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Do I have to pay this speed camera fine?

H

Hawk and Awe

HB Heisman
Sep 15, 2012
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I was alledgedly speeding in CR over thanksgiving and they got a blurry Polaroid of me. I ignored the first citation, because it didn't detail any penalties for not paying. The 2nd letter has a sterner tone, but I'm planning to ignore it as well.

A lot of these go unpaid, but I've never talked to anyone that didn't pay. Is this a mistake?
 
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Dude, you were speeding and got caught. Man up, pay the fine, and move on with your life.
 
I received a letter from a collection agency after I didn't pay for over six months. I'm sure I could have ignored it but my guilty conscience made me pay it. I've got a friend who has procured at least a dozen of these citations. He is adamant that he won't pay but he does have to deal with the collection agency calling all the time. Not worth it in my opinion.
 
Do you have to pay - no, should you just ignore the ticket and letters - no, should come up with another plan - yes.
 
I got a camera ticket in Florida and the picture was blurry too. I was told this traffic offense does not go against your license since its a 3rd party not tied to the police department.

I think the only thing they can do is go after you via collections. They cant suspend your license for an unpaid ticket according to the info I received.
 
Screw those ass spelunkers! They'll have to get by the deadbolt on my double wide, then my pit bull, then by baby mama's cousin, and then my glock if they ever want that money.
 
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You say you "allegedly" sped through the camera. So, was your vehicle the vehicle in the picture, and if so, were you behind the wheel?

I never fail to understand the "fight the power" aspect of unfairness people have with these cameras. I went through 4 of those cameras 5 times a week from the day they were put up, and somehow never managed to get a ticket.

Dear Gawd, how did I do it? Ran the gauntlet over a thousand times unscathed. I must be some sort of Superman.

The ONLY sure way to ensure this doesn't happen to you is to not speed in that area. YOU have the ultimate control on how these cameras affect your life.

If saving that 5 to 10 seconds flying through that 2 mile stretch versus driving a tad bit slower means that much to you, by all means, don't pay the fine. That'll show 'em.
 
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My wife got one over the Labor Day weekend goin' on two and a half years ago now.

They all went right into the trash, and stopped coming completely less than a year after it happened. The companies work on a percentage and figure a compliant majority of the public will more than make up for those that aren't interested in paying a fine without going thru due process.

Keep throwing the letters away. Don't enable those dirty Commies. ;)
 
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I may or may not have gotten a couple of these in the past. If I had, I wouldn't pay the ticket. When it's turned over to collectors, I would contact them and dispute the claim. They will always try to give you the runaround. I would tell them to stop and that I just want it noted that I dispute the claim. I would probably never hear from them again and it would never shown up on my credit report.

If I were to get one of these, this is how I would handle it. ;)
 
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shank hawk said:
My wife got one over the Labor Day weekend goin' on two and a half years ago now.

They all went right into the trash, and stopped coming completely less than a year after it happened. The companies work on a percentage and figure a compliant majority of the public will more than make up for those that aren't interested in paying a fine without going thru due process.

Keep throwing the letters away. Don't enable those dirty Commies. ;)
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Well done. I quit shopping and eating in Cedar Rapids because of this. Then, when no one noticed, I started shopping and eating there again. I feel really good about myself for this retaliation.
 
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herecomethehawkeyes said:
You do realize that one doesn't have to be driving to get one of these tickets in the mail, right?
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I guess I missed the part where he said someone else had his car over Thanksgiving. If that was the case, I have a feeling he would have outlined that in the OP.
 
ferentzin04 said:
I guess I missed the part where he said someone else had his car over Thanksgiving. If that was the case, I have a feeling he would have outlined that in the OP.
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my bad for assuming that your comment of "you got caught speeding, just pay the fine" was an endorsement of the cameras, and just paying because the camera says you did it because it took a picture of your vehicle
 
shank hawk said:
My wife got one over the Labor Day weekend goin' on two and a half years ago now.

