{"id":2110,"date":"2024-08-12T03:52:12","date_gmt":"2024-08-12T10:52:12","guid":{"rendered":"\/wp-site\/?p=2110"},"modified":"2025-02-27T05:19:16","modified_gmt":"2025-02-27T13:19:16","slug":"red-light-camera-laws","status":"publish","type":"car-insurance","link":"https:\/\/jerry.ai\/car-insurance\/alabama\/red-light-camera-laws\/","title":{"rendered":"How Much Is A Ticket For Running A Red Light In Alabama?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>You were driving and saw flashes from a camera in your rear-view mirror. What happens now can range from nothing to a fine.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Running a red light in <a href=\"\/car-insurance\/alabama\/\">Alabama<\/a> can land you jail time because Alabama classifies running a red as a Class C criminal misdemeanor, however, that is less likely because you are only subject to prosecution if a police officer or witness has seen and reported your actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-cost\">Cost of running a red light ticket in Alabama<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.drivinglaws.org\/resources\/traffic-tickets\/moving-violations\/running-red-lights-and-stop-s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">DrivingLaws<\/a>, here\u2019s the penalty schedule Alabama-wide:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th>Number of offenses<\/th><th>Base fine<\/th><th>Maximum jail time<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>First offense in a year<\/td><td>$100<\/td><td>10 days<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Second offense in a year<\/td><td>$200<\/td><td>30 days<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Third offense in a year<\/td><td>$500<\/td><td>3 months<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>With red light cameras, what could happen is that you\u2019ll receive a civil fine in the mail with evidence of your alleged wrongdoing and the fine amount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, when the Tuscaloosa Police Department rolled out the <a href=\"https:\/\/fawp.ua.edu\/bamaparking\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/03\/Red-Light-Photo-Enforcement-System.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">automated red light enforcement system<\/a>, they addressed the question on whether a red light camera ticket goes on your record, \u201cA red light ticket is a civil fine and will not impact a person\u2019s <a href=\"\/car-insurance\/\">car insurance<\/a> rates or add points on a person\u2019s driver&#8217;s license. Once payment is made, it will constitute the final disposition on the matter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The cost of these fines and accompanying costs vary from city to city. For example, in Tuscaloosa, running a red light has a fine of $182. While in Phenix City, the fine is $100.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Read more:<\/strong> <a href=\"\/car-insurance\/car-insurance-quotes\/\">How to save money by comparing car insurance quotes<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"cities-with-cameras\">Cities in Alabama with red light cameras&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Alabama is one of the states that permits some local governments to install red light cameras for traffic enforcement. In 2008, the state capital of Montgomery became the first city in Alabama to install red light cameras.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As of February 2025, the following Alabama cities use red light cameras:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Center Point.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Midfield.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"\/car-insurance\/alabama\/montgomery\/\">Montgomery<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Phenix City.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Selma.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"\/car-insurance\/alabama\/tuscaloosa\/\">Tuscaloosa<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"how-does-it-work\">How does a red light camera work?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A red light camera uses sensors to capture still or video footage of a car entering an intersection after the light has turned red.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, in Montgomery, red light cameras take three pictures of your car as it moves through the intersection:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>An image of the car before crossing the white line and also shows the light is red.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>An image of the car in the intersection while the light is red.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A close-up image of the license plate.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Those three images in combination prove that the driver ran the red light and provide law enforcement with identifying information. Using that information, police can send a notice of the violation to the car\u2019s owner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"what-to-do-with-ticket\">What should I do if I receive a red light camera ticket?