running a red light in Brea, CA?

Question

Really desperate here....
on 6/15 around 7-8pm I accidently ran a red light at the intersection of Brea Blvd and State College Blvd in city of Brea.
I know for sure there is a camera and a sign says words like "red light violators will be fined $271.00". I don't recall a flash went off, and if I remembered correctly, the light had probably just turned to red when I passed maybe 1/4 of the intersection.
Can anyone please tell me if I've been photographed or not? Is it possible for them to photograph w/out the flash? If I've been photographed, I have to know right? since it's probably hard for me not to notice the flash? I was not stopped by a police. Please tell me how would I know if I'll be receiving a ticket (besides wait for the ticket), if I was really photographed, how long will it take for the ticket to come? Thanks......really desperate here!!!

I would also like to know, since I was not stopped by the police, who will the ticket be addressed to? (since I'm not the only one registered to the vehicle)
Also, if I really were to be photographed and be fined (knock on wood...can you all please pray for me that I was not being photographed and that I will not have a ticket?! PLEASE~~)
What will be a good way to fight off the ticket?? I really need as much advice as I can get because I just received a speeding ticket (my first ticket ever!) a month ago, and I am now at the process of contacting a traffic school to attend to clear off my record. I really don't want a record on the vehicle, so please, help?! PLEASE~~~

Answer 1

The camera's use a flash day and night. you will notice it because they take a picture of the front and the rear of the car, The flash is pronounced. maybe that's how you realized you ran the red light? at any rate, all film is reviewed by a officer who issues the citation by mail. this can take up to 10 working day's. Maybe you lucked out and there using the old style film camera's and they ran out of film.

Answer 2

If you do not want this stuff on your record, then you have to be very careful not to do this stuff.

I do not believe there is any such thing as accidentally running a red light. Either you were not paying attention, which is very dangerous, or the traffic light is hidden by a tree, which means you have no business going through an intersection where the highway signs are blocked, or you saw orange light and thought you could make it through before it changed but you thought wrong.

If you were photographed, a ticket will arrive in the mail to the registered owner of the vehicle.

I do not believe there is any such thing as more than one owner ... there is one person, or company name and address on the title and registration for the car, who will get the ticket in the mail, if there is one to come.

As careful as we all are (well me anyway) there are times we get a wee bit careless, then we are caught at it, and learn to do better. I am now age 63 and have been driving since I was about 13 (it was legal back then) & in that time I have had about
* half a dozen citations for being parked some place longer than the money into the parking meter, or when the parking space expired.
* only one speeding ticket that I can remember
* one warning for being a slow driver (I had slowed down when I saw cop in rear view mirror)
* twice got some warning because of some problem with the condition of my car or lights ... like using brights when cop thought I should not
* absolutely no tickets for going through red lights
* half a dozen accidents that I can remember, all ruled by the police to be not my fault ... but I think if I was a better driver I ought to have been able to avoid them
* about a dozen incidents that were near miss, where no accident happened, but afterwards I pulled off highway and was having heart pounding over the near miss & thinking through how I should drive better in the future to avoid anything like THAT ever happening again

I have been in some driving adventures that had the police seen us they would have taken action.

There were a bunch of people standing up in the back of a pickup truck chasing me. They were armed with long guns. I did not have room to turn-around, so I was driving backwards. I discovered that when you are doing like 50 60 mph backwards over potholes, that the steering is a real challenge. This was when I was the computer geek at a company where the factory workers were on strike.

Answer 3

I hate red light runners, so I'll tell you that from the get go. If your friend got a $450 ticket, then I'm glad and I do hope he stops his habit of running a red light. Most likely is was not the only time he ran a red light. He needed to get caught before he killed somebody. This one terrible habit is something that I never saw 30 years ago. Yep, call me an old far-, but it is so true. People did not run red lights 30 years ago unless they did it by mistake. Now everyone is in such a big hurry. Maybe with the high gas prices, we will go back to horses and lots of bicycles. That would not be a bad thing. Hope your friend pays the ticket and slows down his life a little.

Answer 4

One: Pay attention to the traffic lights and don't speed through intersections. The issue goes away right there, doesn't it?

Two: Unless they got a clear picture of you behind the wheel, they can't do much with it. Your fifth amendment right precludes you from having to testify against yourself, so they can't mail you a picture of the car going through the light, they have to show you a picture of YOU in YOUR CAR going through the light. A picture of your car with an unknown driver/non-viewable driver is generally unusable to the court, as they cannot compel you to testify against yourself. Remember, you are innocent until proven guilty, even with traffic laws.

In some locales, they will compare the picture to the registered owner's DL picture/name before sending it out. If they don't have a match on the picture, or the sex of the person behind the wheel is not the same as the vehicle's registered owner, they won't send it because they cannot get a conviction. It all depends upon the location.

Here in CO, there was a class action suit against the police and the manufacturer of the photo-radar machines because of a due-process issue. Check with a local lawyer and know your rights.

As to whether they got that picture, only time will tell.

Answer 5

I had the same thing happen to me a couple of times. I never received a ticket. The important thing is wether or not you drove over the pedestrian white cross lines after the light turned red, if so then there's a good chance you'll be getting a ticket. But if the light turned red after you had already driven over the white lines then you're probably safe. So if the light turned red while you were in the middle of the intersection you'll be alright.

Answer 6

If you were photographed the ticket should come in the mail in about a month or so.
It doesn't sound like you're gonna get a ticket for that though...
they're looking for intentional running

Answer 7

The photo is infrared and does not require a flash. If you were photographed and in violation, you will find out, by mail. If you do not recieve a summons, do not go in and ask about it.

Answer 8

That would translate to 67,750.00 in my native land of Zimbabwe. That is much money.