They all went right into the trash, and stopped coming completely less than a year after it happened. The companies work on a percentage and figure a compliant majority of the public will more than make up for those that aren't interested in paying a fine without going thru due process.

Keep throwing the letters away. Don't enable those dirty Commies. ;)
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Those companies are legitimate profit seeking businesses. That is why I dispute the proof they supposedly have of the alleged incident.
 
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From the Gazette: "One in five tickets issued aren't paid."

When it gets to three in five the boys will probably pack up their cameras and head back to Chicago. Good riddance. :p
 
herecomethehawkeyes said:
my bad for assuming that your comment of "you got caught speeding, just pay the fine" was an endorsement of the cameras, and just paying because the camera says you did it because it took a picture of your vehicle
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So you think it just arbitrarily snapped a picture of his car? If not, why did it do it?

Funny, I've driven past those things god knows how many times, in my own vehicles and in work vehicles, and never had a ticket sent to me. Maybe I've just been lucky. Maybe it's because I'm part of the system. Maybe it's because I don't speed past them. Who knows.
 
It would appear many of you don't know the legal history behind these cameras and haven't read the ticket itself. This isn't about "fighting the man" - it's a question of whether the City had a legal right to collect this fine. I don't believe they do and why would I just blindly make a payment I don't have to?

I really wanted to know what trouble I was creating for myself. They don't appear to add any interest or lead to a more sever sentence so I'm thinking I'll just ride it out.
 
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ferentzin04 said:
So you think it just arbitrarily snapped a picture of his car? If not, why did it do it?

Funny, I've driven past those things god knows how many times, in my own vehicles and in work vehicles, and never had a ticket sent to me. Maybe I've just been lucky. Maybe it's because I'm part of the system. Maybe it's because I don't speed past them. Who knows.
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there are stories out there of cars being misidentified because of the license plates being misread from cameras all across the country. Also, I guess I have a problem with people getting a ticket just because they are the owner of the vehicle. If I recall, there was a story shortly after the cameras were in place that they were fining vehicles that were not speeding (ticketing vehicles in other lanes). I tried to do a search on kcrg.com, but when I would do a search the results would not go previous to last year. it may not happen enough for you to justify taking them down, however.

Now, I will just go on my general camera rant.

In town, the cameras have a tolerance of 9 over the speed limit before it triggers a ticket. Prior to the camera going in on 1st avenue and 10 st, the speed limit was 35 mph until it got to the 25 mph as you enter downtown. Shortly after the camera came in, the speed limit changed to 30 not even a block within the instersection of the camera. Now, if the tolerance triggers a ticket at 10 over, and someone who was going 5 over at 40 with a speed limit at 35 now all of a sudden gets a ticket because they speed limit just changed to 30 and it puts them at 10 over. The summer when the cameras came in, the speed limit sign at that location (as well as the small sign underneath that warned of camera enforcement) was blocked by a tree.

]this may have changed..but are semi trucks still exempt from getting fined by these things?

Also, if cameras were truly about safety, lets put these things up in school zones. my MIL lives across the street from an elementary school, and does in home daycare. I shake my head often when I drop my boy off or pick him up and I see how people drive when they pick up their kids. However, a lot of these school zones are in areas that could only produce a lot of revenue in a couple short timeframes during the day.

I have only received a ticket from the mobile camera. When they were first here, I didnt have a problem with the cameras because i personally believe that the general attitude of a cedar rapids resident is one of self importance and total obliviousness to what is around them, and it extends to driving, and the whole invasion of privacy argument i thought was silly....however I have a problem with how this city chooses to spend money, then comes to the taxpayers to bail them out for other things.....especially when they have a windfall of money from these cameras. Also the attitude of the city as far as the DOT is concerned has been appalling this past year.


http://www.thegazette.com/subject/n...dar-rapids-appeal-on-traffic-cameras-20150512
 
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If I had to bet, I'd bet the OP was photographed northbound after coming out of the s-curve and probably was going about 68.

