeed redzone refunds Removing rental car tickets Repairs research revenue Rhode Island Ridesharing Right Turns rolling right turns Russia Sacramento Safe Speed Safety Safety Cameras San Diego San Francisco San Jose Scam Schools Seat Belt Seattle secutity settlement Shutting Down signs Snitch Tickets solar Sound Cameras Spain speed cameras Speed Vans State Ban stop sign cameras Street View Students subpoena Subscription Supreme Court Surveillance Switzerland Taxi Technology TeleAtlas Telematics Tennessee Tesla Texas Texting Tickets Tips Toll Road TomTom Tracking Traffic traffic attorney Traffic Camera Traffic Lights Traffic Safety Traffic School traffic tickets Traffic.com Trapster Trial by Written Declaration Trinity Trucking trucks UAE Uber UK Unpaid Ticket Vehicle Occupancy Verra Mobility video Vigilant Violation Fines Violation Info Violation Speed Virginia Vision Zero Voters warning devices warning notice Washington Washington DC Waze Wikango Xerox Yellow Lights YouTube