Back in March I was caught on camera in Cleveland doing 31mph in what is normally a 35mph zone at 3:24pm.
Problem being that the city claimed that this was a 20mph school zone at the time and therefore levied a $200 fine against me.
More interestingly was that I discovered that the intersection where I was photographed was not even one of the intersections with a red light/speeding camera. The picture was taken by an unoccupied vehicle that is parked in various spots.
I didn’t recall seeing the school lights flashing at the time so I went back to the scene and indeed the school lights were not flashing.
So I took a picture of the non-flashing lights, printed it out, and asked for a hearing.
Also working in my favor, we have a good family friend who’s a great lawyer, Fred Bolotin, who came to my hearing and helped me win the case with a whole bunch of Ohio revised code legalese that I’ll probably never understand.
Apparently the school speed limit is applicable even when the lights aren’t flashing, but as Fred pointed out, there was no sign besides for the lights indicating it was a school zone, the school got out at 3:00pm, and there were no kids around. The case was dismissed.
Thanks for the help, Fred!
Care to share how you got out (or didn’t get out) of a camera ticket? Hit the comments!
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18 Comments On "Escaping From Camera Enforcement Tickets…"
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Dan,
I have no comment about the ticket, just wanted to congradulate you on the Cavs picking up Shaq!!
I got two of those going through the red light tickets in the mail. 50 bux a piece. SO annoying. Especially because both of them were about .3 seconds after the light turned red. Not even a second later and I got a ticket. The government is trying to get every last penny out of us. Especially with the 20 minute meter change in NY. All the meters used to be a half hour for 25 cents and then one night they went and changed them all. People dont realize and get tickets from it. Aggravating!
@Mikeoracle:
Thanks! If only we had done that in February we might’ve ended this city’s pathetic 45 year old championship drought.
@Smush:
The primary reason I do not like going to NYC are the tickets!
I parked in crown heights, brooklyn 10 feet from a fire hydrant one night during an absolute downpour.
The nest day I have 2 (yes, 2!) tickets setting me back some $250 for not being 15 feet away (In Cleveland the law is actually 10 feet)
I do recall there being some online system in NYC to contest the ticket, and then it prompts you to settle without a hearing in order to get a discount off the ticket…interesting tactic until everyone learns about it!
Ya. I got a ticket last week for blocking a crosswalk. MY CAR WASNT EVEN TOUCHING THE CROSSWALK but it was hanging over it about 2 inches. over a 100 bux. I can’t believe they gave you 2 tickets in one night!! Thats so not fair. Does that mean they can keep coming back every 15 minutes and keep giving you tickets until you move your car, DAN? And about the discount; YA they automically give you a discount for just clicking on “request a hearing” and accepting their offer. Its usually about %30 off for them not having to bother with your case.
A man was driving when a traffic camera flashed. He thought his picture was taken for exceeding the speed limit, even though he knew he was not speeding. Just to be sure, he went around the block and passed the same spot, driving even more slowly, but again the camera flashed.
He thought this was quite funny, so he slowed down even further as he drove past the area, but the traffic camera flashed yet again.
He tried a fourth time with the same result.
The fifth time he was laughing when the camera flashed as he rolled past at a snail’s pace.
Two weeks later, he got five traffic fine letters in the mail for driving without a seat belt.
Firstly to zero that is freaking hilarious.
Now about me.
I am currently living in Crown Heights and was pulled over for talking on my cell phone. The funny thing here is I didn’t have my phone with me. The cop comes over and asks for my license… and I asked him why he pulled me over. When he told me why I said I don’t have a phone in the car you can search it if you want. So he responds “that’s why there is a not guilty check box on the back of the ticket”. So I go down to the 71st precinct to complain and I brought my phone and the ticket to show them that there were no calls at the time of the ticket. When I pulled my phone out the officer behind the desk says “what are you gonna do, call your rabbi or something.” To which I responded “I find that to be insulting.” The lady turns to me and yells “I don’t like your tone, if you don’t leave now I will have you arrested.”
Anyway my court date is set for 09/08/09. If something similar happened to you please let me know.
Be careful what you wish for……..Shaq might be the train that drives LeBron right out of town???????????
dan. my wife got pulled over in lawrence new york for not wearing a seat belt. she WAS wearing one put she was extremely preggo and put the top part of the belt behind her b/c it was annoying. the cop didnt care at all.
needless to say, my dear wife was on a mission to win. she had to go to court 3 times but eventually the judge just had enough and gave up.
us 1 Lawrence NY 0
My wife received a ticket of this type for not stopping at a stop sign. The picture showed our vehicle and referenced a url for a video of the violation. When we went online, the video was not of our vehicle. We contacted the ticketing agency and told them of the issue. They sent us to their online enforcement devision. They looked at the video and agreed that it was not our vehicle and dropped the ticket. They have to be able to place you in the vehicle when they issue a moving violation. If they cannot see your face in the pictures they cannot prove who was driving the car. It was a relief to not have to pay that fine.
@Chaim
That sounds like typical police work to me. Ex-high school jocks and bullies that need to continually feed their egos…so they turn to police work. There really is no way around it except to truly believe that they are idiots, and you just play the game along with them. But the more you go against the ‘police grain’ the worse trouble you’ll be in.
Sorry to hear about your story, Im not Jewish…but that still pisses me off.
dan, i too got a double ticket for parking too close to the fire hydrant. so of course i wasnt ganna let that pass. so i went to fight it. the tickets actually had conflicting part 1) the color of my car, and 2) the distance from the hydrant. Thank G-d they let me go!! i was not about to pay what… $250 or so for that ticket.
and to chaim: that makes my blood boil!!! im thankful im not living there anymore, just for that…
@Chaim: Go back again, and hide a recorder on you, and you can get them in trouble with IA, and if they get nasty enough, the post will go with it.
@ chaim:
My blood is boiling over from your story!! how lousy!!!
Anyways, My mom was driving in a “workers zone” (it was actually on a highway before the working zone started but whatever) and as she’s driving she sees the camera flash at her. Next week she got a 575 dollar ticket FOR DRIVING TWO MILES OVER THE LIMIT!!! Also she was driving home from a wedding at around 11:30 PM s theres no way there were any workers over there. She went to court over this, and she said that she had an ill family member in her car and needed to get home (which was 100% true). The evil judge just looked down at her and laughed. She had to pat the 575 bucks AND go to driving school
boy was she peeved!
when i relized the camera flashed i backed up & went foward & backed up again & went foward i received 5 tickets in the mail & told the judge the camera was broken
The case was dismissed!
i got a ticket for “missing inspection sticker” which actually WAS there. I sent in a picture of the sticker as proof, and got back a letter saying in light of the evidence, the city is wiling to give you an 45% reduction on the ticket. I think its funny and hilarious at the same time. im wrongfully ticketed yet at the same time given a chance to pay a reduced fine. ya gotta love the stupidity of people these days
@Smush:
What’s the website for the reduced NYC parking tickets? Thanks.
i got a red light ticket in la on a company car
i went to court where the judge said “i bet if i look at your lisence it wont say first name “company” last name “” so she dismissed it
i had actually called a few lawyers who told me they would charge minimum $800 (b/c they need to go a few times
)
also, a very good resource is http://www.highwayrobbery.net/index.htm
@A
http://nycserv.nyc.gov/NYCServWeb/NYCSERVMain is the website where you request a hearing. You put in your ticket number and then they offer you a lower price or an offer to go ahead and schedule a hearing. Usualy thats how it works. Good Luck.