Getting points on your license is bad enough when you're in the car and commit an offense while driving. It's even worse, however, when you aren't in the car at all! The last thing you want is to see your insurance rates increase or potentially lose your license due to offenses acquired when you were far away from your car. Fortunately, there is help available for these situations.

Red Light Cameras

Traffic light cameras are one of the biggest causes of points on your license — not to mention unwanted tickets — whether you were in the car or not. If you're the registered owner of the car, you're the one who will receive the ticket in the mail if your car has been seen sailing (or even rolling) through a red light. If you've committed this offense, you're probably quite familiar with the system: a few days after the incident, you receive a picture of your car's tires across the line in the road when the light turned red and a demand that you pay the associated fees. Unfortunately, if the car is registered in your name, you're going to get that ticket regardless of whether or not you were the one driving the car. The system is automated and relies on the fact that people will automatically pay the ticket rather than taking the time and effort to contest it. Fortunately, in some cases, it's easy to prove that you weren't guilty.

Checking Your Guilt

If you've been hit with a red light ticket from a camera, there needs to be solid proof that you were the one driving the car. There needs to be a clear picture of you behind the wheel at the time of the incident. If it's arbitrary, or if it's impossible to tell whether or not you were the one behind the wheel — or even better, if it's obvious that you weren't the one driving the car — then it's easy to tell that you aren't the one responsible for the ticket.

If you know that you weren't the one driving the car and remember who was at the time of the infraction, you also have the option of sharing that information. You can pass the blame on to the person who was actually responsible, thus avoiding the cost of the ticket and the points on your own license. Keep in mind, however, that you aren't required to share that information. The burden of proof is on the law.

Check the Calibration of the Cameras

In some cases, the calibration of the camera may not be perfectly matched with the timing of the light. If you crossed the line while the light was still yellow, even if the light turned red while you were still in the intersection, you aren't guilty of running the light and won't need to be responsible for the ticket. Ideally, in order to send you a red light ticket based on the input from a camera, you want a picture showing that your front wheels were on the wrong side of the line when the light turned red. If you made it before the light turned, even if you were driving, you're in the clear!

All Right, It Was You: Removing Points from Your License

Sometimes, red light cameras are able to provide irrefutable proof that you were the one driving and that you did cross into the intersection after the light turned red. In this case, you don't have to live with the points on your license! Attending traffic school can help get those points removed earlier. TrafficSchoolOnline.com is the nation's first and most respected traffic school, making it easy for you to take care of those points, erase the ticket, and prevent it from showing up on your driving record all in the convenience of your own home. 100% satisfaction guarantee or your money back.