According to the California Governor’s Highway Safety Association, in 2021, crashes that involved someone running a red light killed 1,109 people. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) found that during the following year, 1,149 people died and over 107,000 people were injured when someone ran a red light. It also found that automated red-light detection systems in big cities lowered resulting fatalities by more than 21%.<\/p>\n
California State Bill (SB) 720, the Safer Streets Act, is an opt-in program signed into law by Governor Newsom that went into effect in January 2026, which focuses on automated traffic enforcement systems throughout the state.\u00a0As more cities move towards\u00a0red light cameras (not all traffic lights have them), more and more people are getting tickets in the mail. As a law-abiding citizen, your first instinct is probably to pay it off as soon as possible to avoid further legal complications. However, some experts are telling Californians to push the pause button on that knee-jerk reaction, because fighting it might be the better option.<\/p>\n
Jay Beeber of the National Motorists Association says that California courts can’t legally enforce tickets issued by these systems. They can only pass it on to a collection agency, which has no lawful power over you, and technically, they can’t send it to a credit reporting agency, so it will never affect your credit. Thanks to this loophole, people are turning to companies like Ticket Snipers\u00a0(which charges $179) and GetDismissed\u00a0($129) to fight them in court.\u00a0According to Ticket Snipers founder Jorian Goes, they have successfully fought thousands of red light camera tickets over the years.<\/p>\n
Read more: 15 Annoying Car Myths That Simply Refuse To Die<\/p>\n