by Dr. Radut

Intersection Camera Tickets & Penalty Points

Published by DriveSmartBC -

intersection camera warning signI have a question that I hope you will answer for me. If an intersection safety camera ticket is sent to the vehicle's owner, do they get penalty points on their license? I found a web post that says you only get penalty points if you were caught by a cop. Is that true?

It appears that when red light cameras began to operate all the time, the ability of the vehicle owner to identify the driver was quietly removed by our government. As of September 1, 2018 is no longer possible for the owner to nominate the driver and leave them to deal with the ticket.

If the owner of the vehicle is served with an Intersection Safety Camera (ISC) violation for running a red light or speeding and they pay it or are found guilty of it, there are no points assessed.

Intersection Safety Camera Statistics 2021:

  Red Light Tickets Issued Speeding Tickets Issued Speed Cameras Active Highest Speeding Ticket
January to March 13,242 10, 252 35 Cameras active 181 km/hr in 60 km/hr zone
April to June 16,486 14, 284 35 Cameras active 198 km/hr in 80 km/hr zone

The defence of due diligence is available to the registered owner to dispute ISC tickets, particularly where the owner is a business. The owner may approach the ISC Program and ask to have the ticket withdrawn on the basis of a due diligence offence. The ISC officer may consider materials provided by the company or its legal counsel which identify that the company exercised due diligence to prevent these offences by its drivers.

Typical material to submit would include:

  • The owner must be satisfied that the driver will responsibly operate the vehicle and not break the law.
  • The owner must demonstrate to they made a "good faith" attempt to ensure compliance with the law.
  • The driver must have a good history of accidents, tickets, penalty points, warnings, etc.
  • A written policy forbidding speeding and red light running.
  • A written policy which reflects the seriousness of the offence of speeding and red light running.
  • The driver is aware that there are consequences for bad behaviour, typically a progressive structure: warning, written reprimand, loss of privilege / employment.
  • Drivers entrusted with a vehicle are forbidden from allowing anyone else to operate the vehicle.
  • The owner must establish that at the time of the offence, the driver was the operator of the vehicle.

This may be more difficult for the parent who allows their teen to use the vehicle or loans it to a visiting friend or family member.

You will find more information on intersection safety camera tickets on ICBC's Web Site.

Published by CompetentDrivingBC - 2021/07/25 - 17:07 | Permalink

I think it's an outrage that the registered vehicle owner is unable to designate the driver responsible for the offence! There is no rationale for this.

Meanwhile, some dude was doing over three times the speed limit, and nobody in licensing or policing actually has the slightest motivation, or interest, in identifying who the driver is?

Whose foolish idea was this, anyway?

That was the first thing that ran through my mind when I learned that you could no longer nominate the driver. Who cares about taking the offender to task, let's just collect some $.

Offend as often as you like, as long as you pay you needn't expect anything else to happen, like a driving prohibition for cause.

Automated Enforcement
Intersections