I would honestly take it with a grain of salt if a lawyer would recommend me to hire a lawyer do achieve something. I have no idea about US or Californian legal requirements, but handling a traffic violation ticket where the driver is not the vehicle owner is such a common and likely trivial situation, that I find it hard to believe that it is in any way required or even recommended to have a lawyer dealing with the situation for you.

In general I'd agree, especially if you were pleading guilty and by doing so showing contrition in order to minimize the penalty. But this is a different situation. The OP wants to avoid the penalty, which requires challenging the ticket. So it behooves the OP to consult with a lawyer to explore their options.

I can't answer for California but, here in the UK, failing to identify the driver is an offence itself. So, you might avoid one charge but be hit with another. Something like this is required otherwise we could just drive each others' cars and avoid all tickets.

I did not say that OP should not challenge the ticket, but I am finding it hard to believe that it is necessary to involve a lawyer to do so. Had the same happened in Germany, the vehicle owner would not have immediately been issued a ticket, but first summoned to name the driver, something the vehicle holder with a few exceptions is legally obligated to do. What to do is easily explained and not something the car driver usually would need a lawyer to handle.

@Tor-EinarJarnbjo In general it is easy, but sometimes things do go better when you hire a professional to assist you in matters that you have no experience in, or if you will become nervous in a court situation. For a lot of people traffic court is their first experience of the court system.

@badjohn: In the US, that would be a violation of the Fifth Amendment. You don't have to provide any testimony that could conceivably be used against you, even if that testimony seems like it "should" be exculpatory (you would be opening yourself up to cross-examination, so the Constitution permits you to refuse). In theory, they could force the matter by giving you immunity, but for a traffic infraction, they're not going to bother with that. Also, if they do give you immunity, and you (truthfully) testify that you were the driver, there's absolutely nothing they can do about it.

@Kevin Well, I wasn't claiming anything about the US. So, you could all pair up and drive each other's cars to avoid all such tickets.

@Anemoia In the UK, any moving offence gets you at least 3 points. 12 within 3 years leads to a ban.

@badjohn: "So, you could all pair up and drive each other's cars to avoid all such tickets." 1) The police can try to identify the driver from the picture (e.g. by looking at pictures of all licenses with same address as vehicle registration), and then charge that person. 2) If there is a repeat offender, they can have a police officer wait at the intersection and try to catch the person, in which case they would know who the driver is. 3) Many states have a civil fine that is imposed on the owner of the vehicle without needing proof that the owner was the driver. California hasn't done this.

@Anemoia Not sure what you mean by "most European countries", but France is not one of them. You absolutely do lose points for speeding here, and if you lose all 12, your license gets suspended.

@DmitryGrigoryev Same in the UK except that 0 points is good and 12 is bad. You get points for offences.

@badjohn There is another term to this alternative that comments fail to consider. My totally anecdotal experience is that enforcement by an actual police officer driving an actual patrol car seems to be much more common in California than it is in some European countries. Red light cameras do exist but the automated speed cameras that are ubiquitous in other jurisdiction are simply not used and were still merely debated last year. So pairing up and driving each other's cars doesn't buy you much.

@PeterM The fine for running a red light in California is 100 USD. The average hourly rate for a traffic lawyer in that same state is 262 USD, and most charge at least 1 hour. it feels inefficient to spend over 250 USD to fight a 100 USD fine.

@Nzall Have you also factored in insurance cost increases? Plus a even 1/2 a consult would probably be enough.

@Nzall or the possibility that the OP is close to loosing his license on points and the points for this ticket would push him over the limit? There is, effectively, zero public transport in LA, and that could be crippling if the OP has a job that he actually wants to go to every day.

You did not answer the question: "If I give the traffic dept. his name and address will they contact him in Germany?"

@ToivoSäwén That is an implied "no" by pointing out that the only way the OP can clear their name is by contesting the ticket in a court.

"you should hire an attorney to challenge the ticket." - really? Seems like a lawyer would cost way more than the ticket! Do you get your (lawyer) money back if you win the case?