Is It Safe If There's No News About Running a Red Light After 7 Days?
2 Answers
After running a red light, the violation notification SMS is usually received within 3 to 7 days, with the latest being around 13 days. However, some cities now offer "instant electronic police capture alerts," where you can receive an SMS notification within 5-10 minutes of being captured. But a notification does not necessarily mean a violation; it serves as a capture alert. The final determination of whether it constitutes a violation takes 3-7 days. If it is indeed a violation, you will receive another SMS notification. For violations captured by surveillance cameras, vehicle owners generally do not receive an immediate violation SMS; there is a delay, and the duration may vary. After the electronic camera captures the violation, the relevant violation information needs to be transmitted through a dedicated channel to the traffic police management center, where it is compiled and then verified by the relevant traffic police department staff. Once confirmed as a violation, the system automatically retrieves the vehicle owner's phone number based on the license plate information and sends the violation details via SMS. Only then does the owner receive the corresponding violation SMS. After receiving the violation SMS, the vehicle owner must go to the traffic police department where the violation occurred within one month before the annual vehicle inspection to handle the matter. Generally, if a vehicle owner suspects they have committed a violation, they can use 15 days as a benchmark. If no violation SMS is received beyond 15 days, it is likely that no violation was recorded. Traffic Violation Query Methods: Traffic violation queries refer to checking motor vehicle violations of traffic management regulations via the internet or query terminals. There are five methods for vehicle violation queries: traffic branch terminal queries, vehicle violation website queries, phone queries, SMS queries, and mobile app queries. Website Query: You can search for "vehicle violation query" and input your vehicle information to check. Phone Query: To query violations, you can call the local 114 (area code + 114) or 12580 for traffic violation confirmation. Violations can only be handled at the traffic police department where the violation occurred or where the vehicle's license plate was issued. For on-the-spot violations, such as those directly caught by a traffic officer, they must be handled at the violation location. SMS Query: Open your phone's SMS interface; enter "WZ [license plate number] [license plate color]" in the message content; send it to 1062650001. Mobile App Query: Open the Traffic Management 12123 app, select "violation query," and find unresolved violations to clear them.
Having driven for so many years, I've seen plenty of cases where running red lights got caught on camera. Generally speaking, after being captured by traffic cameras, the data is transmitted to the traffic police backend for processing, which includes manual image review, license plate matching, etc. This usually takes about a week, but sometimes it can drag on for 10 days or even longer, especially during system overloads or holiday backlogs. Not hearing anything for 7 days doesn't mean you're in the clear—I have a friend who waited two weeks before receiving a ticket. I'd advise not to take it lightly; check your record promptly using the Traffic Management 12123 app or make time to visit the local traffic police station to clarify. If you did violate the rules, it's typically a fine of around 200 yuan plus 6 penalty points—a relatively small loss, but accumulating points from multiple red-light violations could lead to license suspension. Always drive cautiously; safety should be the top priority—don't risk it just to save a few minutes.
