Have you recently opened your mailbox to find a red light camera speeding ticket from the Truxtun Avenue and Coffee Road intersection where you aren't the driver? When this occurs, many drivers think there is no way to prove their innocence without snitching on the driver, but these tickets can be successfully challenged under a number of different defenses.

So here's the situation: You receive a mailing from the Bakersfield Police Department that includes a picture of your vehicle traveling through what appears to be a red light with someone else behind the wheel. The Bakersfield Police Department states that you have two choices: (1) admit that you are the driver, or (2) give the name of the person who was the driver.

But are those all of your choices? No! Here's what you need to do when you are in this situation:

(1) Evaluate on whether the notice you received from Bakersfield Police Department or the Red Light Camera Ticket Company is a real ticket. If the notice is not a valid court summons, you can ignore it.

(2) Fight the case and assert your 5 ^th Amendment right to be silent if the judge or anyone else requests you to give up the driver. Please note that some judges can be very insistent that they will not dismiss the case against you unless you give up the drive of the vehicle. However, the judge cannot force you to give up that information and must dismiss the case if there is not enough evidence to prove that you are the driver beyond a reasonable doubt.

If you do decide to turn in your friend or family member, consider that the average fine is somewhere around $475 to $525. Plus another point on your record can cause your car insurance to go up over the next three years as much as $1500. That is a combined $2000 that it could cost your loved one because you pointed the finger instead of getting your case dismissed in other ways.

As always, other possible defenses include:

If you receive a photo ticket in the mail, don't immediate think you must pay it. These tickets are successfully challenged in court all the time and many result in a complete dismissal of the case.