Tennessee
Multiple States Introducing Consumer Protecting Legislation on Camera Enforcement Tickets Friday, June 17th, 2011
Concern about ticket cameras as revenue generators that has spurred protective action for consumers in a few states. California and Tennessee are two such examples. These are typical of the issues and battles we’re likely to see for years to come with the still relatively new use of photo enforcement throughout the county.
California
A bill has been introduced and is intended to help ensure that communities use red light cameras to improve safety, not to raise revenue. One vote away from moving to the Governor, the bill would regulate use of the ticket cameras by establishing statewide standards for installation and operation. Included in the bill is the requirement that communities show that the cameras are needed at a particular location for reasons related to safety as well as requirements that drivers are given better warning that cameras are in use.
Tennessee:
A new law also addresses concern about the photo enforcement red light cameras being used as revenue generators. The law requires studies showing the system is necessary from a safety standpoint and the law prevents the issuance of camera tickets for failing to come to a complete stop before turning right on red where a right on red is otherwise permitted.
South Carolina:
This legislation doesn’t refer necessarily to concerns about revenue generation, but a recently signed South Carolina law is a good example of the variety of the checks on photo enforcement starting to emerge. Here, Governor Nikki Haley signed a bill barring towns from mailing photo speeding tickets and requiring all summonses to be hand-delivered at the scene.
Washington:
It’s a court ruling, not a law. A Superior Court Judge has ruled that there is a problem with officers electronically attaching their signature to a camera summons. This type of ruling essentially puts a stop to camera enforcement altogether as the officer is obviously not present and writing red light tickets at a camera patrolled intersection.
Traffic Ticket Helps Police Catch Carjacker Wednesday, June 15th, 2011
Memphis police have accused a man of robbing and carjacking a woman late last month. He evaded the police and arrest at that time.
This week police spotted the same car speeding down the wrong side of a road. Eventually, the vehicle crashed into a fence. By the time the police caught up to the vehicle the driver was already gone. However, he left a traffic ticket previously issued to him inside the car.
Armed with a name, the officers knew who they were looking for and eventually located him loitering near the accident scene.
Traffic tickets can lead to higher insurance rates, points, fine, surcharges, suspensions, etc. Rarely do they lead to carjacking and weapons charges as they did here.
The Tennessee chronological rule Tuesday, November 30th, 2010
In Nashville, there’s a student who went to pay for a speeding ticket. When he got there, he learned about multiple red light camera tickets (3) that he had no idea were ever issued prior to the speeding ticket.
Red light camera tickets and speeding tickets are different types of tickets. The speeding ticket is a moving violation and attaches to an individual’s driver license. Red light camera tickets are attached to the vehicle’s registration because, like with a parking ticket, an individual driver cannot be identified.
What’s interesting here is a Tennessee rule which is forcing this student to pay the red light tickets before he can pay the speeding ticket. The rule sets forth that these tickets must be paid in chronological order.
There’s often a lot of confusion surrounding traffic tickets and camera tickets. How may they affect me, are they within the same agency, how much do I owe, how can I fight, etc. Now add the order in which you are forced to satisfy them to the list.
In this student’s situation, if he fails to pay the speeding ticket on time his license will be suspended yet he needs to first come up with the money for the red light camera tickets–which won’t affect his driving privilege if unpaid–because they were issued first.
Questions about a Tennessee traffic ticket or other issue? Try consulting with a Tennessee traffic ticket attorney.
Motorist gets a ticket and a website Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010
Brian McCrary received a $90 speeding ticket via a speed camera on U.S. Highway 11E in Bluff City, Tennessee. He wanted a place to voice his opinion about the situation.
How about the Bluff City Police Department website http://www.bluffcitypd.com?
McCrary first visited the website after he got a letter in the mail informing him he had to pay $90 because he was caught driving 56 mph through the 45 mph zone that Bluff City’s speed camera patrols. When he got to the website, he was surprised to see a special warning letter posted instead of the police department related content he expected.
The notice was posted by Go Daddy–the company through which the BCPD registered their website domain name originally–and it informed visitors that the domain www.bluffcitypd.com had expired and will be deleted or sold in 42 days. This notice is posted only after numerous warnings are sent to the website owner at certain intervals prior to the expiration date.
McCrary saw an opportunity here. Surprised that the BCPD had yet to respond to the numerous warning about the impending loss of their domain name, he decided to monitor it over the next 42 days. As soon as is officially went back up for sale to the public, he stepped in and bought it.
“It just slipped my mind,” Bluff City Police Chief David Nelson said, adding that he knows little about computers and the more technical aspects of running a website. “If you open up a website and let it go down, somebody can buy it I did not know that.”
Now McCrary has the actual site and uses it to discuss both local traffic camera news as well as camera enforcement news in general.
I give a lot of credit to McCrury for two reasons. First, way to stick it to them! Most people walk away bitter and frustrated that they had no recourse after getting a camera ticket they didn’t agree with. McCrury actually did something about it–he took control of the entire police website and gave them a good dose of public embarrassment for losing it.
Second, McCrury showed control by turning the site into a legitimate depository of news and feedback on camera tickets. His efforts all come off as that much more sincere by resisting the temptation to turn the site into a complete police enforcement bashing forum.
Good job by McCrury and good story.
Submitted by Scott Feifer
