El Mirage Photoradar Petition to Remove Cameras in the Works
Introduction
El Mirage resident Linda Kleiner said she plans on starting a petition to remove photoradar cameras in the City of El Mirage in October. Sign us up! Our firm fights photoradar all over the state of Arizona, and El Mirage is very heavy handed with their enforcement program. The police officials who testify on behalf of the private photoradar company have no authority to dismiss tickets, even if there are legitimate issues. Additionally, Judges routinely uphold multiple violations despite questionable legal underpinnings.
Many of our clients receive multiple traffic tickets in the mail before they even become aware that they have received a violation. One of our current clients racked up 5 violations before they were delivered to his house in the mail. At 3 points a piece, simply paying the violations would cause 15 points to be assessed to his license. This would almost certainly lead to a suspended license as a result.
Had our client been stopped by a live officer at the first violation, he would have been cited for one simple speeding ticket and likely have corrected his behavior. Instead, 5 violations accumulated before he even realized the speed limit was 45 miles per hour in this particular location.
The other good news is that the Arizona Department of Transportation did a recent traffic study in the area, and the speed limit should actually go up to reflect the speed that drivers actually travel:
Earlier this year, ADOT conducted a speed study along Grand Avenue from 111th Avenue to Dysart Road. In a memorandum released in early May, the speed study data showed support for a possible bump of the speed limit to 50 mph in the area.
Unfortunately, this will not happen for some time:
However, the memo indicates that ADOT will not consider bumping the speed limit until three Grand improvement projects (a Thunderbird Road interchange, the Bell/Grand overpass and the Loop 303 overpass widening) are completed. That pushes the timeline well into 2017 if not further.
In the meantime, El Mirage will continue to extort money from those travelling down Grand Avenue. If you receive a letter or a ticket in the mail, contact our firm before you try to fight it yourself. We can explain the system we have in place to provide you with a proper defense.
