Redlight cameras are BS.

[floored]

here they have video as well. if NJ has it then that may have helped your case. o well too late now.

[crazymikey]

Oh, you can speed on the highways...just dont let the RCMP or Sherriffs catch you. Then you're getting the Eurotrip Kugenflugenhoogendoogenfuger gas engine propelled dildo machine.

Alberta loves their mobile photo radar boxes. Great cash cow for them.

Ontario introduced photo radar back in the 90s, but due to public out cry about entrapment and such, the operation was scrapped shortly after.

[deevergote]

here they have video as well. if NJ has it then that may have helped your case. o well too late now.

I'd still have to go to court twice... If fighting it was less of an inconvenience, I'd have done it. But even one day wasted in court to save $87 isn't worth my time. I think they know this... no points, and under $100 for the ticket... they figure the majority of people will think the same way I do.

[GeoffM]

Anybody watch top gear?
They have quite a few speed cameras over there in Britain.
When they had Jay Leno on the show, they started talking about them.
Jay brought up a question somebody in the US had asked him:
"Why don't they(britans) just shoot them out?"

The answer there was obvious, it's Britain.
Here we are allowed to have guns, and (In MI) we use them.

Not condoning shooting public property, or telling anybody to buy a gun for this.
Just thought I'd bring it up.

[h22sparkle]

There are no points for camera-light tickets in NY because they cannot say who was driving at that time. Eventhough your license is already displayed so they can find out the information fromt he owner of the car not the driver.

You can go in and fight the ticket but for the day you have to take off from work losing more money.Then after that the judge still may not even deem it in your favor since the world is hungry for money right now its not even worth it.

Deever you need the high gloss paint to spray the codes on the plates to reflect the flash when the cam goes to take the picture.

I think thats why here in NY they made those stupid yellow and black or dark bluish plates to see teh License plate better. Not only its easier to get tagged but to have the police see you easier too with their scanners. The convienience fee is bullshit that is just for the operator to process your order.

You do better sending them a money order with confirmation and postmarked for the signature once its delivered so they dont try to lie and say its late.

Each camera-light bullshit is franchised where certain camera's charge higehr than the other. Out here in NY we have certain camera's that go off as soon as you reach the line because they are off and people who I knew got hit with that shit lol.

Heres the trick if you see it turn yellow just stop the camera matches your speed if ,it sees an object speed up the timer speeds up about a fraction of a second faster to catch you.

Thats why when you get caught it matches you speed, tells you when you ran the light how long ago did it change before and after you ran it and at what location.

I know someone who sued the camera-light company and the person who ran into the back of them and got a nice lumpsum of money for it too.

The person got hit and pushed into the intersection when he went to stop because the light turned and it took the picture of the accident of his shit flying through the intersection.

[deevergote]

people have done it. I've seen numerous reports of people shooting, spraypainting, etc... those stupid cameras.


On an episode of Top Gear (I think the one where they race a plane with a Veyron), Clarkson made a mask out of a picture of one of the other guys... because they will only charge you if the person driving the car is clearly the one that the car is registered to (so if someone else is driving your car, either nobody gets charged, or they find a way to identify the driver... at least that's how they described it on there.)

[deevergote]

There are no points for camera-light tickets in NY because they cannot say who was driving at that time. Eventhough your license is already displayed so they can find out the information fromt he owner of the car not the driver.

You can go in and fight the ticket but for the day you have to take off from work losing more money.Then after that the judge still may not even deem it in your favor since the world is hungry for money right now its not even worth it.

Deever you need the high gloss paint to spray the codes on the plates to reflect the flash when the cam goes to take the picture.

I think thats why here in NY they made those stupid yellow and black or dark bluish plates to see teh License plate better. Not only its easier to get tagged but to have the police see you easier too with their scanners. The convienience fee is bullshit that is just for the operator to process your order.

You do better sending them a money order with confirmation and postmarked for the signature once its delivered so they dont try to lie and say its late.

Each camera-light bullshit is franchised where certain camera's charge higehr than the other. Out here in NY we have certain camera's that go off as soon as you reach the line because they are off and people who I knew got hit with that shit lol.

Heres the trick if you see it turn yellow just stop the camera matches your speed if ,it sees an object speed up the timer speeds up about a fraction of a second faster to catch you.

Thats why when you get caught it matches you speed, tells you when you ran the light how long ago did it change before and after you ran it and at what location.

