Red Light Camera Dispute Q's

[twitchyzero]

okay i've searched but my case i guess can be slightly different

i was driving a little fast (60kph) with no snow on the ground on a major intesection. The reason why i didn't stop was because i didn't believe I could do it safely...if i braked hard i was afraid I would possibly lose control from black ice. I made sure there were no left turners from the oncoming traffic so I just proceeded. I entered the intersection when it was red and the camera snapped a pic.

I haven't got the ticket yet but would they take weather and black ice into consideration if I were to dispute it? The picture btw would be clear that I did not attempt to brake at all.

[zulutango]

So you were driving 10k over the limit, knowing that there was black ice on the roadway and that you were approaching a traffic light. You saw the light turn yellow and then turn red and you did not stop legally as required.

They would certainly take the weather and black ice into consideration and they will hammer you with it. You were aware of that and chose to continue to drive in a manner where you could not stop as required. You were very fortunate that no other cars were legally into the intersection. Had there been any you would have hit them.

The only excuse for not stopping for a yellow is that you are so close when the yellow is displayed that you can not stop safely before the crosswalk. Driving 10 over on black ice does not give you that out. There is no legal exemption for running a red light. A safe driver asks themself this question as they approach every stale green light..."if it turns yellow can I stop safely before the crosswalk". You must be prepared to do so. Only when you pass the point of no return, do you continue into the intersection after scanning it for approaching vehicles.The fact that you went way past the point demanded by your speed and road conditions, does not exempt you. Had you been driving below the limit ( black ice) and been anticipating a possible longer stopping distance by slowing down earlier, you likely would have been able to stop safely in time.

If this is your excuse then you had better arrive with money to pay for the VT when found guilty.

[twitchyzero]

yes i admit i should not have been over 50 even if the road seems and feels clear as there's always the off chance of black ice.

as my first violation ticket in my short 7 years of driving i will chalk this up as a lesson. I guess I am an inexperienced winter driver like the majority of Vancouverites and just didn't think logical when I put myself in that position.

not really pertinent to my case but I just feel how they teach drivers yellow light should be 'stop unless you cannot do so in a safe manner then proceed with caution' or something along that line. Why would it not be safe in the first place right? I guess in a perfect world where everyone obeys all traffic rules they would never need that line.

[Djiban]

^ did it happen today on willingdon/moscrop intersection by any chance?

[sebberry]

When I was driving around today I avoided the red light camera intersections.

Speeds in the 50kph zones were down around 30kph today, and even at those speeds it is easy to overshoot the line and get your picture taken.

[wing_woo]

Originally Posted by sebberry

When I was driving around today I avoided the red light camera intersections.

Speeds in the 50kph zones were down around 30kph today, and even at those speeds it is easy to overshoot the line and get your picture taken.

yeah, but they would only have one picture of you cause you would have overshot the line and stopped right?

[wing_woo]

Originally Posted by twitchyzero

not really pertinent to my case but I just feel how they teach drivers yellow light should be 'stop unless you cannot do so in a safe manner then proceed with caution' or something along that line. Why would it not be safe in the first place right? I guess in a perfect world where everyone obeys all traffic rules they would never need that line.

Unsafe cases are if you have a tailgater behind you or you look in your rearview and the guy behind looks to be not stopping. I've ran yellow before cause I glanced and saw the car behind me still going fast and sure enough, he ran the red after me so I would have been rear ended if I had stopped.

[zulutango]

really pertinent to my case but I just feel how they teach drivers yellow light should be 'stop unless you cannot do so in a safe manner then proceed with caution' or something along that line.


That is exactly how I teach. Factors helping you decide on the point of no return...traffic behind, the road condition and the speed involved. If any of these 3 factors, is riskier than normal then you must slow down so that you have more time and distance to stop. Bad driving does not give anyone an excuse to run the yellow.

[bcedhk]

sorry to go off from the original topic , but got a question about the red-light camera

i was at a left turn only light, i was 2nd car behind and it was just turning yellow when i pass the line to turn. However a cyclist was cycling down and i had to quickly stop. While reversing back to the lane the camera snapped.

Will I get ticketed? or does the camera only point at the cars going straight? (I was on Garden City and Westminster Hwy @ the left turn light intersection).

[Dragon-88]

The camera usually takes 2 pics so it depends on how the 2 pictures are looked at.

But as for op, you should always expect the lights to change. You can always use the pedestrian walk signs to know when its getting close to change to yellow so you can slow down and stop in time.