Can I Fight a Red Light Ticket?
Road users are often at risk of acquiring a red light ticket. Red light tickets may in fact be the most common tickets issued out by traffic cops each year. Of course, getting a ticket for running a red light does not make you a bad person or mean you are going to face some jail time. There are actually many legitimate reasons people have run red lights without ulterior motives;
- Traffic signal may be out of visual range
- Vehicle behind may be speeding too fast
- Yellow light changes suddenly and without warning
These reasons could actually be the plea that saves a lot of drivers after they have been issued red light tickets. If you feel you have been wrongly assigned a red light ticket and would like to fight it, you would be pleased to find out it is very possible to do just that.
You can follow these steps to file your complaint.
Go to Traffic Court
Your dealings will invariably lead you to traffic court, due to your red light ticket having been issued on violation of traffic rules. The traffic court like other courts, handles all legal matters dealing with traffic, including traffic violations, offences and hearings. Making your appearance in traffic court is easier than a criminal court for instance. You may choose to have an attorney present as a legal counsel, or you could stand on your own. The choice is yours. Your main business there is to prove to the court how and why the red light ticket was wrongfully issued to you. The court may have footage from camera monitors or photographs, but all you have to do is stand your ground and show how your reaction to the situation was completely necessary and unavoidable.
Question the Officer’s Judgment
You can go farther in court by attempting to prove that the officer who issued the red light ticket was in fact, wrong to have done so. Here, you can pull in eye witnesses and photographs, and argue that the officer was visually challenged in that moment.
Make Claims and Prove Them
If you really want to avoid paying up that red light ticket, you are going to have to get really involved in your traffic court appearance, and challenge as many evidences as they have got. Look at the photos from the monitoring cameras and prove that the vehicle license plates are not yours, or driver of the vehicle was not you, and you just may be able to get out of that ticket.
Take it a whole step further by even questioning the state’s use of surveillance cameras in the streets, and how it is a violation of your rights. The judge just might see things your way; you just need to go to bat with all your arguments. In the case of the judge still ruling against you, you may appeal that decision.
To make the best case in traffic court against a red light ticket, it may be in your favor if you hired a traffic lawyer. Hiring a lawyer can be the very first thing you should do to have the best suggestions and representation in case you are a particularly busy person who wants to avoid the hassles. If you are from Los Angeles, a qualified traffic lawyer Los Angeles can fight the red light ticket and make it hassle-free for you.
