PHOENIX — In the latest effort to make our streets safer, the City of Phoenix continues to move forward with its plan to bring back red light cameras.

Traffic court attorneys say drivers need to know a few things about their rights if they receive a red light ticket.

A notice that your car may have run a red light normally arrives in the mail.

“It looks like a traffic ticket, an actual traffic ticket, but it’s not,” attorney Christopher Corso said.

Corso says the state has 90 days to officially provide you with the actual product.

“It’s just their way of trying to make you pay, take the course, talk about it, call the court,” Corso said. “But you have the right to be formally served.”

Red light violations also carry additional penalties compared to other violations such as speeding.

Attorney Candy Maruffo of MayesTelles says drivers should be aware of this before thinking that paying the fine will make it go away.

“It actually includes two points on your license, a road survival school which is an eight-hour course that you have to take and pay for, in addition to the fine that you pay,” Maruffo said.

The state is also responsible for proving that you are the driver, which is sometimes difficult if there are obstacles in the photo.

Sometimes you’re not the one driving and someone else is driving your car.

“If it wasn’t you, you can point to who it was and say, ‘That was the person driving,'” Corso said.

This can still cause problems for the registered owner, especially if they need a clean driving record to keep their job.

“I’ve seen clients, they don’t really understand this and think they can go to court and pay a ticket and it will go away,” Maruffo said. “Then their license is suspended, their job is suspended, and they can’t get it back.”

Both attorneys say their firms, MayesTelles PLLC and Corso Law Group, will answer preliminary questions regarding your red light tickets free of charge.

“I want everyone to understand their rights, and I don’t need to pay a fee to do that,” Corso said.

The city is still working to determine which intersections the cameras will be placed at in Phoenix. The council wants them to be operating by fall 2025.