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you open your mail to discover a red light camera ticket, you\u2019ve got two options. You can either pay the fine and accept the other penalties or request a court date to appeal the citation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to fight a red light camera ticket<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Paying your fine is the fastest way to deal with a ticket, but in some cases, it\u2019s better to fight the citation. You might want to appeal your red light camera ticket if:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>There was inadequate signage at the intersection notifying you of camera enforcement.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You ran the red light in response to directions from law enforcement.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You ran the light to yield right-of-way to an emergency vehicle.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You weren\u2019t the owner of the car at the time of the violation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Your car was stolen and it was the thief who ran the red light.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You chose not to stop due to hazardous road conditions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"recap\">The bottom line<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Running a red light can lead to two different types of charges. If you ran a red light camera, you will likely get a ticket in the mail with a fine. If a police officer sees you do it or a witness reports you, the offense could rise to the level of a Class C misdemeanor which has a maximum $500 fine and up to 30 days in jail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-jerry-cta\"><div class=\"flex flex-col items-start gap-4 rounded-xl border border-zinc-200 px-12 py-8 md:flex-row md:items-center md:gap-14\"><div class=\"flex-1\"><span class=\"text-xl font-black text-gray-900\">SIMPLIFY YOUR CAR INSURANCE IN MINUTES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"flex-1\"><a href=\"\/signup\/insured?service=insurance\" class=\"bg-primary block w-full rounded-full px-14 py-2 text-center font-black text-white hover:no-underline\">Find savings now<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:100%\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-jerry-meet-experts\" data-wp-interactive=\"jerry\/meet-experts\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;modalVisible&quot;:false}\">\n  <div class=\"font-circular text-2xl font-extrabold text-slate-900\">Expert-driven. Built for you.<\/div>\n\n  <div class=\"my-3\">\n    <div class=\"flex justify-between items-center py-3 border-b border-neutral-200 cursor-pointer font-semibold text-gray-900\" data-wp-on-async--click=\"actions.toggleModal\">\n  <button class=\"text-left text-base\" type=\"button\">\n    Why you can count on Jerry&#8217;s articles  <\/button>\n\n  <div class=\"transition data-[visible=true]:md:rotate-180 text-xs iconify i--chevron-down text-gray-500\" data-wp-bind--data-visible=\"context.modalVisible\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"modal-backdrop fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-50 overflow-hidden overscroll-contain bg-black\/70 font-body transition-transform delay-100 duration-0 md:relative md:z-auto [&amp;:not([data-visible=true])]:translate-y-full [&amp;:not([data-visible=true])]:bg-black\/0 [&amp;:not([data-visible=true])]:md:hidden\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.onModalInit\" data-wp-on-async--click=\"actions.hideModal\" data-wp-bind--data-visible=\"context.modalVisible\">\n  <div class=\"modal-view fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 flex max-h-[75%] w-full flex-col rounded-t-3xl bg-white pb-7 pl-7 pt-3.5 transition md:relative md:rounded-none md:pl-0 md:transition-none [&amp;:not([data-visible=true])]:translate-y-full [&amp;:not([data-visible=true])]:md:hidden\" data-wp-bind--data-visible=\"context.modalVisible\">\n    <div class=\"modal-header md:hidden flex justify-between items-center pb-1 mb-1 border-b border-zinc-200\">\n      <div class=\"modal-title text-base font-semibold\">Summary<\/div>\n\n      <div\n        class=\"modal-close-btn wp-block-group w-11 h-11 mr-2.5 content-center text-center\"\n        data-wp-on-async--click=\"actions.hideModal\"\n      >\n        <div class=\"iconify i--close text-gray-500 cursor-pointer\"><\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n    <div class=\"modal-body pr-7 overflow-y-auto\"><div class=\"wp-block-template-part\"><div class=\"flex flex-row items-center gap-2.5 rounded-lg bg-gray-pink px-4 py-5\">\n  <span class=\"iconify mt-0.5 shrink-0 self-start text-xs text-primary i--shield-check\"><\/span>\n\n  <div>\n    <div class=\"font-body text-xs font-bold text-primary\">Our goal is clear, trustworthy information.