DRIVERS will now face higher fees if they’re caught speeding and running a red light.
New technology will catch drivers who exceed the 35 mph speed limit and those who blow a red light.
Drivers now face a $50 fine for going over the speed limit (stock photo)[/caption]
New cameras will catch people speeding and blowing a red light (stock photo)[/caption]
Middletown, Connecticut, will become the first city in the state to begin installing speed and red light cameras.
The plea for cameras comes after drivers reported that people driving through red lights and speeding have become a bigger issue.
“People just cut you off. They’ll just speed past you,” DoorDash driver Luther-Houghton told CBS affiliate WFSB.
“They just drive really crazy and it’s not particularly safe for a lot of people.”
Drivers reportedly exceed 70 mph, which is over double the limit.
Luther-Houghton is hopeful these new cameras will teach reckless drivers a lesson.
“It is pretty good for the people that speed way too fast on these roads,” she said.
“For them to get held responsible for their own actions is definitely necessary.”
Drivers received advanced notice of the traffic cameras throughout the city.
Those who were caught on camera within the first month of their installation were let off with a warning; however, now it’s time for traffic violators to pay.
Drivers speeding more than 10 mph over the limit or running red lights will be fined $50 for their first offense.
If they continue to violate the traffic laws, they will be fined $75, plus a $15 processing fee.
Once the fees are paid, the system wipes all the driver’s personal information from it.
“The information connected to the plate does not stay with us or the company,” Police Chief Erik Costa told The Middletown Press.
How to fight a speeding ticket
According to a legally reviewed post, there are five effective strategies to fighting a speeding ticket if it was wrongfully issued.
- If pulled over and issued a ticket, drivers can argue or dispute a driver’s personal opinion. When issuing a speeding ticket, an officer is required to write their opinion and come to an “objective” conclusion. If the ticket was written based on that judgment, it can be contested. An example would be if you were going 75 mph in a 65 mph zone because others were traveling at the same speed, you could argue that it would be more dangerous to travel at 65 mph.
- You can dispute the officer’s presentation of evidence. If you were ticketed for something like running a stop sign or making an illegal u-turn, you can’t contest that if an officer saw you, but you can call things into court like eyewitnesses, diagrams, or photos.
- Argue that the ticket was issued by a “mistake of fact.” This is tricky, but a “mistake of fact” is a mistake made by a driver about a situation that was beyond their control, or if a driver legitimately did not know they were violating the law. For example, you were driving in two lanes because the lane markers were so worn down that you could not see them.
- You could say circumstances justified your driving. You could say you were speeding to pass a possibly drunk driver, or avoiding an accident by rapidly changing lanes. However, the argument won’t work if there’s proof you continued to speed after passing.
- Similar to the above, it could be argued that speeding was necessary to avoid harm. The key is to argue that if you weren’t speeding, you or someone else could have been harmed.
- Consult a traffic attorney, if all else fails. Many have free consultations to decide whether or not there’s a case.
Source: FindLaw
“The company does not sell the information to private vendors.”
Costa noted that the city owns the cameras and that tax dollars are not being used to support the program.
“The fines … pay for the cameras,” he said.
“The bulk of the revenue will go to the Public Works department for various purposes, including paving, signage, line striping, curbing, pedestrian and bike safety, and improving roadways, such as cutting down trees.”
Middletown Mayor Ben Florsheim said the cameras received unanimous support from the council.
“Reports of excessive speeding are among the most frequent calls that my office receives, and even as enforcement efforts by Middletown Police have increased, the number of speed-related crashes and fatalities have continued to rise in recent years,” he told WFSB.
“Automation removes any question of bias or selective enforcement, which is why it is a standard practice in many states and most advanced countries, and I believe it will be similarly effective in Middletown as an additional tool to make our roadways safer for all users.”
