Traffic Tickets Expense

[CardiffBaseball]

So the wife runs a red light and gets caught by a camera. Ok, I am thinking, we pay the ticket, oops don’t do it again.

Ticket comes in the mail, $362 f-ing dollars. It isn’t enough that I pay out the ass for the registration, but the fee for the ticket is that much? Its been a long time since either of us were ticketed, but damn.

Oh Traffic School could wipe the ticket for a mere $389.

[no_such_reality]

While I dispise red light runners, I dispise the cameras even more.

Fight it and verify the specs are all certified and up to date. I’ve read so many articles where the cameras have been found to be incorrectly set and the city has no idea how long they’ve been that way and basically need to recind months worth of tickets.

Looks here for ways to fight

If the fine was a real $300, it would be a little more palletable, but in San Diego and many places, the enforcement of the cameras are outsourced to for profit businesses that get a cut.

[Peace]

I did the same thing – late at night, lost in downtown San Diego, trying to get myself back on track to the airport. Have you ever been lost downtown after dark? Can’t see a damn thing or find a place to pull over and get directions – downtown is dead after dark.
Anyway I went to driving school and it was a total wasted day and I went to one called “Comedy” NOT! The teacher was rambling, obnoxious, boring, sarcastic, notfunny, honestly I would have found my time better spent picking up trash on the side of the freeway – or even on the freeway if I could have gotten out of that class.
This is what you do – in the list of driving schools there are online schools, but better yet, call and tell them that you can’t manage to attend driving school and you don’t have internet access and they will send you the “course” and you can complete it in around an hour or less according to my sister (I heard about this option after I attended the all-day class). The hard copy is better because you can just flip through the book whereas I hear that online you have to keep going back and doing whole sections over when you miss anything.
Or, I also heard that there are “gay” traffic schools and even though I’m not gay I bet that is a lot of fun.
The all-day class is like doing time – and hardly anything is said about traffic laws. I did learn that if you are turning right on a red light and there is a camera, you must stop for at least 3 seconds or you will get ticketed for running the red light.

[sdrealtor]

Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time…..Don’t do it!

Wasn’t that the Baretta theme song?

[lostkitty]

cardiffbaseball – I have to laugh… arent you the same guy that was saying you prefered people who drove “with a sense of urgency” or something? At least she didnt hold anyone up behind her!

[Nancy_s soothsayer]

cardifbb, I know the feeling, I emphatize. Have a 21-year-old-only-child-son baby who went partying in L.A. a few months ago. He did 98 mph on 65-mph highway between San Diego and L.A. with his brand new Ford truck we just bought him with love. We wrote a check and paid close to $400 to solve his traffic problem for him. His punishment after a day of recriminations and emotional guilt-trips? More hugs and kisses for him for being an only child. We suck as parents, I guess. Ha-ha… That’s what loving and over-indulgent parents get, I guess.

[vegasrenter]

Here in Henderson, NV, the tickets for speeding in a school zone come in 2 flavors: $800 and $1,200. Speed limit is 15MPH for all school zones. A crossing guard friend tipped me to this, so I have trained my kids to ask, Dad – do you want to pay eight hundred or twelve hundred for this one? It slows me down to a crawl every time!

[poorgradstudent]

Hmmm… I’m torn. I do believe we need traffic laws, and penalties that are firm enough to enforce said laws. But the penalties need to be fair.

I’ve gotten a few parking tickets in my day, and the prices were ridiculous. I guess it depends as a society what we expect traffic penalties to be for. A deterant? In that case, they should be steep fines? A punishment? Probably not so much. A source of revenue for the city? Gosh, I hope not (not sure how San Diego works, but the city I grew up in in Minnesota routinely made more stops at the end of the month so that the cops could hit their ticket quotas…)

[CardiffBaseball]

From talking to her, there is no need to fight it. She said it turned red, and she just brain farted and felt lucky nothing happened.

Still what a scam.

Oh and yes Lostkitty, I still can’t stand the person who can’t seem to keep up with the flow of traffic. Usually 2 or 3 of them get back to back and one lane just flows.

Apparently Encinitas coppers put up another one at Leucadia/El Camino Real. My solution will be to simply take neighborhood streets. I might even post some alternative maps on a web site. Not that I have run any lights, but mostly just to piss off LE.

[tugg49]

take the traffic school and get it over with. If you don’t the insurance company has another surprise for ya’! The wife had a fender bender and I got the RLT and my insurance rates doubled. Don’t take it lightly! The RLC’s suck but fighting it means waiting in lines at the court window and at least a day of your time. I thought I would fight it and went down to El Cajon traffic court and the line at the initial window was worse than a Fry’s checkout on black friday. Take your lumps and don’t do it again. But I’m with Turko “IT JUST AIN’T RIGHT!’ Nice pictures though ain’t they?

[(former)FormerSanDiegan]

What if they set up automated speed traps on the freeway, similar to red light cameras ?

That would really suck.

[sdrealtor]

I am thrilled they put a camera at Leucadia/El Camino REal in Encinitas. I have seen numerous accidents there and at least 3 were fatal accidents over the last several years. The camera just might have saved my life. I drive through that light a few times a day and pushed through many a yellow light before the camera went up. Now I stop no matter what as soon as it turns yellow.

I dont know the story behind all the cameras but at least one was installed for a very good reason.

[no_such_reality]

Phoenix has the automated speed traps, they are on the 101 loop where they’ve had problems with excessive speeds.

I’m not sure the 15 couldn’t use some.

My main problem with the red light cameras is they take in no account of the traffic situation. For example, I have a small touring car and a larger SUV. When in my little car, I’m very aware that I stop really fast however the Ford Expedition behind me with the driver on the cell phone can’t. It affects my decision as the light turn yellow.

[no_such_reality]

For penalties, I like the Scandavian model.

They look at your previous years tax return and the penalty is set as a percentage of your gross income.

A person making $20,000 a year gets a ticket for $100 for a red light, while the executives in Newport Beach would get a fine for $5,000.

[CardiffBaseball]

Well the one at Leucadia/El Camino Real that worries me is the simple right turn. I was taking the little one to basketball practice at LCC the other day, and don’t know if I waited 3 seconds at the red light to make the turn. I basically halted, so that I had an easy right turn with nothing coming and turned, but I don’t think I waited 3 seconds.

I am told people over by the airport are getting burned on those and that seems like nonsense to me. I understand not wanting red-light runners through the intersection, and in particular left turn lanes but to kill the right turn people borders on money grubbing scam.

[Author]

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