Red light cameras in Santa Clara County are running in one place right now: San Jose. The city’s pilot program installed cameras in September 2025, ran a 60-day warning period, and began issuing full citations by early 2026. A ticket for running a red light costs $486. A rolling right turn on red costs $234.1City of San José. Red Light Camera Pilot Project
Where the Cameras Are
San Jose is the only city in Santa Clara County currently using automated red light enforcement. The council approved the pilot in June 2022, and cameras went live at four intersections:
- Leigh Avenue and Parkmoor Avenue
- Monterey Road and Branham Lane
- South Third Street and Keyes Street
- Bascom Avenue and Camden Avenue
San Jose’s transportation department keeps a current map of camera locations on its project page.1City of San José. Red Light Camera Pilot Project2California Legislative Information. California Code VEH 21455.53California Legislative Information. SB 1303 Bill Analysis
What the Ticket Actually Costs
The $486 red-light fine and the $234 rolling-right fine surprise most people, because the base fine set by the Vehicle Code is only about $100. State and county surcharges roughly quadruple every traffic fine in California, funding court construction, emergency medical services, DNA identification, and other state accounts. Those add-ons are not negotiable and appear on every traffic ticket statewide.
Miss your deadline and the court can add a civil assessment of up to $100 and charge you with failure to appear, which puts a separate notation on your DMV record.4California Courts. Guide to Traffic Tickets The fine is not tax-deductible, even if you were driving for work. The IRS treats traffic fines and parking tickets as nondeductible penalties.5Internal Revenue Service. Travel and Entertainment Expenses FAQ
The Point on Your Record
A red light conviction adds one point to your DMV record. Under California law, any traffic conviction involving safe vehicle operation that isn’t assigned a higher value counts as a one-point violation.6California Legislative Information. California Code VEH 12810 The point stays on your record for 36 months and counts toward the negligent operator threshold. Four points in 12 months, six in 24, or eight in 36 can lead the DMV to suspend or revoke your license.7California Department of Motor Vehicles. Driver Negligence
The insurance hit usually costs more than the ticket itself. A single red light violation can raise premiums for three to five years, and the increase is steeper if you already carry other points.
Traffic School
If you plead guilty and pay, you can typically ask the court for permission to attend traffic school. Completing an approved course keeps the point off your public driving record, so your insurer never sees it. Eligibility generally requires a valid California license, a violation in a noncommercial vehicle, and no traffic school in the past 18 months. The court adds an administrative fee (usually around $50), and the school charges its own tuition. It costs more up front and almost always saves money over the life of your policy.
When the Citation Arrives
The notice comes by mail to the registered owner, typically within 15 days of the violation. It must include your name and address, your plate number, a description of the offense, and the date and location to appear in court. You get at least 10 days from delivery to respond, and the notice has to explain how you can view the photos and video the agency used, by phone and in person.8California Legislative Information. California Code VEH 40518
Look at the evidence before you decide anything. Check whether the images clearly show you behind the wheel, whether your vehicle is past the limit line, and whether the signal was red when you entered the intersection. That review drives every choice below.
You have three options:
- Pay the fine through the Santa Clara County Superior Court’s traffic portal or by phone. Online card payments carry a 5% processing fee. Paying is a guilty plea and adds the point.9Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara. Traffic Tickets
- Contest the ticket, either by written declaration or an in-person hearing.
- Identify the actual driver if it wasn’t you. California assigns liability to the driver, not the registered owner. Contact the issuing law enforcement agency before the deadline, and do not pay the fine, because paying locks in a guilty plea on your record.10California Highway Patrol. General Order 100.10
How to Contest It
A trial by written declaration lets you fight the ticket on paper. You submit a written statement explaining why you should be found not guilty, along with supporting evidence such as photos or diagrams. The officer submits a written statement of their own, and a judge decides the case without a hearing.
You must deposit the full bail amount when you file. Use California Judicial Council form TR-205 with the court’s instructions. Win, and you get your money back with no point on your record. Lose, and you still have the right to request a new trial in person with live testimony.11California Courts. Trial by Written Declaration That second bite makes the written declaration a low-risk first move for most drivers.
Common grounds for challenge include improper signage, a yellow phase shorter than the state minimum required at camera-equipped intersections, photos that don’t clearly identify you as the driver, or equipment calibration problems. Signage rules require signs within 200 feet of the intersection; on roads over 45 mph, two signs are required within 200 to 500 feet.2California Legislative Information. California Code VEH 21455.512California Legislative Information. California Code VEH 21455.9 Yellow-light minimums under the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices are mandatory at any camera-equipped intersection, not a guideline.13California Legislative Information. California Code VEH 21455.7 If the fine is genuinely unaffordable, you can also ask the court to consider your ability to pay.
Traffic correspondence goes to the Santa Clara County Superior Court Traffic Division at 301 Diana Avenue in Morgan Hill. You can call 408-556-3000 or email sstrafficinfo@scscourt.org.14Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara. Court Telephone Numbers and Email Addresses If you mail documents, send them certified so you have proof of delivery.
If You Ignore the Ticket
Ignoring the notice is the worst option. The court can add a civil assessment of up to $100 and charge you with failure to appear, creating a separate DMV entry and potentially placing a hold on your license so you can’t renew it until the matter is resolved.4California Courts. Guide to Traffic Tickets
Under industry agreements among the major credit bureaus, debts that don’t arise from a contract, including traffic tickets and government fines, are generally excluded from credit reports, so an unpaid ticket shouldn’t directly damage your credit score. The DMV consequences and the growing fine are the real punishment.
A Note on Speed Cameras
San Jose is also rolling out speed safety cameras under a separate 2023 state law, AB 645, which authorized a six-city pilot running through January 1, 2032.15California Legislative Information. AB 645 – Speed Safety Cameras Speed camera fines are civil, not criminal, so they do not add points to your driving record. They range from $50 for 11 to 15 mph over the limit up to $500 for 100 mph or more. If you got a mailed ticket and aren’t sure which program it came from, that distinction matters: a red light camera ticket carries a point, a speed camera ticket does not. San Jose’s transportation page maps both types of camera locations.1City of San José. Red Light Camera Pilot Project