random thought

[John Dirks Jr]

Damn sheet lightning! Every time it flashes while I'm driving at night I think I'm getting another automated traffic ticket.

Got three so far this year. They're sure good about strategically positioning them to get the most bang for the buck.

BTW, damn the automatic traffic cameras too!

[Marc]

That can be fixed. Don't speed. []

Marc

[hausdok]

Yeah,

My wife called me today to tell me that I'd gotten my photo taken making an illegal right turn on red. I haven't seen it yet, so I have to see what that's all about. I'm pretty careful about stopping and looking before I make a right turn on red. I do it to try and make all of these idiots out there who roll through understand that they're supposed to come to a full stop, so I'm a little mystified about how I garnered one for that.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[John Dirks Jr]

One time I got caught after merging from one interstate to another. They place the camera just after the merge. At this particular location you have a choice. Either give it some throttle and find your slot, or, be a wimp and get pushed onto the shoulder. In the busy interstate merges, its many time safer to be a tad aggressive.

They say the cams are about safety. That's bull. They just want you send in the money. Rear end collisions are up dramatically at the intersections with red light cams. They shorten the yellow too those F'ers. It makes people slam their brakes on when they see the yellow. One private camera installation company in our area had a contract to get a certain percentage of fines collected as compensation. Gee, they wouldn't have incentive to get strategic now would they?

[Richard Moore]

Yeah,

My wife called me today to tell me that I'd gotten my photo taken making an illegal right turn on red. I haven't seen it yet, so I have to see what that's all about. I'm pretty careful about stopping and looking before I make a right turn on red. I do it to try and make all of these idiots out there who roll through understand that they're supposed to come to a full stop, so I'm a little mystified about how I garnered one for that.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

I don't know how a photo would show whether you stopped or not before making the turn. Perhaps you missed one of these...?

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[Bill Kibbel]

John,

I rarely get any traffic violations. Every time I drive to, or through Maryland though, I get at least one. I was there last month and just received 2 in the mail.

MD has quite a scam goin' on.

[John Dirks Jr]

John,

I rarely get any traffic violations. Every time I drive to, or through Maryland though, I get at least one. I was there last month and just received 2 in the mail.

MD has quite a scam goin' on.

Thank you for confirming.

Watch out especially in construction zones. They post the signs indicating "photo enforcement" mixed in with the typical construction zone signs so they're easy to miss. They then drop the speed limit as you enter those zones. Perfect trap. They are active 24 hrs a day even when the workers are off the road and all lanes open.

[Mike Lamb]

Yeah,

My wife called me today to tell me that I'd gotten my photo taken making an illegal right turn on red. I haven't seen it yet, so I have to see what that's all about. I'm pretty careful about stopping and looking before I make a right turn on red. I do it to try and make all of these idiots out there who roll through understand that they're supposed to come to a full stop, so I'm a little mystified about how I garnered one for that.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

A "No Turn on Red" was probably posted. At least it's not a moving violation on your record.

My 15 yr. old driving on a permit doing the required practice driving got me one. Never mind that the "adult" in the car with her should have seen the "No Turn on Red," sign. I won't name the adult but I'm married to her. The ticket had a nice pic of my car and a website I could go to if I wanted to see the video.

It was $100 and I mailed it to somewhere in Ohio.

[Tom Raymond]

If the real purpose of those cameras was public safety there wouldn't be a fine, the video would be sent to everyone on the perps contact list.

[Jim Katen]

If the real purpose of those cameras was public safety there wouldn't be a fine, the video would be sent to everyone on the perps contact list.

No, that would just encourage a community of one-upmanship where everyone vies to see how many times they can get their pictures taken.

If the idea is public safety, the camera would be linked to tire deflation devices in the road. People would learn *really* quickly when the consequence for running a light is four flat tires.

And to add insult to injury, they could fund the contraption with a tax on new tires.

Just think what it would do for the economy; tire shops would have more work than they could handle.

[Brandon Whitmore]

If the idea is public safety, the camera would be linked to tire deflation devices in the road. People would learn *really* quickly when the consequence for running a light is four flat tires.

I've heard the original intent of those red light cameras was to prevent T- bone accidents. From what I've heard, there's now more accidents than ever as people either slam on their brakes at the last minute, or duck while running through, so that their pic won't show (no pic, no ticket I believe).

Imagine how many rear end accidents, or other weird ones we'd see if spikes were gonna pop up in front of the offenders tires.

[Jim Katen]

Imagine how many rear end accidents, or other weird ones we'd see if spikes were gonna pop up in front of the offenders tires.

A short term sacrifice for the long term good.

[kurt]

If the intent of punishment is to deter future transgression and encourage higher attention to the matter @ hand, picking up a couple $100 tickets for missing a light works pretty good.

Once you get a couple, you pay really close attention when you're approaching a red light.

[rkenney]

Once you get a couple, you pay really close attention when you're approaching a red light.

We have a winner! Number one cause of accidents, 'not paying attention.'

Construction zones are clearly marked; IF your paying attention. People who get more than one ticket for the same thing may have a learning disability.

Money grab? Sure it's a money grab; what does government do that isn't?

Don't entertain thoughts about things you can't change. You could very well end up feeling sorry for yourself.

[Mike Lamb]

If the idea is public safety, the camera would be linked to tire deflation devices in the road. People would learn *really* quickly when the consequence for running a light is four flat tires.

or duck while running through, so that their pic won't show (no pic, no ticket I believe).

The owner of the vehicle gets the ticket not the driver.

