SAN ANTONIO RED LIGHT CAMERA

Knowing a good traffic ticket lawyer can come in handy because speeding tickets are not the only traffic tickets that are frequently issued here in the San Antonio area. Getting a ticket camera violation is not only cause for a headache and more stress; a San Antonio red light camera ticket can also bring with it very heavy and unnecessary traffic ticket fines.

Many cities and smaller municipalities, such a Balcones Heights, Texas are installing red light cameras and speed cameras at various intersections in an effort to promote “traffic safety.”  Seriously?  Safety?  People slow down when they see a police car.  Most drivers don’t even know when they have received a red light camera ticket until days or weeks later.  So, it’s truly hard to honestly argue these cameras are promoting safety by slowing motorists down.

In fact, red light cameras and speed cameras are very controversial and have been in the news quite a lot over the last year in both Houston and San Antonio, Texas.  There have also been many articles discussing the problems with and legality of having ticket cameras installed at intersections.  Many cities, such as Houston, have even taken theirs down due to so many issues and complaints.

Here are, according to the National Motorists Association, some of the major problems associated with red light cameras and speed cameras:

• No witness to the violation: Because the ticket is based solely on a camera taking a picture, there is no way to allow someone who saw the vehicle or who knew the conditions at the time to say whether or not the person was speeding or ran the red light to determine if the ticket is fair. It’s 100% your word against the camera’s….and it’s hard to get a camera to testify.
• Recipients are not adequately notified: Even if you are captured by a red light camera or a speed camera, it may be several days or weeks before you are notified of the violation.  By that time, the amount of time to fight the ticket may be too short and the deadline to resolve it may be too soon.  This time crunch leaves many people feeling they should just pay it and “get it over with.”
• Driver of the vehicle not identified: Red light camera and speed camera tickets are always issued to the registered owner of the vehicle.  So, the camera captures the license plate of the car going through the intersection.  Then the company managing the cameras researches the plate for the car’s registered owner and address. This means if someone borrows your car (with or without your knowledge) and is captured running a red light, you, the automobile owner, are the one charged with the red light camera violation.  So, you can receive a traffic ticket for running a red light even if you weren’t driving the car.
• Discourages synchronization of traffic lights: This is a fancy way of saying that having red lights cameras installed at an intersection can result in the traffic light at that intersections changing to a red light faster than the other lights. This is because red light camera tickets are such a big source of revenue for smaller cities and towns.  It is believed that some municipalities such as Balcones Heights in San Antonio purposely change the timing of the lights so that they can have more vehicles that get more violations – all in the name of increased revenue.

Did you know all of that? Most people don’t. These kinds of red light camera tickets prove why hiring a traffic ticket lawyer can be one of the best ways to resolve your traffic ticket.  Hiring a traffic ticket lawyer to fight for you and help you resolve any red light camera traffic tickets and speed camera violations that you receive makes perfect sense.

At The Coquat Law Firm, our team of experienced traffic ticket lawyers is familiar with handling red light camera and speed camera violations and can advise you to help get your tickets resolved or dismissed.  Call 210-745-0144 today to speak with one of our traffic ticket attorneys and see what we can do for you.