Philadelphia’s citations for speed and red-light cameras are misleading, lawsuit says
Speed cameras have been credited with reducing crashes on Roosevelt Boulevard. But a federal lawsuit raises concerns about due process and the ability of drivers to dispute tickets.
A federal lawsuit claims that notices of traffic violations captured on speed and red-light cameras in Philadelphia mislead car owners and that the programs offer little-to-no path for drivers to dispute the tickets.
The class-action complaint, filed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania last week against the city of Philadelphia, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, the Philadelphia Parking Authority, and PPA officials, takes issue with the wording of violation notices because the notices say the registered owner of the car is liable to pay the fine.
“Noticeably absent” from the notices, the lawsuit says, is that car owners can dispute a citation if they didn’t drive the car.
» READ MORE: Speed cameras added to dangerous roads in West, North, and Northeast Philly
Seven car owners represented in the complaint paid camera-issued fines. At least two paid red-light fines despite allegedly not being the driver at the time of the offense and claim in the complaint that they would have challenged the violations on that basis had they known it was an option.
“People don’t even know that they have a defense because the tickets are misleading,” said Kyle Garabedian, an attorney with Kang Haggerty who represents the car owners.
Another car owner attempted to dispute a 2023 speeding ticket showing him traveling 58 mph in a Roosevelt Boulevard 45 mph zone. He provided data from his State Farm insurance application, which tracks his driving speed, showing that he was driving within the speed limit. But the city’s office of administrative review still found him guilty.
“There seems that there is little you can do to refute what the technology says you did,” Garabedian said.
A challenge with camera-issued tickets, unlike those issued by officers on the scene, is that people attempting to dispute the violation can’t cross-examine the camera’s report or challenge its accuracy, the attorney said.
Philadelphia’s law department and the PPA declined to comment.
The city has been increasing its reliance on speed cameras on its most dangerous roads in recent years. The technology has been credited with a 95% reduction in speeding violations and a 21% reduction in fatal and serious-injury crashes on Roosevelt Boulevard, one of Philadelphia’s deadliest roads, which has had cameras since 2020.
Last month, city lawmakers approved an expansion of speed cameras in West, North, and Northeast Philadelphia. Thirty speed cameras are also planned to go online along Broad Street in March.
“Slowing down saves lives,” Parker said in a news conference in January.
Philadelphia also has red-light cameras at 34 intersections throughout the city, with more intersections approved for the cameras.
The red-light and speed camera programs have generated millions in revenue, which funds the programs and other state road-safety efforts. For example, the city issued nearly 375,000 red-light camera violations in fiscal 2024, generating more than $32 million, according to a PPA report.
The due-process violations alleged in the complaint raise concerns that the programs issue misleading tickets as a way to “generate a massive amount of money,” Garabedian said.
The technology to capture an image of the driver exists, the attorney said, and notices should provide car owners with information about their rights to dispute liability.
“Part of it is about fixing these notices and not misleading drivers,” Garabedian said. “Then there can be a conversation about how to fix this technology to promote traffic safety instead of generating money.”