Watch Out If You’re In Juno Beach, Florida!
June 10, 2010 | in The Daily Drive
So I came across an article which is below, about a city in Florida which has an unusual way of controlling its citizens speed. Instead of police officers issuing tickets, they have photo radar van, or as they call it the “Juno van.” Shortly before I left Denver, they were having major issues with their photo radar vans, specifically if they were legal.
In most instances, whether it is photo radar vans or red light cameras, the city or state government (in Arizona the highways have speed cameras) which is using this type of “traffic safety device” are issuing civil tickets/fines versus an actual traffic ticket.
Driving is a privilege which is typically regulated by a state agency and when you speed or run a light, you are breaking the law in that state. A speeding ticket can be a criminal misdemeanor. The problem with red light cameras and photo radar vans is they are attempting to enforce a criminal statute in a civil manner. How do you cross examine a camera?
Which is exactly why the cities are doing it … they just assume the ticket/fine will be paid. Call it a stupid tax. In Colorado, they through out the photo radar vans and their tickets as being unconstitutional due to two issues, the accused was not provided the right to due process as they could not question their accuser and the actual summons were not issued by an officer of the law.
Juno Beach has an interesting way of handling it … if you do not pay the fine, they report it as an unpaid debt on your credit report! The van itself issued 8000 speeding tickets for speeds over 10MPH the speed limit. Unfortunately, these folks in Juno did not have the opportunity to take DefensiveDriving.com’s Florida Approved Traffic School for ticket dismissal in these cases because the ticket is not your typical speeding ticket – it is not reported against your license and therefore you do not have to worry about a problem with your points, just with your credit.
The real question at the end of the day … is this about safety or is this about money. The bottom line is you need to obey the speed limit, but if you get a ticket and it is from a real living and breathing police officer, remember our Florida Traffic School can dismiss your ticket, as long as it is not in Juno Beach!
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/juno-traffic-van-nails-8-000-drivers-in-730189.html
