photo radar (Tempe: school, marketplace, ticket)

[unit731]

"Jim writes, "As photo radar becomes more popular with City Hall, enterprising violators are coming up with strategies for beating it. If you get caught speeding or running a red light by photo radar, the evidence against you--a photo or videotape of the violation--is pretty clear-cut.
But there is at least one legal strategy available to you. Arizona law requires that you get your traffic citation from a police officer or a process server.
Since the tickets that are mailed to violators don't meet that legal standard, you have the option of tossing the citation in the trash. "

LINK



Note: Underline was added by me.

[matyoka]

Unit,

That would have been great info in July of 2010!!! I was coming back to Montana through Payson, and the summons was sent to Montana. Would have been hard for them to bring it to me personally !!! Great info!!!

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by MN-Born-n-Raised

They just put out a brand new radar camera on 60/Grand near Sun City. I don't remember the exact intersection but it's around Thunderbird. I was driving in the evening last week and I watched the camera flash three different times inside of 30 seconds. Thankfully it wasn't me but they are catching a lot of people speeding.

The speed limit is sooooooo slow in that area as it drops to 35 MPH in Sun City. Never mind the road was re-done with a wide 4 lane "highway" last Spring. It's so slow that I had to install some training wheels on my car to avoid tipping over.

It should be 45-55 in that area but they are forcing people to crawl for miles. Therefore, they will be catching hundreds of people who are in disbelief that a wide 4 lane road could have a 35 MPH speed limit. I suspect the town of Sun City is forcing people to go so slow unnaturally in an attempt to re-route them in future commutes.

There is no town of Sun City. It is possibly county (I did not think they have cams) or Surprise - no suprise there, haha. In any case, good to know. I drive around that area fairly often and will have to keep that in mind. I too hate the low speeds, but understand. Those old folks were there long before all the speed demon yuppie tigers moved in up the road and they have a right to have their community remain peaceful and safe. But it is easy to get going too fast without even realizing it on those wide Sun City streets.

[ReadyFreddy]

Originally Posted by matyoka

Unit,

That would have been great info in July of 2010!!! I was coming back to Montana through Payson, and the summons was sent to Montana. Would have been hard for them to bring it to me personally !!! Great info!!!

I have no idea if that info's correct or not, but I'd urge everyone to be pretty sure of the actual laws in your area before believing info posted on the non-specific internet.

[unit731]

"
28-1593. Service of uniform traffic ticket and complaint
A. A traffic complaint may be served by delivering a copy of the uniform traffic ticket and complaint to the person charged with the violation or by any means authorized by the rules of civil procedure. At the discretion of the issuing authority, a complaint for a violation issued after an investigation in conjunction with a traffic accident may be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested and delivered to addressee only, to the address provided by the person charged with the violation. Service of the complaint is complete on filing the receipt in the court having jurisdiction of the violation.
B. The original complaint shall be filed in a court having jurisdiction of the violation within ten court days of the time the complaint was issued. A peace officer, or duly authorized agent or someone paid to act on behalf of a traffic enforcement agency, may issue the traffic complaint.
C. If a law enforcement agency issues a citation as a result of a photo enforcement system and serves the citation in a manner other than what is prescribed by subsection A of this section, the agency shall inform the person that there is no obligation to identify the driver or respond to the citation. Failure to respond to the citation will result in the probability that the person will be formally served pursuant to state law and the Arizona rules of civil procedure which will likely result in the person being required to pay the cost of the service. "


LINK

[ReadyFreddy]

Failure to respond to the citation will result in the probability that the person will be formally served pursuant to state law and the Arizona rules of civil procedure which will likely result in the person being required to pay the cost of the service. "

It sounds like they're saying if you don't respond, they'll send a server and you'll be charged for the summons server on top of the fine.

I also wonder if each municipality has the same laws as the state.

All good info!

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

There is no town of Sun City. It is possibly county (I did not think they have cams) or Surprise - no suprise there, haha. In any case, good to know. I drive around that area fairly often and will have to keep that in mind. I too hate the low speeds, but understand. Those old folks were there long before all the speed demon yuppie tigers moved in up the road and they have a right to have their community remain peaceful and safe. But it is easy to get going too fast without even realizing it on those wide Sun City streets.

I will find out the exact street and DM you. I know it is not in Surprise (maybe El Mirage). There is another radar camera on 60 approaching Sun City Grand which is in Surprise. I don't know how long that camera has been there but my buddy showed it to me as we passed.

[Captain Bill]

The best way to beat a photo radar ticket is to not get one in the first place. Speed limits are posted throughout the city.

If one gets a citation, then the options on the back of the ticket are the best ways to take care of it, in my opinion. (I've gotten two in the past 7 years and on one I took the class, and the other I paid the fine.)

If one does not respond to the citation, their drivers license can, and have been, revoked without giving notice to the person.

Get caught driving without a valid drivers license and the driver will either go to jail, and/or the car will be impounded.

Getting a photo radar ticket is a pain, but standing on principal and not responding to a photo radar violation can become a bigger pain.

[jdahunt]

What cities have cameras, looking to buy a vacation home this spring and will not even consider a city that its voters tolerate this.

Here in Illinois our politicians sold them to us for safety.....then we find out that 90% of the tickets were for turning right on red...not even for speeding or running red lights....now we can't get rid of them....btw...I have never gotten one ticket...its the principal of it.

[observer53]

Many cities have red light cameras, which are separate from "photo radar". We really do have a problem with red light running in metro Phoenix. Most cities in the metro areas, at least (I don't know about other parts of the state) have abandoned the fixed photo radar cameras, but may still use the moving ones, placed in vans. I saw one in Phoenix the other night.

City voters really have very little to do with the installation of photo radar; public outcry has contributed to the decreasing use of it in some cities.