NEW ORLEANS RED LIGHT TICKET

If you have been pulled over for running a red light or have been sent a red light ticket as a result of an automated camera, you likely have a lot of questions about what happens next. You do have options when it comes to how you handle a red light ticket. An experienced New Orleans traffic attorney can provide guidance.

What Happens When I Get a Red Light Ticket in New Orleans?

There are several actions that you can take as a driver in New Orleans that could result in a red light ticket, such as:

• Failing to come to a complete stop at a solid or flashing red light or failing to remain stopped until the crosswalk is clear and the light is green.
• Failing to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians and other traffic when turning right on a red light.
• Turning left on red at an intersection that does not involve two one-way streets.
• Failing to come to a complete stop before making a U-turn on a red light, or making a red-light U-turn where prohibited.

It should be noted that red light tickets are not issued if the light turns red while you are crossing the intersection as long as you were in the intersection before the light changed.

If you are suspected of running a red light in New Orleans, you may be pulled over by a police officer. The officer will ask for your driver’s license and registration and will explain his or her reason for pulling you over. You will be issued a citation, which also serves as a court summons. If you wish to fight the ticket, there will be a date, location, and time for you to appear in court to do so. Red light tickets carry a fine but do not carry the potential of incarceration unless there are other, more serious charges involved, such as an accident resulting from the red light-running that causes death or serious injury.

If your alleged infraction is caught on one of the city’s red-light cameras or a mobile traffic unit, the registered owner of the vehicle you were driving will be issued a photo safety citation through the mail. If you wish to contest the ticket, you can do so by following the instructions printed on your citation.

What Are My Options After Getting a Red Light Ticket?

• Pay the ticket. Note that by doing so, you are pleading guilty to running a red light and agreeing to accept the consequences of that plea. You can pay your fine online (credit card only), through the mail (money order only), or in person.
• Go to court and fight the ticket yourself. While many individuals who choose to do this are successful in getting the charge reduced, they still will have to pay a fine, may face an increase in insurance premiums, and the infraction will still show up on their driving record, which can create problems for delivery drivers, long- or short-haul truck drivers and others who are required to have a clean driving record for employment.
• Hire an experienced traffic ticket lawyer to handle your case.