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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
6 thru 10 of 11 comments
On 08/12/03
Roger from Othe said:
Phot Radar tickets do not require the actual owner of the vehicle to appear in court, and they do not fine, or issue points to the person who owns the vehicle only due to the fact that they can not prove the owner is the driver of the vehicle. The owner is still required to pay the fine. I highly doubt that ignoring a photo radar ticket is a good idea.
On 08/12/03
Roger from Othe said:
If the photo radr ticket is blurry or illegible, it will not be issued. Aslo, if there is anohter vehicle in the same picture, and you can see it's plates, this is incorrect too. Make sure you are prepared if you do go to court, my brother fought a photo radar ticket by taking pictures of a large piece of electrical aparatus that the cop was parked beside, stated that it could make the radar gun faulty. He won only due to his prepardness.
On 10/03/02
Kyra from AZ said:
I work for a company with a large number of vehicles driven by employees, and the supervisor has a "Wall Of Shame" in his office. These are photo radar pictures sent to the company so they can ID the driver and return the information, and these pictures are crystal clear! If you don't believe it's you in the picture, go to court, because if you ignore it you can end up with a warrant issued. (I'd like to know where 'STEVE' got his law degree...)
On 07/05/02
Steve from AZ said:
Just ignore photo radar tickets. Since the vans they use are not operated by the police, and therefore the crime was not witnessed by police, photo tickets are not legal. Also, since you don't sign a photo ticket, you have not promised to appear in court, something you have to do when given a ticket by a real live cop.
On 03/31/02
Gord from Othe said:
You can't lie your way out in court like you can lie to your parents. Courts are after the truth, and they will find the truth. Unless it is unjust, pay the fine.
6 thru 10 of 11 comments



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