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Red-Light Camera Fines Officially 'Voluntary'

Frances Vega |
July 27, 2011 | 1:07 p.m. PDT

Executive Producer

Remember all the rumors you've heard about red light camera fines? You know the rumors that say, "you can't get a ticket if the camera can't see your face,"

creative commons
creative commons
or "no one will come after you if you don't pay it," turns out they're all true.

Los Angeles County city officials made the revelation this week that paying red-light camera fines is essentially "voluntary." They said in most cases there are virtually no consequences for motorists who refuse to pay. The authorities cannot force people to respond or show up in court. 

The surprisingly candid announcement was revealed as city considers dropping the photo enforcement program entirely. The City Council is scheduled to vote on the matter Wednesday.

According to the L.A. Times:

More than 180,000 motorists have been issued red-light camera tickets since the program, which has equipment monitoring approaches to 32 intersections, began in 2004 in Los Angeles.

Unlike other moving citations, which are issued directly by a police officer to a driver who signs a promise to appear in court, red-light camera tickets are mailed to the registered owner of the vehicle allegedly involved in the violation.

That has limited the Los Angeles County Superior Court system's willingness to aggressively enforce camera ticket collections for the city and 32 other photo enforcement programs in Los Angeles County, officials said.

There are exceptions to this. Some motorists have said that they still incurred fines even when they did not respond, but Blair told the L.A. Times that is not consistent with the court's procedures and another legal issue is probably involved. Also people who decide to go to court for a camera ticket and are still ordered to pay a fine will be pursued for non-payment. Another potential problem for non-payers is that the tickets will still show up on a court background check. So if an employer cares about that kind of thing, you might not get the job. 

Overall, the 60 percent of people who did pay their tickets are upset that they paid in the first place.

Many people want refunds, but councilman Paul Koretz said motorists should not expect to get them. 

Motorists should note that some counties, such as San Diego and Ventura, do notify the DMV when people fail to pay citations.

So go ahead, ignore those red-light tickets, if you dare.

Reach Frances Vega here.

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