Ticket for a red light from a traffic camera in CA. How do I reduce cost/penalty when the photos prove guilty?

It's late at night. I'm driving with my mother in Fremont, CA a week before my wedding. She's been sleeping on my couch for three weeks helping me sew the 5 bridesmaids' dresses while I finish my own wedding dress. THREE WEEKS with my mother sleeping on my couch one thin wall away from my husband and mine's bed. It's been a long day of errands, frazzled meetings with florists and hairdressers, and a long frantic plea with the nice people at Eddie's Quilting Bee to fix my sewing machine so I can finish my wedding dress. I've been driving all day from Berkeley to San Mateo to San Jose to Fremont. I'm driving along a horribly signed road trying desperately to find my way on to the right highway. The cars just in front and next to me are moving a little faster than me. I'm squinting at a bent sign I can hardly read to make sure I don't miss the on ramp (for the second time). Next thing I know I'm nearly blinded by a couple of flashes of bright light. Somehow the car right in front of and next to me made it through the intersection, but it turned red just before I entered.



Now I have a ticket. The ticket has four lovely photos. One of my face, of my license plate, one of my car before the intersection with a clearly red light and one of my car passing through the intersection with a clearly red light.



I'm not saying I didn't run the red light, but I'm not a bad driver. I've never gotten a ticket. I never run red lights on purpose. I don't violate the carpool lane. I don't get road rage. I don't tailgate. I don't cut people off. I always use my turn signal, even to change lanes. I never use my phone while I'm driving (even before it was illegal). I don't even speed much.



Is there a way I can avoid the point on my license without paying $381 for the ';bail'; plus the $420 they want me to pay to do traffic school when I'm clearly guilty of the offense. Is there some sort of probation I can request? Or leniency with the fine? Or dismissal on grounds of good behavior and a clean record? Temporary insanity due to mother invasion of my couch?



I really don't have the money. I just paid for a wedding I could only afford because my father graciously offered to pitch in even though he doesn't really have the money.



Any advice would be great. Thanks. Ticket for a red light from a traffic camera in CA. How do I reduce cost/penalty when the photos prove guilty?
Temporay insanity due to mother invasion sounds good but I doubt the judge will agree. Go to court and ask the judge for community service .

Ticket for a red light from a traffic camera in CA. How do I reduce cost/penalty when the photos prove guilty?
You got caught.



Pay the fine.



If you couldn't afford the fine, you shouldn't have run the light.
Contest in court?
Voluntary admission of the offense will be a mitigating circumstance in the resolution of the case so that a lower penalty will be meted.
y such a long explanation, you cant reduce the fee, but you can have an extenstion on paying. U BUSTED
Are you sure its points on your license because in NYC, its not. However, the only way is to find out if any repairs were made to that light in the past month that you can challenge in court.
I have never heard of $420 being charged for traffic school on top of the fine. Are you sure it is not a $380 fine OR $420 for traffic school? At any rate, on contesting red light tickets, you might look here. I don't agree with everything on the site, but there are some good ideas.



http://highwayrobbery.net/
Answer is simple, pay the fine and pay the fee to go to traffic school. You will waste more time fight this thing than it is worth, just me I did and it got me no where.



The real concern here is preventing a point from going on your record, and the ONLY way to do this is by attending traffic school. My advice to you is do it ONLINE with http://www.TicketRelief.com. They were quick, easy, and I completed my course work ONLINE in a day!



TicketRelief.com's certificate cleared the court and the point was CLEARED!