LA Police Admit That Red Light Camera Payments Are Now 'Voluntary'
from the if-you'd-like-to-contribute-to-the-police-red-light-fund... dept
We recently wrote about how LA was considering dumping its red light cameras, and Jay Matteo was the first of a few of you to let us know that, rather than getting rid of them entirely, the police appear to be publicly stating that paying any such red light camera fines is entirely optional:Officials said that paying the fines was optional and the city had no legal power to force people to pay.Of course, they never said that publicly before, and those who already paid can't take back their money, but it's still quite a revelation for the police to make.
The tickets are part of a "voluntary payment program," without sanctions for those who fail to submit fines, said Richard M. Tefank, executive director of the city's Board of Police Commissioners.
"The consequence is somebody calling you from one of these collection agencies and saying 'pay up.' And that's it," said committee member and Councilman Bill Rosendahl. "There's no real penalty in terms of your driver's license or any other consequences if you don't pay."
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Filed Under: la, red light cameras, voluntary
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Fair Debt Collection Act
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Re: Fair Debt Collection Act
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Re: Re: Fair Debt Collection Act
Of course you get to start over with the new agency then. You can be harassed for years over invalid debts because it keeps getting sold from agency to agency and you have to dispute it over and over again. They can't actually put anything on your credit rating (legally), but they sure can waste your time and annoy you.
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Re: Fair Debt Collection Act
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Re: Re: Fair Debt Collection Act
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I've been driving this way for 3 years, and my company has been mailed 3 notices from various collection agencies. All of which can do jack shit because my company has no credit history they can use to threaten me with.
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Re:
> just suspend your license. They even made
> it mandatory for the registered owner of
> the car to turn in someone else driving
> your vehicle and getting a violation. If
> not it goes against you.
The courts in most other states have ruled that suspending licenses when there's no direct proof of who was driving violates due process. The most the state can do is fine the registered owner, but suspending a drivers license based on no proof whatsoever that the person was driving? Nope.
And the "you must rat out your friends and family" clauses have also been held unconstitutional. The burden of proof is on the state and you can't be compelled to provide testimony in a case in which you are the accused.
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We protested on the form provided, and received a letter telling us "charges were dismissed."
Please folks -- if you receive one of these illegal summonses (another issue, entirely), examine them closely. Do not just pay out of habit -- this is not a bill. Make sure that you actually committed an infraction.
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Doesn't anyone perform a sanity check on these things prior to mailing? There have been instances were the claimed speed recorded was in excess of several hundreds of miles per hour. Very few vehicles are capable of this speed. One would think that a simple inspection of the picture would reveal if this was one of those vehicles. The disregard really is an insult upon the public.
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LA Courts
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Re: LA Courts
its a "bill" being generated and mailed to individuals by a third party. you pay a third party by your own stupidity, and they share some money with the local government.
its being done under the pretense of a ticket, but its nothing at all like it. its a scam.
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Re: Re: LA Courts
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Re: Re: LA Courts
> are not tickets at all. they are not being
> issued by the government period.
Sorry to interrupt your general assholery, but the reason I gave came straight from the L.A. City Courts. I think I'll trust their word over some anonymous douche on the internet.
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The Consequence? See Your Credit Score Get Hit
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Re: The Consequence? See Your Credit Score Get Hit
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The REAL reason
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Since that debt is held by the jurisdiction where you got that ticket, it's that jurisdiction that can file the "notice of nonpayment" and that gets placed on your credit report.
It's not credit fraud because, legally, you still owe that debt, regardless whether or not paying that is extremely voluntary.
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> you still owe that debt, regardless whether
> or not paying that is extremely voluntary.
Several L.A. city councilmen are currently drafting a bill to expunge all outstanding citations so that they won't even be on the books any more.
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The Big Picture
A bill in Sacramento - if not vetoed - will allow cities to reduce posted speeds by 5 mph, even on streets with a great safety record. The lower limits will allow them to shorten yellows. The shortening permitted by a 5 mph decrease in the speed will increase red light cam ticketing by at least 50%. (Four of the sponsoring cities have cameras.) Worse, the shortening will increase severe accidents by 30 to 40%. (Source: "Development of Guidelines for Treating Red-Light Running," Texas Transp. Inst. pg 2-20.)
It is AB 529, and it is going to Gov. Brown for signature - or veto.
Defeat AB 529! Phone Brown, at 916 445-2841, or email him via the form at gov.ca.gov , and ask him to veto. Also phone the AAA, and your union or professional association.
To the anti-car people and cities thinking of supporting this bill for the money more tickets will bring: Remember that this bill will increase severe accidents, a lot. For money.
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Sounds like toll fees in Texas
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