Ironically, the city of High Point, North Carolina may end up thanking those who refused or neglected to pay their red light camera citations in the city.

A Guilford County judge ruled in late December that the city's program violates the state constitution which requires "clear proceeds" of programs to go to education, not private contractors. Past precedent suggests the judge may rule that 90 percent of the fines levied should be turned over to the local school system.

The News and Record calculates that if the $3.07 million in citations issued had been paid in full, the city would owe $2.8 million to the schools.

Instead, since a little more than half have actually paid their citations, the city is likely to only owe $1.4 million.

Through Nov. 29, about $3.07 million in civil penalties and late fees had been levied through the red-light program, but only $1.62 million had been collected by the program's contractor, Peek Traffic, through Dec. 21.