Weasel Out of That Red Light Camera Ticket

City of Austin

News 8 Austin reports that companies wishing to use photographic evidence in court must possess a certain "private investigator's license"—neither the camera company used by the City of Austin nor the largest firm in Texas has this license.

City of Austin spokesperson Reyne Telles was quick to dismiss the loophole. "We're certainly keeping our pulse on the developing situation, but it is in the very early stages as far as litigation is concerned," she said to News 8. "At this point, it does not involve the city and does not involve anyone who has received a citation from the City of Austin."

Five cameras have been deployed throughout the city since May: at I-35 northbound frontage road and 11th Street; Riverside Drive and Pleasant Valley Road; I-35 southbound frontage road and 15th Street; MoPac southbound service road and U.S. 290 eastbound; and one up north at Howard Lane/Wells Branch Parkway and Mopac. Four more are planned for the immediate future.

As we mentioned back in May, each camera violation will set you back $75, unless you're able to prove one of a variety of extenuating circumstances—if you entered the intersection to get out of the way of an emergency vehicle, for example, or if your car was stolen.