Book advises how to fight photo radar tickets

"It started, actually, with an article I wrote for Arizona Attorney Magazine in 1998 about photo radar," she said. "And I started to get phone calls from everyone from police officers to state representatives."

The book is built on the premise that most photo radar tickets are illegal and shouldn’t be paid.

Kayler said there are several fundamental flaws with photo radar tickets. Those include the legality of the way tickets are served by mail and not in person, she said. There also are problems involved in how tickets are worded and about what happens if recipients don’t waive a process server, she said.

Bruce Kalin, who oversees photo radar in Scottsdale, said he believes Kayler might be selling bad advice.

"Scottsdale as a city has been doing this since 1997. If it was illegal, it certainly would have been ruled illegal by now," Kalin said.

Last year, the city issued just under 40,000 photo radar tickets — about twice as many as officer-issued citations, he said. Most, just under 60 percent, pay the tickets without requiring a process server.

In Mesa, roughly 29,000 photo radar tickets were issued, said Kathy Barrett, an administrator with Mesa Municipal Court. Only about 1,200 were dismissed last year for a variety of reasons, including a lack of service. Lack of service means the violator could not be served within 120 days as mandated by law.

Kayler acknowledged that most judges uphold photo radar tickets despite their legal problems.

"The judges, I feel, have chosen to ignore the statutes," she said.

Read all about it
Susan Kayler’s book, "Smile for the Speed Camera — Photo Radar Exposed!" can be purchased online at www.barnesandnoble.com, at www.alibris.com, at www.photoradarlaw.com or by calling Kayler’s office at (480) 368-1304.


Contact Toni Laxson by email, or phone (480) 970-2324