Can You Dispute New Orleans Traffic Tickets? Yes, Here's How!

In November 2011, disgraced police officer Glenn Gross betrayed the public's trust by issuing hundreds of bogus New Orleans traffic tickets. Not only did Gross issue phony tickets, but he was doing it while working federally financed overtime shifts, according to Nola. The New Orleans Police Department received the federal grant in June 2011 to help it enforce seat belt laws.

The article revealed that out of 215 seatbelt tickets issued by Gross, a 22-year veteran of NOPD, not a single one was found to be legitimate. Though this particular case is well over a decade old, it's safe to say things like that still happen in New Orleans. This is why people must contest traffic tickets they feel were issued unfairly. That's what DoNotPay was developed to do: help you contest or appeal New Orleans traffic tickets.

New Orleans's Traffic Camera Safety Program Criticized Since 2008

We often look to our local and federal government institutions to set examples of honest, transparent operation. This is even though governmental institutions in the U.S. and abroad have a long track record of exactly the opposite. A January 2020 report published by CBS affiliate Channel 4 in New Orleans should remind the public that a fair Democratic society must be defended constantly.

The Office of Inspector General found that the New Orleans Traffic Camera Safety Program violated both city ordinance and Louisiana law. With "no coherent oversight" for over a decade, the program ticketed drivers unnecessarily. The New Orleans Office of Inspector General's report was a "harsh rebuke of the city's Traffic Camera Safety Program," Channel 4's report stated. Like most traffic camera safety programs in other cities in the U.S., drivers are cited for various New Orleans traffic tickets using photos and videos.

Traffic Cameras: For Safety or Profits?

The report from Inspector General Derry Harper's office wrote: "The traffic camera program in New Orleans had been contentious, with citizens caught in a debate about the extent to which the program prioritized public safety as opposed to revenue generation." New Orleans hired a private contractor named American Traffic Solutions to set up and manage nearly 100 stationary traffic cameras. Over half of these cameras were set up around school zones.

Generally, the researchers are in consensus that this automated traffic camera system was supposed to make roads in New Orleans safer. Nevertheless, the Inspector General's report revealed neither American Traffic Solutions nor the city tracked statistics proving the system succeeded in this respect. Not only that but the company profits between $17 and $23 per citation. The amount is dependent on where the camera that captured the alleged violation is located — like cameras placed within school zones.

Nearly a Quarter-Million Dollars Were Collected From Traffic Camera Tickets

NBC affiliate Channel 6 in New Orleans cited that along with ticketing thousands of people illegally, the city profited $730,000 from traffic camera tickets. This was in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when many New Orleanians were struggling to pay rent or put food on their tables. The Inspector General said that "Even if it's small amounts for tickets, and they sometimes can, of course, go up to hundreds of dollars, those funds should have been refunded to those individuals."

Harper further explained that instead of showing concern for people, the money collected using a faulty traffic camera system just sat in the city's bank accounts. Compounding the issue, program leaders never once read reports concerning citation overpayments nor acted responsibly and fixed the program. He then referred to the fact that most illegal tickets were issued in "school zones."

However, the dates on the citations revealed that it wasn't school season. In some rare instances, no one confirmed that schools were still located where the camera was placed years ago. In other words, drivers were getting ticketed for speeding in nonexistent school zones, paying between $157.50 (1-9 mph over the limit) and $282.50 (15-20 mph over the limit).

Contest Unfair New Orleans Traffic Tickets

Over the years, chatbots have gotten a bad rap. As Engadget put it back in a June 2016 article: "Who said that chatbots were gimmicks? Certainly not DoNotPay's Joshua Browder." Browder, a British-American entrepreneur, created and founded DoNotPay in 2015. The thing about DoNotPay's "chatbot" is technically a conversational AI, which means it learns with every interaction.

Most chatbots in the classical sense are programmed to provide preprogrammed responses, limiting their responses. Browder's AI-driven virtual attorney successfully appealed over 160,000 parking citations in London and NYC by the time the June 2016 article by Engadget was published. In less than two years, DoNotPay had already saved drivers in two separate places in the world millions of pounds/dollars.

Here are but a few ways traffic tickets and ultimately a bad driving record can negatively affect your life:

1. In certain cases, traffic citations can indirectly affect your credit score.
2. A bad driving record could affect your life insurance, not just your vehicle insurance.
3. Felony driving-related offenses such as driving under the influence (DUI) can prevent you from voting.
4. Depending on one's career, certain traffic offenses or too many of them can result in losing employment.
5. Your driving privileges can be revoked for a period if you get too many traffic tickets.
6. Judges and prosecutors can use a person's driving record as evidence of character in sentencing for other criminal offenses.

While our AI attorney isn't comprised of the most complex code — asking users simple questions to help it learn their circumstances — it's super effective. We've had successfully challenged 64% of traffic tickets before New Year 2017 — mostly free of charge. That's something when one considers that only a fraction of people in the U.S. beat traffic tickets without paying a human attorney as much or more than the ticket costs.

Don't Pay a Lawyer More Than the Price of the Ticket

But it depends on when and where someone gets a traffic ticket, as well as how prestigious the attorney sees. According to some national data we've seen, traffic attorneys charge between $200 to $350 to get a speeding ticket dismissed. In the severest of cases, some states issue speeding tickets as high as $2.500.

For many drivers, it's not even about beating the ticket for the sake of it, but rather to get negative marks on their licenses. Before they know it, they've received a notice from their auto insurer notifying them that their premiums were raised. In the worst-case scenario, their insurer drops them completely.

So, whether you're a victim of New Orleans's faulty traffic camera system or merely want to keep your driving record clean, here's how to get started:

1. Log-in to DoNotPay and go to the Ticket Disputes category. Select the correct product based on your traffic ticket.

2. Upload a photo of your citation.

3. Provide us with some details on why you believe the citation issued is a mistake.

4. Select whether or not you want the letter mailed to the traffic ticket issuer on your behalf!
5. That’s it! You’ll receive an appeal letter that contains state vehicle codes to boost your case.

Here are some other Traffic Ticket articles worth checking out:

Why Use DoNotPay to Fight Traffic Tickets

You will get the responses you are looking for whenever you use DoNotPay. DoNotPay is

• Efficient. Quickly get started by clicking on a button. What could be faster than that?
• Easy to Use. Just a few moments of your time giving DoNotPay some information.
• Effective. DoNotPay always gets things done right.

Other Matter DoNotPay Handles With a Touch of a Button

DoNotPay can handle traffic tickets with its virtual eyes closed. It also makes easy work of all sorts of other issues. We can help you:

• Connect With an Inmate
• Notarize Documents
• Reduce Your Property Taxes
• Get Copyright Protection
• Get Warranty Claims
• Appeal Parking Tickets In Any City

Were you looking for something else? Check out our Most Popular Features. If you're not already a member of the ever-growing DoNotPay community, join today to start beating the system, protecting your rights, and saving lots of money.