<\/div>\n    <div class=\"mt-1 font-body text-xs text-gray-600\">\n      Our content is created, edited and fact checked by a team of licensed insurance agents, automotive pros and\n      experienced journalists who know the industry inside and out. Facts are thoroughly researched, verified and kept\n      current, and our editorial team is separate from our business partners, so our opinions &#038; tips are unbiased. All\n      insights drawn from Jerry\u2019s proprietary, aggregated customer auto insurance quotes data provide unique, real-world\n      guidance.\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/div>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <div class=\"text-base font-semibold text-gray-900\">Our experts<\/div>\n\n  <div class=\"my-8 flex flex-col gap-8 items-center justify-center\">\n          <div\n        class=\"meet-experts-item group relative flex h-auto w-full flex-none flex-col justify-between overflow-hidden rounded-3xl py-9 text-sm shadow-variant-card\"\n        data-expand=\"false\"\n        data-wp-init=\"callbacks.onItemInit\"\n      >\n        <div class=\"grid h-full w-full grid-cols-1 overflow-hidden px-8 md:grid-cols-4\">\n          <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"250\" height=\"250\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Xuyun.png\" class=\"size-16 rounded-full md:size-32 col-span-1 md:ml-4\" alt=\"meet-experts-thumbnail\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Xuyun.png 250w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Xuyun-150x150.png 150w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Xuyun-56x56.png 56w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Xuyun-120x120.png 120w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 346px) 260px, (max-width: 576px) 432px, (max-width: 720px) 540px, (min-width: 720px) 250px, 100vw\" fetchpriority=\"low\"\/>\n          <div class=\"col-span-3\">\n            <div class=\"my-4 flex-1 content-center font-circular text-lg font-medium text-slate-900 md:mt-0\">\n              Xuyun Zeng            <\/div>\n\n            \n            <div class=\"text-slate-500 mt-2 leading-6\">\n              <p>Xuyun Zeng is a writer and editor with a wide-ranging content background including tech, journalism, cars and health care. After graduating with highest honors in journalism, Xuyun led a newspaper to win eight awards, helped start an award-winning film industry podcast and has written over a hundred articles about cars repair, state laws and insurance. Prior to joining Jerry, Xuyun worked as a freelance SEO consultant with a mission to create the best content that will help readers and grow organic traffic.<\/p>            <\/div>\n          <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n\n        <div class=\"absolute hidden group-data-[expand=true]:flex bottom-0 w-full h-24 bg-gradient-to-t from-white from-30% to-transparent to-100% items-end justify-center\">\n          <div\n            class=\"flex cursor-pointer flex-row items-center gap-2 my-4 font-circular text-primary\"\n            data-wp-on-async--click=\"actions.onItemExpandClick\"\n          >\n            <span class=\"text-sm\">See more<\/span>\n            <span class=\"iconify i--chevron-down text-xs\"><\/span>\n          <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n          <div\n        class=\"meet-experts-item group relative flex h-auto w-full flex-none flex-col justify-between overflow-hidden rounded-3xl py-9 text-sm shadow-variant-card\"\n        data-expand=\"false\"\n        data-wp-init=\"callbacks.onItemInit\"\n      >\n        <div class=\"grid h-full w-full grid-cols-1 overflow-hidden px-8 md:grid-cols-4\">\n          <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"250\" height=\"250\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Kevin-Berry.png\" class=\"size-16 rounded-full md:size-32 col-span-1 md:ml-4\" alt=\"meet-experts-thumbnail\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Kevin-Berry.png 250w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Kevin-Berry-150x150.png 150w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Kevin-Berry-56x56.png 56w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Kevin-Berry-120x120.png 120w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 346px) 260px, (max-width: 576px) 432px, (max-width: 720px) 540px, (min-width: 720px) 250px, 100vw\" fetchpriority=\"low\"\/>\n          <div class=\"col-span-3\">\n            <div class=\"my-4 flex-1 content-center font-circular text-lg font-medium text-slate-900 md:mt-0\">\n              Kevin Berry            <\/div>\n\n            \n            <div class=\"text-slate-500 mt-2 leading-6\">\n              <p>Kevin Berry is the Senior Director of Content at Jerry and has been working in the digital content space since 2011 across the car insurance\/repair, personal finance, travel and sports industries. Prior to Jerry, Kevin was a content team lead at NerdWallet overseeing the Multimedia Production and Travel Rewards teams. Previously, he worked for NBC Sports, Comcast Cable and Nike. He has a Master`s Degree from Arkansas State and a Bachelor`s from Oregon State University.