A red light camera ticket nightmare
What could possibly go wrong? How about this (via KPRC-2):
Eileen Donevant did what I hope most of us would do. She took her directions from a Houston police officer motioning her through the red light.
About a week later, she got a $75 ticket for running the red light.
So what do you do?
“If an officer's directing you to go through an intersection, then yeah, you need to do so,” Lt. Kevin Gallier said.
Then why, we asked, did Donevant get a ticket?
“There are some times, just like in any other organization, where some communication can break down,” explained Gallier.
Really. That's not what we've been told. After all, someone is personally checking each and every ticket to make sure only valid tickets are mailed out.
HPD says each set of pictures snapped and the video captured by the red-light cameras is reviewed before a citation is mailed out, but the officer directing Donevant through the red light is not in the picture. He’s standing off camera to the right.
Oh. Nevermind. Personally reviewing every ticket isn't a guarantee something won't go wrong. How many tickets were mailed out that day based on the officer waving cars through the intersection? How many people just paid instead of facing the nightmare to fight the ticket?
HPD did delete Donevant’s ticket when we contacted them, but Donevant says prior to calling us she wrote letters and called the city herself with no success.
The city says the only way to appeal a red light camera ticket is to schedule a hearing downtown.
One is presumed guilty; therefore, in order to correct a municipal screw-up, one must take a day off from work or arrange for child care, drive downtown, find parking (a very fun prospect thanks to Liliana Rambo's organization), and wait to be heard.
And don't forget -- the city now wants to put a hold on vehicle registrations for those who don't pay their tickets. Super! That's running the city like a business!
Moral of the story? If you receive a red light camera ticket in error, contact local media.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 01/22/09 06:43 PM | Print |
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