There is a common misconception in San Diego regarding the status of red light camera tickets. LA recently abandoned their red light camera program, and prior to the abandonment, LA courts and police were not enforcing failures to appear on red light camera tickets. If a person was issued a red light violation in LA and didn’t go to court the matter was set aside and neither the court or the police would pursue the alleged violator. San Diego has not adopted this practice, and still vigorously pursuses photo red light violations. Not showing up to court in San Diego WILL cost you – BIG TIME.
Consequences if You Don’t Go to Court
San Diego traffic courts implement a system to ensure those charged with traffic violations can’t avoid prosecution by simply failing to appear. If you fail to appear on your red light camera ticket in San Diego the court will issue a $300.00 civil assessment. The court then reports your failure to a credit collection agency named Alliance One, and the California Department of Motor vehicles. If you continue to fail to appear Alliance One will report it to all three credit bureaus daming your credit score, and the DMV will suspend your license. This will all happen within 3 – 6 months following your failure to appear. IT’S NOT WORTH IT.
Red Light Camera Tickets in San Diego – Failure to Appear: Bottom Line
The bottom line is the red light camera program in LA is different than the red light camera program in San Diego. Don’t believe the rumors about your red light camera ticket going away by not showing up – it won’t happen, and as you can see it will cost you. If you’ve been issued a photo red light violation in San Diego contact me now. Although the fine is outrageously high, and despite being caught on camera, there are still many procedural and substantive legal defenses to these violations. As a San Diego red light camera lawyer I have successfully defended many red light violations. It’s worth consulting with me first, and the consultation will cost you nothing.
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