<\/p>            <\/div>\n          <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n\n        <div class=\"absolute hidden group-data-[expand=true]:flex bottom-0 w-full h-24 bg-gradient-to-t from-white from-30% to-transparent to-100% items-end justify-center\">\n          <div\n            class=\"flex cursor-pointer flex-row items-center gap-2 my-4 font-circular text-primary\"\n            data-wp-on-async--click=\"actions.onItemExpandClick\"\n          >\n            <span class=\"text-sm\">See more<\/span>\n            <span class=\"iconify i--chevron-down text-xs\"><\/span>\n          <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n          <div\n        class=\"meet-experts-item group relative flex h-auto w-full flex-none flex-col justify-between overflow-hidden rounded-3xl py-9 text-sm shadow-variant-card\"\n        data-expand=\"false\"\n        data-wp-init=\"callbacks.onItemInit\"\n      >\n        <div class=\"grid h-full w-full grid-cols-1 overflow-hidden px-8 md:grid-cols-4\">\n          <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"250\" height=\"250\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Lacie-Glover.png\" class=\"size-16 rounded-full md:size-32 col-span-1 md:ml-4\" alt=\"meet-experts-thumbnail\" srcset=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Lacie-Glover.png 250w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Lacie-Glover-150x150.png 150w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Lacie-Glover-56x56.png 56w, \/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Lacie-Glover-120x120.png 120w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 346px) 260px, (max-width: 576px) 432px, (max-width: 720px) 540px, (min-width: 720px) 250px, 100vw\" fetchpriority=\"low\"\/>\n          <div class=\"col-span-3\">\n            <div class=\"my-4 flex-1 content-center font-circular text-lg font-medium text-slate-900 md:mt-0\">\n              Lacie Glover            <\/div>\n\n            \n            <div class=\"text-slate-500 mt-2 leading-6\">\n              <p>Lacie Glover is a Lead Writer and Editor with sixteen years\u2019 experience in the insurance category. Prior to Jerry, she spent more than a decade on NerdWallet\u2019s content team writing, editing and then overseeing the auto insurance category, as well as dabbling in other insurance and automotive topics. Prior to her career in the online personal finance content space, Lacie spent time in the hard sciences, in clinical research and chemistry labs. She has a bachelor\u2019s degree from Colorado State University.<\/p>            <\/div>\n          <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n\n        <div class=\"absolute hidden group-data-[expand=true]:flex bottom-0 w-full h-24 bg-gradient-to-t from-white from-30% to-transparent to-100% items-end justify-center\">\n          <div\n            class=\"flex cursor-pointer flex-row items-center gap-2 my-4 font-circular text-primary\"\n            data-wp-on-async--click=\"actions.onItemExpandClick\"\n          >\n            <span class=\"text-sm\">See more<\/span>\n            <span class=\"iconify i--chevron-down text-xs\"><\/span>\n          <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Red light camera offenses in Alabama could get you a fine, but unless your case rises to the level of a criminal misdemeanor, you will not see jail time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":53768,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"single-advice","meta":{"jerry_authors":"[{\"id\":\"39\",\"type\":\"main-author\"},{\"id\":\"187\",\"type\":\"editor\"},{\"id\":\"374\",\"type\":\"reviewer\"}]","jerry_author_ids":[39],"jerry_idx_page_label":"","jerry_meta_desc":"Red light camera offenses in Alabama could get you a fine, but unless your case rises to the level of a criminal misdemeanor, you will not see jail time.","jerry_related_posts":"[23868,11461,34982,32881,3937]","jerry_summary":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"yes","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[409],"tags":[47,31,346],"class_list":["post-2110","car-insurance","type-car-insurance","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alabama","tag-alabama","tag-car-insurance","tag-state-laws"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jerry.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/car-insurance\/2110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jerry.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/car-insurance"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jerry.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/car-insurance"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jerry.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jerry.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2110"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/jerry.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/car-insurance\/2110\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63844,"href":"https:\/\/jerry.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/car-insurance\/2110\/revisions\/63844"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jerry.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jerry.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jerry.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jerry.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}