Can I access a red light camera photograph as evidence?
OK so long story short is I got pulled over today for running a red light. I got a ticket and everything but the roads were wet and I was driving a fairly large truck. But when the light turned red I'm 90% sure I was over the line yet a cop pulled me over and gave me a ticket. Now first I just want to see the red light camera, that is indeed at the light I got pulled over at, to see if I actually ran it or if the cop is just trying to meet his quota. From what I have read already is that you need subpoena from the court to access that information and that typically you don't see the evidence (red light photo) until the trial. Now I don't want to pay for a lawyer nor do I want to go through the whole court process if I just need to simply look at a picture to determine if I ran a light or not.
and also if I go to court and I'm proven guilty would I still have the option of going to traffic school?
and if I go to traffic school would my insurance rates remain the same.
if I go to traffic school does it stay on my record or is it dismissed?
Additional Details:
Broward County, Florida
First moving violation
Comments
Nope, you can't access the camera's database without a supoena. No way, no how, no exceptions. And even if you could, it wouldn't prove anything.
Those cameras only work when your vehicle crosses the entire intersection (not just the white line) several seconds after the light turns red, and 2 times out of three they don't capture the licence plate number anyway. The camera records won't help you.
Cops don't have quotas, that's a myth. They don't have quotas for one simple reason: They don't need them. If you walk into a courtroom and bring up the quota thing, the judge will laugh you out of the room. Cops aren't paid by commission, they're paid on salary. As long as they can prove they're not sitting in a coffee shop all night, their bosses don't care how many tickets or warnings they issue.
This is a case of he-said-she-said, your word versus that of a cop. The cop insists that you had time to stop safely, and you insist that you didn't. The cop, by the way, has been trained how to present evidence and testimony in a Florida court of law. You haven't. So just guess who the judge is going to believe.
If you don't hire a traffic defender, you might as well just plead guilty and pay the fine. You really don't know enough about the law and all its little technicalities to handle this yourself (seriously, a ticket quota?), so don't try. You won't be bringing a knife to a gunfight, you'll be bringing a plastic spoon.
If a camera took your picture, it is usually mailed to you along with the violation. Since an officer issued the ticket, I can't say for sure if a camera is even at the intersection, thus an image may not exist. But regardless ...
There are two forms of red light violations. They have to do with the yellow light. It's called "Permissive Yellow" and "Restrictive Yellow".
Permissive Yellow: As long as you enter the intersection on the yellow, you are not in violation of the red light when it turns red.
Restrictive Yellow: If the light turns red while you are in the intersection, you are in violation regardless if you entered the intersection on the green or yellow. I can't find where this applies to left turn traffic waiting for oncoming traffic to clear. If that were true, you'd not be able to make a left turn during rush hour until it has passed or the hot place below has frozen over. In the link below, the FHWA does not consider left turn traffic in their crash statistics relating to red light running.
http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/intersection/redlight/o...
Well it only saves when it takes pictures, but if it didn't take a picture then you didnt blow the light and you can use that as a argument to get the ticket refunded.
Ask to see the picture, if there is one and do what you like but I believe you are wasting your time and energy. It is tough to beat a ticket like that.
Traffic school for a red light ticket? Whats the use? Insurance rates don't always automatically go up.
Pay the ticket, watch for red lights in the future and move on.
It doesn't matter if the light turned red when you were over the limit line, it matters if the light turned yellow before you got to the line, Also when roads are wet, especially if you are driving a large truck, slow down to give yourself time to react and stop when you need to.
If the judge allows you to do traffic school, and you complete it and turn in the certificate of completion to the court and meet any other conditions set by the court (usually a clause to get no tickets in a time period) the conviction will never reach your record or be seen by your insurance company to impact your rates.