Rep. Andy Holt: “Burn your traffic camera tickets”

DRESDEN, Tenn. — A local state representative took an unusual stand Wednesday against something many of us have encountered, tickets from traffic cameras.

Representative Andy Holt, a republican from Dresden said they are not real and you do not have to pay them. According to Holt and even an attorney we spoke with, if you do not pay one of these tickets, by law, it will not affect your credit score, insurance rates, or points on your license.

Although WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News is not condoning ignoring tickets you get in the mail Representative Holt said take a match and burn them.

“It says you must pay this, that’s not true,” Representative Holt said. “There is no state law that says you have to pay this citation.”

Holt said a new state law will make it clear at the bottom of your ticket that not paying it will not affect you.

“It’s to make sure citizens are treated fairly and not lied to,” Holt said. “Right now municipalities all over Northwest Tennessee are lying to people.”

Holt said he has received his fair share of camera tickets and has not paid a single one, choosing to burn them instead. But could these cities and towns come after you for that money? Attorney Mark Donahoe said it is not likely.

“You’re looking at, depending on where you are, $200 or $300 to file that to collect a $50 ticket of which the city is only going to get a very small percentage,” Donahoe said.

The ticket from a camera is much different than one from an officer, one is civil while the other is criminal.

“I trust law enforcement officers,” Holt said. “But what I don’t trust is the idea that if we stick a bunch of cameras up all over the state that somehow we’re going to improve safety.”

Holt said while these tickets keep coming he will keep fighting to stop them.

“There’s some towns between Dresden and Jackson that use this threatening language in tickets very often,” Holt said. “And believe you me, I’m not done with photo enforcement camera companies in Tennessee.”

The first piece of legislation Rep. Holt said he helped pass made it so towns can not put up any more of those unmanned cameras, so by the time the contracts end for the current ones they will be wiped out across the state.

Again, the decision is yours on what to do with any traffic camera ticket you get in the mail. Just remember, WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News is not saying one way or the other, merely passing along the opinions shared with us.