I know someone who sued the camera-light company and the person who ran into the back of them and got a nice lumpsum of money for it too.

The person got hit and pushed into the intersection when he went to stop because the light turned and it took the picture of the accident of his shit flying through the intersection.

Cool, I didn't know all that.

Do those sprays actually work? NJ still has the old glossy plates, so it may work well enough on mine. I was hoping my rear plate was covered in ice like my front, but no such luck. Clear as day.

[GeoffM]

people have done it. I've seen numerous reports of people shooting, spraypainting, etc... those stupid cameras.


On an episode of Top Gear (I think the one where they race a plane with a Veyron), Clarkson made a mask out of a picture of one of the other guys... because they will only charge you if the person driving the car is clearly the one that the car is registered to (so if someone else is driving your car, either nobody gets charged, or they find a way to identify the driver... at least that's how they described it on there.)

Well now you have an excuse to buy a gun.... or some spray paint

[h22sparkle]

Well now you have an excuse to buy a gun.... or some spray paint

If you spray the camera some of them see shit in live view so if you do it ski-mask time. Cause if you get caught thats a felony offense. Which I think is bullshit the way how they charge. All they do with that money is put up more cameras to generate more revenue. But check this out they put it in other places youd least expect. Sometimes they put them all poles on the lamp or the pole on the corner itself hiden behind trees and shit to make a blind-spot.

[owequitit]

In a snowstorm a few weeks ago, I started to slide while braking as I approached a yellow light. I was turning left, and rather than slide to a stop in the middle of the intersection, I decided to complete my turn safely... though JUST BARELY running the redlight to do so.

Well, given the conditions, any cop that witnessed the event would clearly have let me go. However, a redlight camera only snaps a picture... me at the line with the yellow light, me in the intersection with a red light, and my license plate... clear as day. I can't argue with a camera. I can't go to court and plead my case, because nobody there witnessed the event. I COULD argue, but chances are I'd end up paying the $85 ticked PLUS court fees.


SO, I paid my ticket. $87 after the $2 "convenience fee". It's just such crap. No way to fight it without a major inconvenience, and the camera doesn't care about road conditions.

What's worse, they forced me to use my debit card, because my credit card (that I use for EVERYTHING, as I get 1% of my total money spent back, applied directly to my mortgage) was declined. Why it was declined, I don't know! I pay that sucker off every month, and I only a quarter of what my limit is set at... and I used it about 5 times already today with no problem! They're lucky I had another card to use.

Something we learned long ago in AZ. You should search the internet for redlight cameras in NJ, and learn all the little loopholes.

Great way to save money.

For instance, I found out that in AZ, they don't ticket for less than 10MPH over.

Also learned that you have to be served in person, and first class mail doesn't count. So if you ignore the notices, it doesn't count as legal service, and thus, if you don't respond in 90 days, they have to drop it. They started sending rent a cops to try and serve people, but the jig was up, because all you had to do was not answer the door and see them in person.

Ultimately, it is a huge money making scam in the name of safety, and they ALL know it. They are run by for profit companies who get to keep a % of revenue generated. By the time the state removed the fixed cameras, less than 1 out of 3 people were even paying the fines because everyone knew how to get around them, and knew they were bullshit. That and coincidentally, every time the State's deficit grew, the former governor's response was to buy more cameras, in the "interest of safety." Yeah, that would be the same governor that said the TSA worked correctly when PASSENGERS had to restrain an attempted terrorist attack to protect their airplane...

Nah, no points assessed in any way, I don't think. I "ran a red light", but they can't slap me with a moving violation... It's almost like they're admitting to the cameras being bullshit.

It'd probably be a much higher charge had it been witnessed by an officer (of course, an officer would have let me go given the circumstances... I took the safest course of action!)

This is one of the ways they make it an enticing scam... "hey, just pay this money (you can even pay it online or by mail) and we won't assess any points." "For the discount price of $87, we make it disappear." It is like traffic school.

If they were really interested in "safety" they would nail your record with points anyway, just like if it were a real ticket.

The last time I tried to fight a ticket, I went to court... only to be told that that appearance was a "pre-trial" appearance, basically good for nothing more than determining if my case is worth taking to trial, and then scheduling a trial date.

