There is an old stereotype of a police officer hiding behind a sign waiting to catch speeders. Today, you are more likely to get a speeding ticket from a camera in plain sight than you are from a stealthy officer.

That’s because cities across the region are increasingly using traffic cameras to monitor speeding. Drivers who exceed the limit may be photographed and receive a notice or mobile ticket several days later, along with a fine.

It’s important to note that even though these are called mobile tickets, you will always get an official notice in the U.S. Mail. If you get a text message requesting you pay a fine for some sort of driving infraction, you should ignore it, as it is generally a scam, experts warn.

“Mobile tickets or camera tickets are not actually ‘traffic tickets’ in the traditional sense of an officer-issued ticket,” Mitch Luxenburg of The Law Firm of Mitch Luxenburg in Beachwood, said. “A camera or mobile ticket is a civil violation. I compare them to expensive parking tickets because they are issued to the owner of the vehicle first. While the owner of the vehicle can sign an affidavit that states it was not them driving the vehicle, the owner must disclose who was the driver of the vehicle at which point that person will be issued the civil violation.”

Mobile tickets are looked at differently by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles than a traditional, officer-written ticket. Those tickets are directly reported to the BMV and the court in the jurisdiction where the incident took place. Mobile tickets are not. You also will not incur any points on your license because of a mobile ticket. Because there are no “consequences,” except to your bank account, Luxenburg said you are better off paying them and not fighting the system.

“I advise inquiring drivers to not waste their money on an attorney as the cost of the attorney will exceed just paying the ticket, and will not yield any meaningful difference other than for ‘the principle of it,’ he said.

That doesn’t mean that you can, or should, simply ignore your mobile ticket.

“It is my understanding that most municipalities refer unpaid violations to the local municipal court,” Luxenburg said. “At that point, the courts do add on costs, and have additional collection remedies available to them.”

Just as drivers are trying to sort out the details behind mobile tickets, local governments are grappling with their issuances as well. That’s because in 2025, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed House Bill 54. One of the things that it included was the elimination of the use of so-called speed cameras. Even with that legislation, cities and villages in the state can continue to operate those systems based on their home rule authority. That all has only contributed to the public’s misunderstandings around the legitimacy of these types of tickets.

“There is a lot of confusion, even amongst the courts, so I don’t expect clarity any time soon,” Luxenburg said.

Noell Wolfgram Evans is a freelance journalist.