Call Kurtis: Who Pays If Someone Gets a Red Light Camera Ticket Driving Your Car?

ELK GROVE (CBS13) — Karly McComas admits a red light camera caught her car blowing thru a red light in South Sacramento. She insists it was not her driving the car.

"I was at a family barbecue that day," she said.

She says she can't tell who was behind the wheel saying as many as four others drove her car that day. However, she got stuck with the $480 ticket.

If it's not her, should she have to pay? Consumer Attorney Stuart Talley says no.

"You have to fight it," he said.

He says you are not obligated to say who was driving either. We went to the Sheriff's Department's red light ticket division.

Sgt. Chris Solorzano says from time to time, they do find the person driving is not the registered owner. He says once a photo is taken, an officer compares facial features with the photo of on the driver's license of the registered owner. If there's any doubt, Sgt. Solorzano says it'll most likely dismiss the ticket. He agrees you don't have to rat our your friends or family.

Of 87,608 red light photos taken last year, the County says only 19,981 tickets were issued. That means 77-percent of the photos taken did not result in a ticket. Sgt. Solorzano says glares, bad weather, motorcycle helmets, and temporary plates on new cars make it tough to ticket anyone.

After we got involved, Karly met with the Sheriff's Department. They still did not dismiss her ticket. She could've challenged it in court, but decided to give up her fight.