SO, in order to effectively fight this ticket (in a town that is an hour and a half away, and very populated...) I would essentially need to set aside the majority of at least TWO days to try to talk my way out of it. Two days of my time are worth a hell of a lot more than $87!

Not that it was worth your time, but ultimately this is one of the moral dilemmas faced by us as citizens.

At what point do intrusions such as this become worth your while?

At what time does the larger picture become worth the fight against the small advances?

It is a hard question to answer, and it depends on the individual, but ultimately, that is how they steal your freedoms one at a time. They make the price to fight it more expensive than letting it go, and thus they move the marker increment by increment...

[Accrdwgnguy]

Deev do you have a GPS unit?

I have a Tom-Tom and it has a built in feature that alerts you to red light cameras. You can update it as often as you want and it will always keep your receiver keen on new cameras......when the wife and i drove through Jersey a few weeks ago it saved us a few times.

You probably wouldn't need one since your pretty familiar with your work area but if you could afford to get one, im sure even the cheaper models have this function....heck even the one we have isn't expensive anymore.....serves two purposes....directions to your house from any place you could find yourself stuck and red light camera detector lol.

Run red lights often?

[JohnD1079]

ha, when its snowing and the weather is bad out, I just pretend like there are no rules, lol. I was driving my mom to work, and I did something illegal and shes like, what are you doing? I say, What? you didnt know? The rules dont apply when its snowing here.

[phatdoughnut]

Opportunity costs, pay 85 bucks and make 200 dollars. You actually make money then taking two days off.

Dev, you have a lot of snow right?????? cram a shitload of snow on your license plate next time so they cant see. or ice it over with ice, I mean its cold isn't it?

Those are my ideas.

[deevergote]

Something we learned long ago in AZ. You should search the internet for redlight cameras in NJ, and learn all the little loopholes.

Great way to save money.

For instance, I found out that in AZ, they don't ticket for less than 10MPH over.

Also learned that you have to be served in person, and first class mail doesn't count. So if you ignore the notices, it doesn't count as legal service, and thus, if you don't respond in 90 days, they have to drop it. They started sending rent a cops to try and serve people, but the jig was up, because all you had to do was not answer the door and see them in person.

Ultimately, it is a huge money making scam in the name of safety, and they ALL know it. They are run by for profit companies who get to keep a % of revenue generated. By the time the state removed the fixed cameras, less than 1 out of 3 people were even paying the fines because everyone knew how to get around them, and knew they were bullshit. That and coincidentally, every time the State's deficit grew, the former governor's response was to buy more cameras, in the "interest of safety." Yeah, that would be the same governor that said the TSA worked correctly when PASSENGERS had to restrain an attempted terrorist attack to protect their airplane...



This is one of the ways they make it an enticing scam... "hey, just pay this money (you can even pay it online or by mail) and we won't assess any points." "For the discount price of $87, we make it disappear." It is like traffic school.

If they were really interested in "safety" they would nail your record with points anyway, just like if it were a real ticket.



Not that it was worth your time, but ultimately this is one of the moral dilemmas faced by us as citizens.

At what point do intrusions such as this become worth your while?

At what time does the larger picture become worth the fight against the small advances?

It is a hard question to answer, and it depends on the individual, but ultimately, that is how they steal your freedoms one at a time. They make the price to fight it more expensive than letting it go, and thus they move the marker increment by increment...

I had heard that about them being unenforceable, but I didn't want to push it. If it DID become an issue then life would be more of a hassle (it does say in the notice that failure to respond would result in a warrant for my arrest... it seems illegal to make such a claim if it's not true!)

As for stealing freedoms... you're absolutely right. Our entire government is set up that way. The people ARE in control, but it's such a pain in the ass to make anything happen, and to learn all the ins and outs of the system, that very few people bother even trying. I'll admit that I'm a willing victim... but as you said, it depends on the person. If I sacrifice so much of my time fighting for my freedom, then I've already forfeit my freedom!

[choogee3]

On an episode of Top Gear (I think the one where they race a plane with a Veyron), Clarkson made a mask out of a picture of one of the other guys... because they will only charge you if the person driving the car is clearly the one that the car is registered to (so if someone else is driving your car, either nobody gets charged, or they find a way to identify the driver... at least that's how they described it on there.)

That was the epic race between the GTR and the Bullet Train in Japan.

A clear picture of the driver was needed to issue a ticket. Clarkson made a Bill Oddie mask to avoid this