re: It's another "I got a camera ticket" thread!

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yeah I was wondering how much the "convenience" fee was going to be.

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1. Real tickets will instruct you to contact the court to resolve matter in question while fake tickets (ATS and RedFlex) may tell you not to contact the court. Fake tickets are sent via regular US Postal Mail service, but appear to be "official," which they are not. Criminal citations are sent by registered or certified mail.

2. In Louisiana, RLC and speed camera citations are NOT a criminal offense. They are treated as CIVIL matter, partly because the OWNER of the vehicle is issued the citation (doesn't matter who is driving) and if contested, you won't be awarded the opportunity to go before a judge. Instead, you will have a hearing with an Administrative Adjudication officer (city appointed).

3. CIVIL offenses are NOT reported to the Louisiana DMV or your insurance company.

4. In Baton Rouge, city officials will NOT turn over your Social Security Number to a private company (ATS and RedFlex).

5. If unpaid fine goes on your credit report, simply dispute online with Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Ask them to investigate and validate the debt owed. ATS and RedFlex must provide proof that you entered into an agreement for goods or services or signed promissory note.

6. If threatened with a collection notice or a harassing phone call, do the math. ATS and RedFlex send out thousands upon thousands citations each and every day. This is profitable for them to do, because many people are scared into thinking they have to pay (the media plays a large part in this) and because it's the "right thing to do." But think about the numbers ...

In Los Angeles alone, there are over 50 K red light camera tickets that remain unpaid. In Nassau County, the county has failed to collect on $10 million in unpaid red light camera fines. And in East Baton Rouge parish alone, almost half of the red light tickets for CITY PARISH vehicles have NOT been paid.

What's the bottom line? If you think for one minute that a company such as ATS or RedFlex, both of whom are located out of state, are going to take the time, energy and resources (think out of state costs, attorney fees and court cost) to go after you in a court of law for a fine of less than $500.00, pay it.

But if you're like me and are willing to take the "risk," toss it and go on with your life and don't look back!

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John Price, an assistant chief administrative officer to Mayor-President Kip Holden, said so far the city-parish has not referred a single person to a credit agency or gone after anyone in small claims court for unpaid red-light tickets.

The city-parish doesn’t even own a vehicle boot, Price said.

The penalty for running a red light is a $117 fine, with a late charge of $35. The city-parish collects 65 percent, or 55 percent if a late notice must be filed. The remaining money goes to American Traffic Solutions, the Arizona-based camera vendor overseeing the program.

That means drivers owe anywhere between $6.9 million and $9 million in unpaid fines — more than half of which belongs to the city-parish.

“This administration has always maintained that the purpose of red-light cameras is to promote public safety,” Price said. “Data collected to date shows that the red light camera program has been effective in reducing injury-causing accidents at traffic signals throughout the region. Under this program, the fines assessed against those individuals running red lights are a deterrent to potential offenders.”

He added that just because people haven’t been sued or turned over to a credit agency, doesn’t mean it won’t happen in the future.

Every unpaid ticket is still on record and could be subject to a penalty, Price said, should the city-parish decide to pursue it.

But some critics say there’s little incentive for municipalities to spend much effort going after those who fail to pay their tickets because a certain number of those caught on camera will pay, and the cameras are always clicking away.

John Bowman, a spokesman for the National Motorists Association, which opposes the use of red-light cameras, said governments play the numbers.

“It’s an endless stream of tickets going out, and it’s not worth the time or money to go after the unpaid ones when they’ll just continue to generate new ones,” Bowman said.

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