PHOENIX — In the latest effort to try and make our streets safer, the City of Phoenix continues to move forward with plans to bring back red light cameras.
Traffic court lawyers say drivers need to know a few things about their rights if they get a red light camera ticket.
A notice that your car may have run a red light normally comes in the mail.
“It looks like a ticket, a real-life ticket, but it’s not,” lawyer Christopher Corso said.
Corso says the state has 90 days to formally serve you with the real thing.
“That’s just their way of trying to get you to pay it, take the class, address it, call the court," Corso said. "But you have the right to be formally served.”
Red light violations also carry extra penalties than other tickets like speeding.
Attorney Candy Maruffo with MayesTelles says drivers should be aware of them before thinking paying the fine will make it go away.
“It actually comes with two points on your license, traffic survival school which is an eight-hour class you have to do and pay for, in addition to whatever fine you pay," Maruffo said.
The state is also responsible for proving you were the driver, which is sometimes difficult if there are obstructions in the picture.
Sometimes, it isn’t you behind the wheel, and someone else is driving your car.
“If it wasn’t you, you can nominate who it was, and say, 'this was the person driving,'" Corso said.
This can still cause issues for the registered owner, especially if they need a clean driving record to keep their job.
“I’ve seen with clients, they don’t really understand it and think they can go to court and pay a ticket and it will go away," Maruffo said. "Then their license is suspended, their job is suspended, and they can’t get it back."
Both lawyers say their firms, MayesTelles PLLC and Corso Law Group, will answer preliminary questions about your red light tickets free of charge.
“I want everybody to understand their rights, and I don’t need to take a fee to do that," Corso said.
The city is still working to see which intersections the cameras will be placed at in Phoenix. The council wants them working by the fall of 2025.