If we are going to make a difference it will be up to private citizens who have had enough and who will do the work to expose the photo enforcement program for what it is, a dangerous money grab. Here are some specific things you can do that WILL make a difference. Keep in mind these are general suggestions only. Laws and regulations are different in every state and town. The camera companies have millions to spend against the truth coming out and high paid lawyers who will fight citizens that want to make a difference. Please consult an attorney before starting a petition or lawsuit. A little legal help early could save you money and time. We are not attorneys and cannot offer legal advice.
GET THE WORD OUT
There are several things you can do that won't cost you a lot of money or time. Talk about the issues on your facebook page and with your friends and co workers, write a letter to the editor of your local paper, attend council meetings and sign up to speak out. The camera companies hire people to post favorable comments in news articles about photo enforcement. You can post the truth in those same articles. Use the well documented information to put pressure on your politicians to vote the right way.
GO TO THE MEDIA
If you discover illegal activity with a local photo enforcement program contact your local media with the story idea. Most media outlets realize that their readers are unfavorable towards cameras and will take up the story about how much revenue the city has taken in, illegally short yellow lights or even winning a red light camera hearing. Keep in mind some smaller local papers may be overly friendly with city leaders and may quash any report that would make the city look bad.
CHECK THE LEGALITY OF THE PROGRAM
Most cities will willfully or through ignorance violate the law with their program. They don't care about anything other than getting the revenue rolling in. Texas law requires a certain minimum length of time for the yellow light at red light camera locations. If the timing is too short all violation notices are illegal. Thousands of violation notices have been dismissed in Texas because of illegal short yellow lights. You can see the legal requirements for yellow light timing below. Any digital stop watch able to display hundredths of seconds is all you need to see if the timing is legal. Texas law also requires cities to conduct an engineering survey demonstrating a need for cameras before they install them and have a citizens committee approve installations before they can legally issue violation notices. Many cities have not done this but continue to issue illegal notices of violation. PLEASE REPORT ANY VIOLATIONS TO US. Note, laws may be different in states other than Texas. Check your state's laws before proceeding.
Texas Minimum Legal Yellow Change intervals for red light camera locations. Your state may be different but the Federal minimum for any traffic intersection is 3 seconds.
25mph 3.0 seconds
30mph 3.2 seconds
35mph 3.6 seconds
40mph 3.9 seconds
45mph 4.3 seconds
50mph 4.7 seconds
55mph 5.0 seconds
60mph 5.4 seconds
START A PETITION
Every single time residents have had a chance to vote on whether or not they want photo enforcement in their area the vote has been NO! You can research your city charter to see what the guidelines are for circulating a petition for a vote on red light cameras. Most cities have an "initiative and referendum" section in their city charter and most cities have their charter on the city website. If you can get the issue on the ballot you will most likely win. Keep in mind the camera company will most likely create an astroturf group to fight the election.
CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT
If your research finds grievous violations of the law with your city's photo enforcement program you may initiate a class action lawsuit to void tickets and punish the violators. This was successfully done recently in Florida.
FIGHT YOUR TICKET
The last thing a city or camera company wants you to do is fight your camera ticket. If you unjustly received a notice of violation you didn't deserve request a hearing. You most likely won't win as the hearing doesn't provide for a jury trial but a hearing by a city employee but it slows down their system and costs money. If you lose, appeal to the municipal court. In the end keep in mind that Texas law prohibits any city from arresting and individual for non payment of a photo enforcement ticket. The law also prohibits them from reporting it to your credit file or driving record for non payment. The law does allow them to block the registration on the vehicle in the pictures but that isn't done uniformily and Harris county does not block registrations at all. The only way it will be blocked for sure is if you register online with the state.
