Pima County AZ red light ticket

[bdi]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? AZ and OH

I was in Arizona on business, and evidently ran a red light. I received notice from the rental car company, and then a week later received the citation for $322.00 from the Tucson AZ court, it was mailed to me in Ohio where I live.

If I do nothing, will they attemt to personally serve me? If I am not personally served, will the ticket be dismissed after a certain period of time?

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

In your rental agreement you agreed to be responsible for any tickets. The rental company will likely be fined and charge your credit card if you fail to pay. That may cost more. If it was a camera ticket, I would just pay it.

 

[Who's Liable?]

In your rental agreement you agreed to be responsible for any tickets. The rental company will likely be fined and charge your credit card if you fail to pay. That may cost more. If it was a camera ticket, I would just pay it.

INCORRECT advice.

Mail service is NOT considered being PROPERLY served in AZ, therefore the ticket is tossed in 120 days per AZ state law.

The rental company CANNOT be fined as there is no way the company(entity) was in control of the vehicle at the time of the incident.

After 120 days from the date of the incident, the ticket is thrown out. If AZ wont send a process server to CA, they won't send one to OH.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

Here are articles on the topic. Pick your poison OP.

Getting a Ticket in a Rental Car - Are There Additional Fees Or Fines?

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2337704/handling_rental_car_tickets.html

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Insurance/InsureYourCar/rent-a-car-risk-a-ticket-surprise.aspx

 

[asiny]

INCORRECT advice.

Mail service is NOT considered being PROPERLY served in AZ, therefore the ticket is tossed in 120 days per AZ state law.

The rental company CANNOT be fined as there is no way the company(entity) was in control of the vehicle at the time of the incident.

After 120 days from the date of the incident, the ticket is thrown out. If AZ wont send a process server to CA, they won't send one to OH.

I'm sorry - I may be missing something. If Arizona has installed red-light cameras to catch people running red lights.... how do they issue tickets to the offenders? If am reading what you wrote correctly, you seem to imply that if the ticket cannot be mailed out to the offender it must be served via some process server?

Taken from BUDGET's site;

Who is responsible for parking, tolls and moving traffic violations?
Answer: You are responsible for payment of any parking, toll and moving traffic violations along with a reasonable administrative fee, so please drive safely and observe all ordinances. Payments for these violations may be processed by a designated agent for this purpose.

Avis;

Who is responsible for parking, tolls and moving traffic violations?
You are responsible for payment of any parking, toll and moving traffic violations along with a reasonable administrative fee, so please drive safely and observe all ordinances. Payments for these violations may be processed by a designated agent for this purpose.

Enterprise;

How are Parking Tickets Handled?
Travelers are responsible for any parking tickets or moving violations received during the rental period.

I'm not going to go through all the rental companies - but you get the point. How did you come up with "INCORRECT advice"?

To the OP;

If I do nothing, will they attemt to personally serve me?

Probably not.

If I am not personally served, will the ticket be dismissed after a certain period of time?

Probably not.
If anyone can recall - what is the program where states cross-exchange information across state lines? It is usually applied to suspensions... I seem to recall it in another thread that it COULD be applied for a non-paying citation? Assistance from those wiser is appreciated.

 

[Who's Liable?]

I'm sorry - I may be missing something. If Arizona has installed red-light cameras to catch people running red lights.... how do they issue tickets to the offenders?

They issue tickets by printing them and mailing them out. There is an internal process where the photo of the driver is compared to the photo on the DL whos name the car is registered under. Once there is a "match" they send the ticket out. If there is no match, the send the photo to the registered owner of the vehicle requesting them forward the driver's information that is shown in the picture. However one is not legally obligated to do so.

If am reading what you wrote correctly, you seem to imply that if the ticket cannot be mailed out to the offender it must be served via some process server?

Correct. AZ state law deems mail delivery as IMPROMPER and NOT valid. ONLY a process server can PROPERLY serve you the citation for a photo ticket. Failure to prosecute within 120 days deems the ticket invalid, and it's tossed. Plus, the addition of a process server is only $30.

I'm not going to go through all the rental companies - but you get the point. How did you come up with "INCORRECT advice"?

Because it's incorrect. A company policy regarding payment of tickets does not deem the ticket valid. It only deems who is responsible for payment of said tickets should the offending party be found guilty.

If anyone can recall - what is the program where states cross-exchange information across state lines? It is usually applied to suspensions... I seem to recall it in another thread that it COULD be applied for a non-paying citation? Assistance from those wiser is appreciated.

There is such a program, and I think it's pretty much standard in all states now. However that is only for instances where the DMV is given the correct information to report. Remember, you are innocent until proven guilty!

 

[I_Got_Banned]

Because it's incorrect. A company policy regarding payment of tickets does not deem the ticket valid. It only deems who is responsible for payment of said tickets should the offending party be found guilty.

What if, by policy, the company chooses to cooperate with law enforcement agencies by simply paying the fine and charging the renter the same amount plus "a processing fee"?

