Camera ticket laws/ordinances are issued with an "assumption" of correctness.
The assumption is that the "owner" of the vehicle is assumed to be driving the vehicle and liable for the offense at the time the picture is taken.
The assumption is a re-buttable presumption.
The assumption can be negated by the owner denying that he/she was driving their car at the time the incident occurred and the picture was taken.
In order to overcome the assumption of correctness, the law/ordinance provides that the owner of the vehicle must submit an affidavit that he/she was not driving their vehicle and did not give permission to someone else to drive the vehicle at the time the ticket was issued. If you gave someone permission to drive your vehicle, then you're liable.
If you were not driving your vehicle and did not give someone permission to drive your vehicle, the solution is to deny that you were driving the vehicle and provide a name and address of the mystery driver who drove the vehicle without your permission in an affidavit.
TAKE TIME TO FIND AND READ THE ORDINANCE, IT SHOULD PROVIDE CLEAR INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO OVERCOME THE ASSUMPTIONS.
The affidavit will be submitted to the camera ticket company, which may/will deny the applicability of the affidavit.
Go to your scheduled hearing and provide a copy of the affidavit to the hearing officer.
The hearing officer will probably find you guilty. Keep in mind, that it's not about safety, it's about revenue.
The hearing officer may also ask if you were not driving the car did you report it stolen? There is usually no obligation under the ordinance / law that requires you to report to the police that your property was stolen. The question is irrelevant and not applicable, the ordinance only requires an affidavit. Additionally, the vehicle was not stolen. The vehicle was used without your knowledge or permission and found the irregularity after receiving notice of the violation in the mail.
The hearing officer may/will find you guilty. Payment for the violation is voluntary and you cannot go to jail if not paid.
The hearing officer should provide, but if not, request, the administrative information on how to appeal the hearing officer's decision.
Go file your appeal with the local municipal court.
Sample PDF Affidavit or DOCX Affidavit
If found guilty by the hearing officer, an appeal can be filed with your County Common Pleas Court using ORC 2506.01.
The appeal provided in section 2506.01 is in addition to any other remedy of appeal provided by law.
Procedure for filing an Administrative Appeal to the Common Pleas Court
File a praecipe per ORC 2506.06
Hearing 2506.07
CHANGES TO TRAFFIC CAMERA VIOLATION AFTER December 18, 2014.
The Ohio Supreme Court ruled in Walker v. Toledo Slip Opinion No. 2014-Ohio-5461 that traffic cameras are legal in Ohio.
The part to read is the dissenting opinion towards the end.
Affidavit 4511.098
O.R.C. 4511.099
(G) A person or entity may appeal a written decision rendered by a hearing officer under this section to the municipal court or county court with jurisdiction over the location where the violation occurred.