I've been nailed several times. Protested one and got it waived, paid the others. (I explained there had been a guy merging from the on-ramp who didn't appear to see me and the lane to my left was occupied, so I punched the gas to get out of his way). I honestly don't understand the outrage. For starters, you have to be exceeding the limit by MORE than 10 mph, I think at least 12 mph over. Most people who get them in that area -- limit is clearly posted at 55 -- are going 68-75. And it's a dangerous area. Accidents are down since the cameras went in.

My understanding is that it isn't a legal issue in the sense of breaking a law, and they won't notify your insurance company. But they WILL turn it over for collection, which can be a royal pain in the ass in addition to hurting your credit rating.
 
ThorneStockton said:
It's as if he can't read...
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Can't read the part of the story about the deal that says "it isn't in effect yet"? Or can't read the part about how he agreement is going to be phased in over the next three years? Or what? Maybe I'm missing something.....entirely possible, since I didn't realize the move had even gotten that far.
 
hawki4ever said:
They cannot affect your credit report.

http://www.thegazette.com/subject/n...-traffic-camera-tickets-violated-law-20150925
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Good link, you are the only one who has posted any substance in this thread. Thank you.

From the link: "Through the program, the DAS can withhold portions of tax returns, casino winnings or payments to vendors to satisfy debts to cities and public agencies."

Appears Cedar Rapids doesn't participate in that though, other Iowa cities do.
 
Hawk and Awe said:
It would appear many of you don't know the legal history behind these cameras and haven't read the ticket itself. This isn't about "fighting the man" - it's a question of whether the City had a legal right to collect this fine. I don't believe they do and why would I just blindly make a payment I don't have to?

I really wanted to know what trouble I was creating for myself. They don't appear to add any interest or lead to a more sever sentence so I'm thinking I'll just ride it out.
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What do you stand on to claim that cities don't have the legal right?
 
CarolinaHawkeye said:
Those companies are legitimate profit seeking businesses. That is why I dispute the proof they supposedly have of the alleged incident.
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If I remember correctly, and I only glanced at it once a couple years ago, if you actually challenge it, you put it in traffic court and can have it count against you, because it would then be proven as a citation. Am I misremembering that?
 
Wasn't there a recent court decision that says they can't turn these over to collections anymore?

If you only have one citation, you can sometimes call them up and they will dismiss it. My brother had several in his name for a car that was registered to him but was being driven by someone else. After several notices that were ignored, I called the CR police, and after getting the run-around for awhile, finally talked to someone that deals with this, and after explaining that my brother lived out of state and couldn't possibly have been the driver, all 3 citations were dismissed.
 
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theIowaHawk said:
If I remember correctly, and I only glanced at it once a couple years ago, if you actually challenge it, you put it in traffic court and can have it count against you, because it would then be proven as a citation. Am I misremembering that?
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You may be correct, I do not know for certain. I do know that if start throwing a lot of shit against the wall, they fold quickly.
 
theIowaHawk said:
If I remember correctly, and I only glanced at it once a couple years ago, if you actually challenge it, you put it in traffic court and can have it count against you, because it would then be proven as a citation. Am I misremembering that?
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I don't think there's any way that it ends up in an actual court of law. The formal appeals process ultimately ends up in some kind of panel or board composed of a citizen or two, possibly with a police officer thrown in, making a final ruling. It's all completely extra-judicial.

There's no judge or jury at any point in the process, which is kind of what people don't like about it. When I called to complain about my brother's case, the only thing listed on the citation notice that could be used for an appeal was a freaking PO Box where I could write a formal letter. I mean, seriously, in this day and age, a freaking snail mail letter was my only recourse?

I determined to call up the CRPD and bitch at them until they gave me another option (I live well outside of their jurisdiction), but it only took a little bit of prodding before I was connected with a person that deals exclusively with phone complaints for these stupid tickets. The number for (and even existence of) this person was conveniently omitted from any of the correspondence that we had received on this issue from the ticket issuing "authorities."

Nope, not the least bit sketchy or slimy. Not one bit.
 
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