Remember, the rental agency is not bound by law or by policy to expend any effort to protect the renter's legal right of "innocent until proven guilty" nor are the obliged to save him/her any money!

My feeling is that the OP can indeed ignore the service by mail from the issuing law enforcement agency, but not so much when it comes to the notice from the rental agency.

 

[The Occultist]

Why would a rental agency pay for a moving violation (ran a red light) which is attached to the driver and NOT to the vehicle or its registered owner? Considering the potential for points on a license, I'm not sure the agency could pay for the ticket and pass the fee onto the renter.

 

[I_Got_Banned]

If anyone can recall - what is the program where states cross-exchange information across state lines? It is usually applied to suspensions... I seem to recall it in another thread that it COULD be applied for a non-paying citation? Assistance from those wiser is appreciated.

Take your pick:

Drivers license compact (DLC)http://www.aamva.org/KnowledgeCenter/Driver/Compacts/
Nonresident Violator Compact (NRVC) http://www.aamva.org/KnowledgeCenter/Driver/Compacts/Nonresident+Violator+Compact+(NRVC).htm
National Driver Register (NDR) http://www.nationaldriverregister-forms.org/

Though I am not so sure any of those would apply here if the violations are treated by AZ as civil matters and are not reported to the AZ DMV!

 

[asiny]

Though I am not so sure any of those would apply here if the violations are treated by AZ as civil matters and are not reported to the AZ DMV!

As my grandmother always said - you learn something new everyday. I'm pretty sure she just made that up

To dominoe with I_Got_Banned, what if the rental company contact the courts to state that the vehicle - at the time - was being driven by [insert all contact information of driver]? I mean it seems as though this is exactly what has happened;

...and then a week later received the citation for $322.00 from the Tucson AZ court, it was mailed to me in Ohio where I live.

The below is taken from one of those "BEAT YOUR TICKET - ARIZONA FIRMS" website;

Out of State License Arizona Photo Radar Ticket
Arizona Photo Radar tickets are required to be served on the driver of the vehicle. If you acknowledge the first letter you receive or sign for the certified letter that will follow, you are considered to be served and the Arizona traffic court will have jurisdiction. If you are not served, the court should dismiss the ticket. If you are found guilty, the Arizona court will report the speeding ticket or red light violation to your home state and it will be treated in accordance with the laws of your state.

I see no reference that a citation MUST be served by some form of personal/process server.

OP, did you have to sign for the letter you received in the mail or did it just come delivered to you - nothing more? Are you sure the citation came from the Arizona court or was it forwarded to you by the car rental agency?

28-1593. Service of uniform traffic ticket and complaint
A) 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.
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.

Would this be true for Ohio?

Originally Posted by NYS DMV
If you do not respond to a ticket or fail to pay a fine for a moving violation that you committed in any state except Alaska, California, Michigan, Montana, Oregon or Wisconsin, the DMV suspends your NYS driver license until you respond to the ticket or pay the fine. If a driver from a state except these six states fails to respond to a traffic ticket issued in NYS, their driver license will be suspended until the driver responds to the traffic ticket in NYS.

 

[Who's Liable?]

The below is taken from one of those "BEAT YOUR TICKET - ARIZONA FIRMS" website;

These firms are a dime a dozen and charge people up the yahoo for things they can do themselves. Like "ignore the ticket", and "don't send in the request for information".
As for acknowledging the first letter, there is nothing to acknowledge because it is sent to the address listed to the registered owner via regular mail. The second letter sent is the same exact copy except a strongly worded letter stating the possibility of having your DL suspended. Again, all can be ignored as mail service IS NOT DEEMED PROPER SERVICE in AZ!

I see no reference that a citation MUST be served by some form of personal/process server.

That's because your looking in the wrong spot, it's not located on a lawyers website.

 

[The Occultist]

I'll throw in there that certified letters are considered valid serves in AZ, but NOT to a location out of state.

 

[asiny]

That's because your looking in the wrong spot, it's not located on a lawyers website.

Erm.... you could have done a tiny search. If you enter 28-1593 in google, it's 2nd in the list;
Format Document

28-1593. Service of uniform traffic ticket and complaint
A) 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.
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,

I read section C to allow certified mail to issue a citation.

 

[The Occultist]

Erm.... you could have done a tiny search. If you enter 28-1593 in google, it's 2nd in the list;
Format Document

I read section C to allow certified mail to issue a citation.

The point that Who's Liable is trying to make is that those things they mail out from the cameras are not valid serves (they are not!). You see, those aren't sent via certified mail, so your argument here is irrelevant. And, as I already stated, even if they send it certified mail, since the OP is out of the state it will still not be a valid serve.

 

[Who's Liable?]

Erm.... you could have done a tiny search. If you enter 28-1593 in google, it's 2nd in the list;
Format Document

I read section C to allow certified mail to issue a citation.

You need to read your own quote.

28-1593. Service of uniform traffic ticket and complaint
A) 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.

Please quote in the OPs thread were he SPECIFICALLY stated he was involved in an accident.

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,

These notices are NOT sent certified. They are sent thru regular mail THUS making them INVALID per AZ state law!