Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

ASK MR. SUN:

Is my Arizona citation enforceable in Nevada?

Sun Topics

During a recent trip to Arizona I was ticketed by a speed camera on a Phoenix freeway. Using cameras to enforce traffic laws is illegal in Nevada. Is my Arizona citation enforceable in Nevada even though it was issued by means deemed illegal here?

It is indeed illegal in Nevada for law enforcement to use permanently installed “photographic, video or digital equipment” to gather evidence for traffic citations. But that doesn’t get Nevadans off the hook when they’re captured by the unblinking eye of a speed or red-light camera in the 25 states where they are legal.

The reason is the Problem Driver Pointer System, which collects driver misdeeds from across the nation into a database that Motor Vehicle departments access when it’s time to renew licenses and registrations. All 50 states participate in the information-sharing service.

“The states report the infraction to that system and if you’re breaking an Arizona law it doesn’t matter what Nevada’s law is,” Nevada DMV spokesman Tom Jacobs said. “It’s the local jurisdiction that holds sway. It may not be a law in Nevada but it’s a law in Arizona, and you were driving in Arizona at the time.”

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