Posted on 02/13/2007 7:05:37 AM PST by laotzu
Towns around Texas are rushing to grab the gold offered by cameras that snap pictures of motorists who run red lights and mail them tickets. But it turns out that the gold is turning out to be fool's gold.
If you get a ticket in the mail indicating you have run a red light and demanding you pay the fine, 1200 WOAI news reported today there is very little enforcement mechanism available. Basically, if you don't want to pay the $148 dollar fine, for example, which will be imposed on red light runners in the suburb of Balcones Heights, you don't have to, and there's nothing officials can do about it.
Since violating a red light camera is a civil, not a criminal penalty, officials can't arrest you if you don't pay, they can't add on additional charges like 'failure to appear,' they can't refuse to renew your car registration, and they can't file a lien against your house.
All they can do, according to Balcones Heights City Councilman Steven Walker, is attempt to file a damaging report against your credit record, something Walkers says is of dubious value as a collection tool.
"A lot of people, I think, who run red lights, are people who have bad credit anyway," he said.
Walker said the Arizona company that will manage the red light cameras in Balcones Heights in exchange for about a third of the ticket revenue could hire a collection agency, but that's unlikely. And 1200 WOAI news has learned that since many credit bureaus do not consider a red light camera to be a 'legitimate debt,' hiring a collection agency may actually violate Texas' dunning creditor law.
"We get 108 (dollars) of each ticket, they just get forty," Walker said. "And if they took it to a collection agency, the agency would get a hefty portion of that," making it not a profitable option.
One of the three major credit reporting bureaus has already indicated it does not accept negative reports from red light camera companies, because the standard instrument that confirms a debt, a signed agreement by the debtor promising to pay the loan, doesn't exist. Since there's no evidence that the debtor was actually driving the car, the credit bureaus may refuse to list the debt on a person's credit report.
And Walker says on top of that, the company that sends out the letters demanding payment of the $148 ticket is in Arizona.
"Many people will look at it, see it's from Arizona, and tear it up," Walker said.
In Houston, which turned on red light cameras in November, only 10% of the motorists issued tickets have paid them. Walker says only 'fear' of the 'intimidating language' included in the Arizona company's letter will convince a handful of motorists to pay the fine.
Keep in mind, none of this applies to rickets for running red lights issued by a police officer. Those are criminal offenses, and if you don't pay those tickets, you'll go to jail.
Brilliant.
I thought that you could not register your vehicle with outstanding tickets. Or is that only for us poor, dumb legals??
I've always wondered how they could justify sending the ticket to the vehicle owner without verifying who the driver was.
Go ahead and don't pay them, Not. They'll get back to you sooner or later.
Hmmmm... Florida is oft made fun of, but no red light cameras down here
Shooting for the suitable breathless hysteria to match the silly headline...
An even better strategy is not running red lights.
It's a stupid concept anyway. The court has no idea who is driving the car. It's like arresting someone because their stolen car was involved in a bank robbery.
I'll run one if there's no other traffic around and I have good credit.
"'ve always wondered how they could justify sending the ticket to the vehicle owner without verifying who the driver was."
The same way they can leave a ticket on your windshield for a parking violation. It is a non-moving offense, but eventually unpaid parking tickets can become a serious problem for you if you get caught on another more serious violation, or crime.
>>>>If you get a ticket in the mail indicating you have run a red light and demanding you pay the fine, 1200 WOAI news reported today there is very little enforcement mechanism available. Basically, if you don't want to pay the $148 dollar fine, for example, which will be imposed on red light runners in the suburb of Balcones Heights, you don't have to, and there's nothing officials can do about it.<<<
I would like to add a story for consideration. Every few years, my lovely state of NJ runs a 'fund raiser'.
At random, people will be mailed PHANTOM parking tickets. Many of these PHANTOM tickets will be dated years back and usually are from towns you never been to.
If you don't pay these tickets, your license gets suspended. The fees for reinstating your license is usually more than the parking ticket.
Keep that in mind when ignoring these camera tickets. There may be some in Texas taking notes from NJ.
From what I understand, the machines are history in Michigan or at least won't be part of our future.
That doesn't stop State Revenue agencies from filing tax liens against non-residents. I'm living proof.
What about tickets for running through those eztoll lanes without a valid electronic signaller on toll roads like the one in Houston?
That's what I told my wife when she got a letter via U.S. mail for jury duty with dire consequences if she didn't appear. I told her to ignore it and not worry unless she was served a summons. She went any way but the letter has no legal standing.
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