Red light ticket. Should I fight it?
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Red light ticket. Should I fight it?
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Okay here's what happened.
I was driving towards a green light going about 20 mph. As I'm driving, the light turns yellow about 10 ft away from the line. Yellow light means slow down so I slowed down to about 8-10 mph. The reason why I slowed down SO MUCH is because the other side of the intersection was almost full and had about 3-4 cars space for my car to fit and I didn't want to hit them. I got about 2/3 of the way through the intersection going very slow and then a cop pulls me over and fines me for a 150 dollar ticket.
I think it's really unfair and I want to take it to court but I'd like to get some opinions first. Thanks.
Additional Details
Thanks for all the input especially trooper3316. Really, I appreciate it a lot.
Just to clear up a few things though, I slowed down right before and during the intersection. After I passed the light I was still slowing down so I wouldn't hit the cars in front of me. If I would have stopped directly at the light it would have been a very abrupt stop. And if I kept driving the same speed without the cars in front of me I guarantee I would have made it. I guess you could say I creeped up to the cars after the light.
Any thoughts? Thanks.
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trooper3316
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First of all, if you had time to slow from 20mph to 8mph, you had time to stop. I'll explain why later.
Secondly, do not confuse flashing yellow with solid yellow. Flashing yellow means slow down. Solid yellow means stop, unless you are too close to stop safely.
A car travels about 1 1/2 feet per second for every mile per hour. If you were doing 20mph, you were traveling 30 feet per second. A yellow light in a 25mph zone is about 4 seconds long. If it turned red while you were in the intersection, then you must have been 120 feet back when it turned yellow. You can easily stop a car going 20mph in less than 50 feet, so you still have 70 feet of reaction time. Go back and check the light. Unless the yellow is considerably shorter than 4 seconds, you have no argument. |
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gator
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if you were driving towards the yellow light at the correct speed you would have had time to stop, a yellow light means slow and prepare to stop and if your speed and distance are off you won't be able too, had you approached at 15mph you would have stopped and avoided the ticket |
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Cptainamer
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If you were in the intersection when the light went red it's going to be hard to beat. |
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Greg P
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Yellow light actually means prepare to stop. You should have gone ahead and stopped and waited for the next cycle.
It sounds like you cleared the stop bar before the light turned red, which means you technically may not have ran a red light, but if it was in a city area, cops like to punish people because you could have ended up blocking the intersection. |
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Zach
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Yellow doesn't mean slow down, it means to stop unless you are unable to safely do so. You must clear the intersection before the light turns red otherwise you are considered to be running the red light. You can fight it, but it will be a waste of your time and the courts time. |
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racedowling
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Always fight tickets no matter what. Plead not guilty and make them prove their case. (I am not a lawyer) |
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