Red Light Camera Defense Strategies

SB 720 red light camera citations are issued to the registered owner of the vehicle — not to the person who actually ran the light. If you were not driving, you can submit an Affidavit of Nonliability identifying the actual driver, or attesting that you do not know who drove. The burden then shifts to the issuing agency to prove you were behind the wheel.

Red light camera systems must be certified and tested regularly. The issuing agency is required to produce a certificate of accuracy showing the camera was operating correctly on the date of the alleged violation. Requesting this documentation and noting if it is not provided is one of the strongest procedural defenses available.

California law requires that the notice of violation be mailed within a specific timeframe from the date the image was captured. If the agency failed to meet this mailing deadline, the notice may be defective. Comparing the mailing date on the notice against the violation date can reveal whether the required filing period was met.

A properly marked intersection must have signage warning drivers that the intersection is monitored by an automated enforcement system. If signs were missing, obscured by vegetation or construction, or placed where they could not reasonably be seen before the stop line, this is a valid challenge to the citation.

A violation occurs when a vehicle enters the intersection after the signal has turned red. If the vehicle entered while the light was yellow — even if it turned red mid-intersection — that is not a violation of CVC 21453. When camera image data or timestamps support this timeline, those details are relevant to a written response contesting the citation.