[gtblum]

We have a winner! Number one cause of accidents, 'not paying attention.

I'll second that! I have a friend who just lost his leg and somehow survived being hammered head on because some girl who was paying more attention to her texts than driving, crossed the center line and took him off his bike.

People forget they're operating a piece of heavy equipment at a high rate of speed. They all think it's their personal space in their personal pod.

I think my favorites are the idiots who drive around with Fifi on their lap.

Real cute until you need to make an evasive move and can't because Rex is in the way. Hit me. I'll snap the dog's neck first.

[hausdok]

Hi All,

Well, as it turns out; it wasn't for turning right on red at all; it was for speeding in a school zone. The photo shows my truck and the annotation on the photos is speeding - 27 mph in a 20 mph zone. I probably was guilty because that morning I was driving through a neighborhood I was unfamiliar with and I was behind a big hazardous cargo truck with two of those hazardous cargo placards displayed on the back. I don't remember seeing the signs for the camera and probably wouldn't have seen them until I was right on top of them because I remember that truck - I couldn't see a damned thing around it and had to poke along behind it for about two miles, chafing all the way. If they give me a ticket they damned well better have given him a ticket too because he was the one setting the pace down that street.

Normally I wouldn't bother to contest something like this, but this time I'm going to do so just to find out if they'd ticketed that truck too, 'cuz there's no way I would have seen those signs in time with that behemoth in front of me.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Jerry Simon]

I think my favorites are the idiots who drive around with Fifi on their lap.

I wanna be your new favorite. I was in a traffic jam on a major interstate, going 1-2 miles an hour, my big sis in the passenger seat. I'm watching the moron in the car next to me text while he was driving, and as I was bitching about him to my sis, I hit the car in front of me.

[John Dirks Jr]

Hi All,

Well, as it turns out; it wasn't for turning right on red at all; it was for speeding in a school zone. The photo shows my truck and the annotation on the photos is speeding - 27 mph in a 20 mph zone. I probably was guilty because that morning I was driving through a neighborhood I was unfamiliar with and I was behind a big hazardous cargo truck with two of those hazardous cargo placards displayed on the back. I don't remember seeing the signs for the camera and probably wouldn't have seen them until I was right on top of them because I remember that truck - I couldn't see a damned thing around it and had to poke along behind it for about two miles, chafing all the way. If they give me a ticket they damned well better have given him a ticket too because he was the one setting the pace down that street.

Normally I wouldn't bother to contest something like this, but this time I'm going to do so just to find out if they'd ticketed that truck too, 'cuz there's no way I would have seen those signs in time with that behemoth in front of me.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

Be careful about contesting. On these traffic cam tickets, if you just pay the fine you get no points on your license. If you contest and win then good for you. However, if you contest and loose, you'll pay the fine and get points as well.

You see, all they want is the money. Just be a good little citizen and fork it over.

[gtblum]

Just so we're clear. That was a joke. I would never snap the dog's neck. Dogs are good people.

Mike, I tried that couldn't see around the big truck excuse once. Even threw in the part about being five foot nothing tall. They weren't having any of it. Good luck.

[John Dirks Jr]

I don't like seeing dogs riding loose in the back of pickup trucks. On two occasions I have seen them thrown from the bed. One had his paw pads torn up real bad.

Keep the pooch in the cab or in a crate that is secured to the bed.

[Brad Manor]

We used to have a bunch of photo radar here in Ontario. Toronto was full of them. Folks argued that the cams were a violation of our rights or something to that effect. The cameras were all removed, law enforcement is again the domain of law enforcement officers.

-B

[Brandon Whitmore]

The owner of the vehicle gets the ticket not the driver.

That seems to vary by state.

Taken from another site:

OR and WA are different with their red light camera laws. In WA the offense is basically like a parking ticket where the fine is levied against the vehicle and not the driver, thus the ticket does not go on your driving record. In OR the ticket is a traffic violation and does go against your driving record.

Being that the two states treat the violation differently, it would seem that the burden of proof should be different as well. It is. In WA, the only 'proof' needed is to match a license plate to a car. In OR, they need to match a license plate to a face. If they cannot clearly identify the drivers face as being the owner of the vehicle, they are not supposed to issue a ticket.

I did successfully fight a red light ticket in OR but that was probably 5 years ago. The information provided above was correct at that time but we all know our lawmakers like to tighten up holes in laws to insure that the flow of revenue is not impeded by technicalities. My recommendation would be to do some research on the web, review the red light camera laws and then fight it if you think you have a chance. All of the research I did was freely available.

Oh, one last thing - request a copy of the actual picture to determine if your face is clearly visible in the picture. When it happened to the person in my car, they evidently had some kind of idea that they were about to get tagged because they held their arms up in front of their face and flipped off the cameras. Of course, that also made it impossible for me to identify the driver either or I would have turned them in as requested by the police...

[Erby]

Normally I wouldn't bother to contest something like this, but this time I'm going to do so just to find out if they'd ticketed that truck too, 'cuz there's no way I would have seen those signs in time with that behemoth in front of me.

Careful there Mike. They might want to throw in the "Following to close for safety" ticket if you use that excuse.

-

[John Dirks Jr]

John,

I rarely get any traffic violations. Every time I drive to, or through Maryland though, I get at least one. I was there last month and just received 2 in the mail.

MD has quite a scam goin' on.

Here is what to look out for in Maryland.

First you see signs like this.

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Then, you'll see the white Jeep Liberty parked behind a jersey wall. The camera is in the Jeep.

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