How to Appeal a Red-Light Camera Citation

A short yellow light can provide a defense.

A number of municipalities have installed red light cameras at intersections. These video cameras coordinate with the stoplight and monitor traffic. If a driver runs a red light or commits another traffic violation, the camera snaps a picture of the offending driver’s car and license plate; in some states, these cameras also capture an image of the driver. Critics contend that the cameras suffer from reliability problems and unfairly penalize drivers by shortening the yellow light duration at intersections. Although the appeals process varies by state and municipality, drivers can follow some general strategies when fighting a red light ticket.

Things You'll Need

• Stopwatch
• Video camera

Instructions

Filing a Hearing

1. Determine if you have received a real red light camera ticket or a request for information about your vehicle. According to the “Highway Robbery” website, a number of municipalities in California and other states send out notices that look like red light tickets but are designed to gather information about a driver or vehicle. This website reports that a valid red light ticket will always include a request to reply to the name and address of the local or municipal court.

2. Watch the video of the offense on the Internet, where applicable. Many municipalities will post the video of the violation on a company, departmental or police website and provide a citation number and website URL that allows you to view that video. After watching the video, determine if you still want to fight the ticket or if you have violated your state or municipality’s traffic code.

3. Follow the instructions to contest the ticket that are printed on the citation. A legitimate red light ticket will include instructions for appealing the citation and will ask you to plead “guilty” or “not guilty.” These instructions may require mailing a check or money order in the amount of the citation, which you will receive back if you successfully fight the ticket.

4. Schedule a date for your first hearing with the municipal court. After you file a notice to contest the ticket, the court will schedule a hearing. The court may allow you to select an alternate date if you cannot attend the date they schedule.

5. Attend the hearing as scheduled. If you do not attend or reschedule an alternate date, you will forfeit the amount paid and your ability to contest the violation in the future.

Contesting the Offense

1. Videotape the intersection and the pattern of the lights. Some traffic codes require that a yellow light remain lit for a certain amount of time, depending on the speed of the intersection. You can obtain this information at your state’s department of transportation.

2. Calculate the amount of time the yellow light was lit in your videotape of the intersection or in the videotape of the offense. Use a stopwatch or count the number of frames the light was lit and then divide that number of frames by the frame-rate of your video camera to determine the duration of the yellow light.

3. Compare the amount of time the yellow light flashed in your video or the video of the offense with the amount of time the yellow light should have flashed for the intersection. If the yellow light flashed for a shorter amount of time than what the department of transportation recommends for that intersection, bring this information and your videotape to court and present it as your defense.

4. Contest the offense by showing how you did not commit a traffic violation. Use the videotape of the violation, if applicable, to explain to the hearing judge that the camera erred in issuing you a citation. According to the “Times News” website, municipal judges overturned more than half of the red light tickets contested in Johnson City, Tennessee.

5. Argue against the ticket by verifying that you did not drive the vehicle at the time of the violation, if applicable. If your state’s red light cameras snap a photo of the driver, bring this photo to the hearing and point out the discrepancy between your appearance and the person in the photo. You will need to tell the court the identity of the driver during the violation.

6. Appeal the decision of the initial hearing, where applicable. Some municipalities offer an appeals process, some do not. If you receive an unfavorable verdict after the initial hearing, ask the municipal court how to file an appeal.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure to file the initial hearing or appeal well in advance of the date printed on the citation.

References

• Highway Robbery: Fighting Your Ticket
• TimesNews.net; Lights, camera ... appeal: More than half of contested red-light camera fines were dismissed; Gary B Gray; February 2011
• City of Savannah: Red Light Camera Frequently Asked Questions
• Dallas Police: Red Light Camera Safety Program Frequently Asked Questions
• District Court of Maryland: Red Light and Speed Monitoring Citations
• Monks Law Firm; Red-light Camera Programs: Lifesavers or “Scam-eras”?; Pat Monks