Kingsport TN red light cam

[hillbilly404040]

Kingsport, Tennessee

I recently received a ticked in the mail for allegedly running a red light. The cam shot taken shows the front end of my car past the stop bar and in the intersection at that time. Since I could not stop, I continued through the red light. The cams were recently installed and the yellow light is set at 4.25 seconds with an approach speed of 55 MPH. The road was wet since it was drizzling and I couldn't come to a safe stop in that amount of time. After doing some research, I discovered that the guidelines set in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices published by the Federal Highway Administration recommend "a yellow change interval should have a duration of approximately 3 to 6 seconds. The longer intervals should be reserved for use on approaches with higher speeds." Since 55 is the highest speed where a signal light is present, 6 seconds would be appropriate for that intersection. The longer interval would decrease accidents and infractions but would also decrease the revenue collected by the city for red light cams which was over a half of a million dollars in the past year. I requested a hearing on the matter only to discover that it will be tried in the city court. I feel like that is a conflict of interest since the city would be reluctant set a precedence that could cost them future cam light revenue. The letter sent to my setting the hearing date does not say that I allegedly run a red light, it says that I am guilty of a red light violation (what happened to innocent until proven guilty?). Apparently their mind is already made up and I don't think that I could get a fair trial in the city court and since I am from another state, I am not familiar with Tennessee's courts and appeals system. Any help or information on the appeal process would be appreciated.

[Maestro64]

it sounds like you did most of the research, here is another guy who fought and won a red light cam ticket, he did a bunch of research and as will see in his case the town is only interested in you money they did not care the light might violate the MUTCD, but the guy got let off because he presented an argument that he did in fact stop but the camera fail to capture that fact, it took a picture of him crossing the line, not the fact he actually stopped.

[url]http://www.radardetector.net/viewtopic.php?t=34481&highlight=[/url]

Read it and see if anything he learned will help, plus he has all the correct calculations.

You right there are articles all over the web about towns set up laws that allows them to hand out these tickets and there is no due process.

[syntax42]

As far as I'm aware, stopping in front of the thick white stop line is illegal, even though almost everyone does it where I live. I just wish they would stop installing sensors that allow people to stop as far into the crosswalk as they want.

[hillbilly404040]

Further research shows that everybody looses in the city court on red light cam violations. I requested the hearing by now I am beginning to think that it is a waste of time. I will have to miss work and drive out of state and will likely have to pay the fine anyway but the bigger problem is that it will post on my driving record and my insurance will increase. Considering that I have teenagers insured on 3 different vehicles, an insurance increase could be hundreds of dollars a year.

If anybody is familiar with Tennessee's legal system, please enlighten me.

How does the appeal system in Tennessee work?
Is Trial by Written Declaration an option so that I wouldn't loose time from work and travel expense?
If so, how do I go about drafting a Trial by Written Declaration?

Thanks

[Maestro64]

Can not comment on the TN legal system,

However, check to see if this ticket will even show up, since many of these automatic red light tickets are not state law, but local ordinances they usually do not care any points of any sort nor are they reportable to the state to be placed against your DMV record.

Also, depending on your insurance company, points and violation will only affect the one driver on the policy not the entire policy, but this does vary by insurance company. I know mine is set up so only car who's driver is primary on that car is effected by the points not all the car or drivers, and in my case you only loose the 10% good driver discount for the first offense.

As you pointed out it my not be worth the time off from work and travel expense to contest it.

[hillbilly404040]

The notice sent to me stated that the offense may be reported to my insurance company and to the Tennessee department of public safety. I talked to my insurance agent and she stated that in her experience that they were usually reported. I finally broke down and called the city court today and asked them straight out of it would be on my record. They said that if I paid the fine that it would not be reported but it could be if I refused to pay and that it would be turned over to a collection agency. What choice did I have? Looks like they win ( I mailed the payment today) but better than tarnishing my record.

Thanks for replying to my post.

[Maestro64]

Yes only if you do not pay is it reported to the state and back to your home state, most all state have agreements with each other to make sure people pay their fines from out of state tickets. if you do not pay your home state will force you to pay or risk loosing your license.