Don’t Forget To Stop For A Camera Light

Daun Thompson — Thu, 09 Jan 2014 17:43:42 +0000

2014 started out with a bang. I received my first camera light ticket. In Dallas, they send you a bill with a photo of your vehicle and the license plate number and it is a $75 fine. There is also a link to their website where you can watch a video of the incident. I watched it 378 times, thinking I can’t believe I would have done this. And, the thing is, it may not have been me. It could have been someone else driving the car. I’ve loaned it to my daughter and my sister. I looked at my calendar to see where I was on that date and time in question to see if it truly was me who ran the light. The thing is, it doesn’t matter who was driving. It’s whomever the car is registered to that receives and is responsible for paying the fine. So, I just paid it. $75 is much less expensive than the whopping $378 fine that would have been issued by a police officer in Dallas. Typically, when someone gets a camera light ticket, they’re not blowing through a red light. Usually, they’re taking a right on red. They look to the left, there is no traffic coming, it’s safe, they “yielded,” but they didn’t come to a complete stop before turning. In order for your car to come to a complete stop, your car has to “settle.” They teach drivers education students now to stop for three seconds before taking a right on red, or stopping at a stop sign. Texas law does not require that you have to stop for a certain amount of “time,” but states that your car has to “settle.” Three seconds will ensure that your car has settled, though, so it’s not a bad habit to get into. So, don’t forget to stop for a camera light.

All that I know for certain about a camera light ticket is that it is a civil offense. Like a parking ticket, it will not go on your driving record. I have heard rumors that it will put a kibosh (that’s my favorite word for 2014) on your ability to renew your driver license if you don’t pay it. Of course, that can’t be true since it has nothing to due with your driver license. The fine is issued through your license plate number, which is your automobile registration. So, it is true that it will put a kibosh (there’s that word again) on your ability to get your annual registration renewed. Also, if you don’t pay the fine, it will go on your credit report, like not paying a bill. I do believe that much is true as I have two friends that work for a credit reporting bureau and they have said that they see camera light tickets on people’s credit reports quite often.

So, here’s the kicker…I’ve had several people in my comedy defensive driving class that have told me their insurance agent phoned them to let them know that their insurance rates have gone up because of their camera light ticket. I’m sure that insurance agencies keep tabs on their customer’s driving record to adjust insurance rates, but hadn’t even considered that agencies are also pulling credit reports as well. It was really baffling me…how do they know? So, that must be it. People aren’t paying their camera light tickets (both those they get at intersections where camera lights are present, i.e. photo enforced, and the camera tickets that are issued when passing a school bus when the red lights are flashing, i.e overtaking a school bus). In Texas, by the way, the fine for a camera light ticket is $75. And, if you don’t pay it, the late fee is $25. The fine for overtaking a school bus is $325. Which is much less expensive than the fine from someone in law enforcement (i.e. Johnny Law), which, as of September 1, in Texas, is a whopping $1,250.

So, if you get a camera light ticket or a school bus camera ticket, either pay the ticket or dispute it if you feel it is unjust. Don’t blow it off and let it go on your credit report. Just a little money saving tip from me to you for the new year.

Until next week…

Daun Thompson
Writer / Comedienne / Artist / Idea Mogul

Don’t Forget To Stop For A Camera Light – Comedy Defensive Driving

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BACK TO SCHOOL – LOOK OUT FOR KIDS

Daun Thompson — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 16:13:08 +0000

Just a few more weeks and kids are going back to school. I remember when I was a kid. Summer breaks were longer. And when it was time to go back to school, my mom would take us school shopping and buy us all new clothes and school supplies. That way she would trick us into being excited about going back to school. The truth is, I fell for it every time. And it wouldn’t hit me until about halfway through the first period, when I’d find myself wondering why the word school isn’t a four-letter word? With schools being open for business and child safety, those good old school zone laws will be in effect. So, remember, look out for kids…they’ll dart right out in front of you. When I was a kid, there were no school zones, we didn’t have to wear seat belts and we didn’t have to be restrained in a car seat either. These days, there are big fines imposed for these types of violations. We weren’t as important as kids are today. Especially the private school kids. Those kids are really special. They even have seat belts in their school buses.
Be sure to observe the school zone hours which are posted. If you see a police officer writing someone a ticket in the school zone and you are going to be passing in the lane right next to them, slow down even more for their safety, so you don’t find yourself getting a ticket or having to take a defensive driving class in Texas, and look out for kids darting across the street. No talking on the phone, texting your BFF or playing your Gameboy while you’re driving through a school zone.

Don’t let anything or anyone distract you. And, when you see a stopped school bus with it’s alternating red flashing lights on, make sure you know what to do. If the bus is on the opposite side of the road, going the opposite direction, and there is a true, solid median dividing the road (one with grass, gravel, trees or cement…with no split or divide in that median), you do not have to stop for the bus. The only time you must stop for the bus on the other side is if there is a split or divide in that median (where you can turn in or out from), or if there is no median at all (i.e. there is just a painted line separating the road). The fine on that side of the road, at least here in Texas, is currently running around $768. And, if the bus is stopped on your side of the road, in the same scenario, you have to stop behind the bus. I have been told that the fine for not stopping for a bus on your side of the road, again, here in Texas, is currently running around $1500. They call it “overtaking a school bus.” The new school buses I have seen now have a camera attached to the bus, directly behind the stop sign that pops out by the bus driver. So now they’ve got you on film and don’t just have to take the bus driver’s word for it. And you don’t want to be in that Kodak moment.

Until next week…

Daun Thompson

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Don’t Forget To Stop For A Camera Light

BACK TO SCHOOL – LOOK OUT FOR KIDS