Ticket found 2 months later

[jetliner2]

Hey everyone - been gone for a bit, but I've got a good one.

A retired acquaintance of mine was headed to Florida to stay for a few months. While in Arizona, he came into a small town. There had been snow that now was on the slushy side, so slippery conditions. As he came to a traffic light that just turned yellow, he went for it, figuring that he wouldn't be able to stop in time. As it turns out, this was one with a camera. Now, as far as the offense, several of us have told him that in the eyes of the law, he was driving too fast for conditions. There's not much debate on his part.

Here's where things get bad. When he got home, what little mail he had included a citation for running the light, a summons to appear in two weeks, and his notice that he failed to appear two weeks later. He got all of this when he returned home about two and half months after the offense. He said that he tried calling the prosecutor, but apparently the guy is some part timer (and the only one they have locally) and all he can seem to get is the secretary. He's a resident of Montana.

So the question is, what should he do? If he had received the citation in time, he would have simply paid it. But obviously he had no way to know.

 

[army judge]

Hey everyone - been gone for a bit, but I've got a good one.

A retired acquaintance of mine was headed to Florida to stay for a few months. While in Arizona, he came into a small town. There had been snow that now was on the slushy side, so slippery conditions. As he came to a traffic light that just turned yellow, he went for it, figuring that he wouldn't be able to stop in time. As it turns out, this was one with a camera. Now, as far as the offense, several of us have told him that in the eyes of the law, he was driving too fast for conditions. There's not much debate on his part.

Here's where things get bad. When he got home, what little mail he had included a citation for running the light, a summons to appear in two weeks, and his notice that he failed to appear two weeks later. He got all of this when he returned home about two and half months after the offense. He said that he tried calling the prosecutor, but apparently the guy is some part timer (and the only one they have locally) and all he can seem to get is the secretary. He's a resident of Montana.

So the question is, what should he do? If he had received the citation in time, he would have simply paid it. But obviously he had no way to know.

You're gonna love this answer.

The Arizona Courts have recently ruled those camera tickets to be illegal.

Here is an article discussing that decision.

Google "AZ red light tickets" for additional information.

Mesa Docs Set # 5


Arizona Fake Tickets You Can Ignore!




Arizona has two different kinds of camera tickets.

(1) Tickets issued by the Department of Public Safety have a $100+ fine, and do not affect your insurance. The DPS is ticketing only for speeding on State highways.

(2) Tickets issued by Arizona cities are handled through the same court system as are tickets issued by a "live" cop who has pulled you over.

These tickets carry a $200+ fine, and can affect your insurance.

These tickets can be either for running a red light, or for speeding.




If you have received a photo ticket issued by an Arizona city (not the DPS), you MAY be able to ignore it, if it says, "This is not a summons to appear."




These fake tickets may or may not give the name of the court - and there will no address for the court. Arizona fake tickets are similar to the Snitch Tickets used in California. Read about California Snitch Tickets in the top section on the Your Ticket page.

Be sure to read this excellent Phoenix New Times article from 2007 before you make any contact with Arizona authorities or their websites. But keep in mind that the article is only about the city-issued tickets - it was written before the beginning of the DPS program. From the article:

"Most cities don't send real citations to corporations. They send weakly worded notices that can be safely thrown in the trash. Unlike the grim tone of a citation, which orders the motorist to pay a fine or appear in court on a certain date, the violation notices let the company know up front: " 'This is not a Summons to Appear. There is no fine associated with this Notice.' "

"The notices sent to businesses gently ask them to identify the driver and mail the form back so a new ticket can be reissued in the driver's name. No law forces anyone to do that, however."

"Scottsdale's been mailing such notices for years; Mesa and Phoenix started sending them last year. Tempe sends businesses a letter instead of a citation."

"Police do nothing when the notices are disregarded."



In 2011 a new law went into effect, limiting the ability of Arizona authorities to print false threats on notices sent out to motorists. From a Jul. 19, 2011 Phoenix New Times article:



"Starting tomorrow [Jul. 20, 2011], photo-enforcement-violation notices must finally state the truth about what's going on -- namely, that you don't need to respond or identify the driver in the picture."





http://highwayrobbery.net/redlightcamsdocsMesaMain.html