Speak Up! - View Question #66

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Question: I heard that if you get a ticket from those vans that take a pictures of your license plate, photo radar vans, you don't have to pay it because the picture is not clear enough...is this true?

Answer: There is a chance that you might not have to pay for a photo radar ticket. However, you are not the one who gets to decide whether are responsible for paying the fine.

If the person in the photograph is not you, then you are not responsible for the fine. You would have to notify the court that it isn't you in the photograph and possibly testify at a court hearing. Ultimately, it will be up to a court to determine whether it is you or not. Only the court can determine if the picture is clear enough to positively identify you.

Nonetheless, you should be honest. So if the photo is not clear, but you know it is you in the photo, you should do the right thing and pay the fine. Lying in court or 'perjury' is punishable by much stiffer penalties than the traffic fine you face in the first place!


Comments
1 thru 5 of 11 comments
On 04/09/09
Kat from AZ said:
Steve is absolutely correct. A ticket sent through the mail and not personally handed to you is not valid. Shame on anybody, including the courts, who will have you think otherwise. Scare tactics only work on uninformed citizens. AZ Superior court can and has appealed these erroneous tickets because they are simply illegal rubbish. Drive safely!
On 05/01/05
andy from CA said:
i was told that the difference here is that there is no way for you to sign the ticket before it is issued to you like what a real cop would make you do before giving you the ticket. this way, you legally may never have gotten it. therefor you can just say you never got it. it sounds lame but seriously, do you really KNOW that you got that ticket? that's all you have to ask yourself.
On 03/22/04
August from AZ said:
As far as Arizona is concerned, ARS28-1593 says that the ticket may not be issued by simply mailing the citation. Additionally, the 6th amendment to the constitution protects an individuals right to face his accuser. How do you cross examine a robotic camera? An employee's testimony, of the COMPANY that issues the ticket if they show, is nothing more than Hearsay. Also, is a independent COMPANY allowed to issue a traffic citation? Is that legal? If so, I am going to issue my own citations. As long as I give the city a percentage, that would be OK right?
On 02/28/04
brad from AZ said:
so if the car is owned by my dad and the person in the picture is me, is there a possible way of getting off or escaping ? and how would i be able to do that?
On 02/23/04
Nikki from AZ said:
I think your wrong because the more you ignore tickets the more you get away with things which means you are probably going to end up killing someone by driveing and/or running a red light or speeding because you did not learn when you got the other 10 tickets!!!!!
1 thru 5 of 11 comments



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