Ever wonder how far your car needs to be in the intersection to get a ticket for running a red light?
The answer is simple and many people don't know, so here it is. . .it depends. Ha! Gotcha. No, seriously, like everything else in the world of traffic tickets, it's a little more complicated (but the good news is, this really isn't a hard one).
When you are approaching an intersection, there is usually a white line in the ground that indicates the beginning of the intersection. For purposes of this post, we will assume there is a white line at the intersection.
The rule with red light tickets and intersections is that your car can be beyond the white line (sometimes called a stop bar), when the light turns red, BUT, only if your car already passed the white line BEFORE the light turned red.
OK, let's restate that and clarify, just in case you misunderstood. I don't want you all out there running red lights and driving like lunatics because you think I said it's OK to run through every yellow.
As George Carlin once said, "Yellow does not mean put it to the floor."
If you are approaching an intersection, and you have not passed the white line on the ground, and the light is red, YOU NEED TO STOP!!!
Honestly, you need to stop, not because of a fear of receiving a ticket for running a red light. You need to stop because running a red light can get you killed faster than violating many other traffic laws. This is one rule you need to obey because it will save your life.
If you happen to be in the intersection and look up and see the light change to red (which is easier if you have a convertible), you're fine and if you get a ticket, that's one you should win. I was going to say that's one you should fight, but you should know by now, after reading this traffic ticket blog, that in almost every case, you are better off fighting all the tickets you receive.
This rule applies to red light tickets received from a red light camera or from an actual policeman. It's no different. The only difference is, if it is not a red light camera that caught you, there is no actual evidence in court, it will just be the officer's word against yours.
As I've written before, you should fight these types of tickets because it's not what actually occurred, it's what the officer can prove against you in court. Therefore, if you received a ticket from an officer for running a red light, and there is no evidence to support this, it is more difficult for an officer to prove that you ran the red light and you should fight it. Whether you hire an attorney to fight a ticket for running a red light, or fight it yourself, you should fight red light tickets.
Recent Comments