Check out This Video of Chicago’s Red Light Camera. All You Get is Three Seconds…Learn How to Fight that Ticket!

I’ve received a fair number of responses, both publicly and privately for yesterday’s post about the obscene number of parking tickets I’ve received in the past six months. Two of those tickets were for $100 red light violations.

A reader, Barnet Fagel, made this astute commentary about my predicament.

You were a victim of what I refer to as “incidental entrapment.” You may have noticed the duration of Chicago’s yellow lights is usually shorter than other areas. This not coincidental, it’s not a traffic engineering fluke, but rather by political design to presumably to balance the city’s budget.

It is also not coincidental that Chicago’s traffic signals have not been receiving regular maintenance due to “a lack of manpower.” Now complicate the situation with Chicago’s Draconian automated red light camera ordinance which presumes guilt until the fine is paid. Even if the traffic signal or the camera is on the “blink”, it’s not recognized as an “allowable” defense.

Based on federal guidelines, the three second yellow light interval is the extreme minimum time a municipality can designate. The City of Chicago certainly adheres to that.

Why?

Money. (Of course.)

Check out Fagel’s ChicagoYouTube video here. (You can also find it by Googling MrBFagel.) 

Fagel’s other suggestion:  

Join the National  Motorist Association and get help fighting the traffic tickets. For $35 a year you can become a NMA member and get advice over the phone. It’s much cheaper that hiring an attorney or paying higher insurance rates.