Red Light Cameras, Municipal Court, Traffic Tickets and You
If you receive a ticket for running a red light because you were captured on a red light camera, you could be convicted of that violation and made to pay fines. However, in no case shall motor vehicle points or automobile insurance eligibility points be assessed against any person for such a violation. N.J.S.A. 39:4-8.15.
Once a red light camera records a car “running a red light” that surveillance footage or photograph can be reviewed by law enforcement personnel who will have 90-days to make a decision whether or not to issue a summons/ticket for the violation. If law enforcement has not issued a ticket within required time period, the footage or photograph must be purged within 3 days after the 90-day limit runs. The footage or photograph must also be purged within 60 days after payment of the fine. The surveillance footage or photographs are not public record at any time.
You may be wondering what the law provides if someone else was driving your car at the time of the violation. Well, you should further know that the statute provides that the owner and operator of a motor vehicle shall be jointly liable for a traffic control signal violation summons issued pursuant to a traffic control signal monitoring system. N.J.S.A. 39:4-8.15. This means you can be on the hook for the fines because the car involved belongs to you, even though you were not driving it at the time of the violation. This will be true, unless you (as the owner of the car) can show that the vehicle was used without your consent, express or implied. N.J.S.A. 39:4-8.15(b).
If you are the owner of the car involved in a violation, but you were not the driver, and you were stuck paying a fine, penalty, civil judgment, costs or administrative fees in connection with a traffic control signal violation issued pursuant to a traffic control signal monitoring system, you have the right to recover that sum from the operator in a court of competent jurisdiction. N.J.S.A. 39:4-8.15(b).
If you have received a ticket for running a red light, speeding, reckless driving, careless driving, driving while intoxicated, refusal to submit to a Breathalyzer, contact our firm immediately. Attorneys Hartman Chartered is a full-service law firm handling matters at every level of the spectrum from municipal tickets to major crimes in superior and federal court. Our firm can guide you through your legal entanglements whether you are facing fines, loss of license, or incarceration. We look forward to hearing from you.
-Michael C. Mormando, Esquire