Ticket for running a YELLOW light? [Archive]

taco

03-09-2010, 01:47 PM

Lomac

03-09-2010, 01:53 PM

So the other day I was driving back from Whistler on Granville.

I ran a yellow light and I got pulled over by the cop right before the next intersection. He said "You didn't make an attempt to slow down."

I thought I had plenty of time to go, and I thought it was safe to do so. The signal turned red maybe 80% into the intersection, so it wasn't exactly last minute. Personally I think it's BS.

I expressed my frustration and he said "Well I could just give you a ticket for speeding." Frick, I wasn't speeding at all.. .

it's very frustrating
the ticket is $167

I'll be disputing it, and I need some help on determining what to say
or if anyone can share their experiece, that'd be good too

thanks in advance

If you weren't speeding, and the light turned red while you were still in the intersection, then you obviously made no attempt to prevent running a stale yellow... resulting with you running a red light. QED.

Good luck disputing that...

freakshow

03-09-2010, 01:57 PM

Contrary to popular belief, yellow means slow down, not speed up.

taco

03-09-2010, 02:03 PM

well, I didn't speed up
I didn't "gun-it" because I saw the yellow

I just cruised along at 60

Anjew

03-09-2010, 02:05 PM

So the other day I was driving back from Whistler on Granville.

I ran a yellow light and I got pulled over by the cop right before the next intersection. He said "You didn't make an attempt to slow down."

I thought I had plenty of time to go, and I thought it was safe to do so. The signal turned red maybe 80% into the intersection, so it wasn't exactly last minute. Personally I think it's BS.

I expressed my frustration and he said "Well I could just give you a ticket for speeding." Frick, I wasn't speeding at all.. .

it's very frustrating
the ticket is $167

I'll be disputing it, and I need some help on determining what to say
or if anyone can share their experiece, that'd be good too

thanks in advance

if it turned red 80percent into the intersection... is 70percent into it ok? what about 60... oh 50? 40 30....

bottom line is there are a ton of people out there gunning the light that its getting freaking ridiculous.

at least now that you get this ticket hopefully it will stop you from running those stale yellows...

taco

03-09-2010, 02:09 PM

yea I agree, gunning the light is ridiculous
but I tapped the breaks once, thought I could make it, so I went

Correct me if I'm wrong but enterring an intersection on a yellow is not illegal

Leopold Stotch

03-09-2010, 02:13 PM

if it turned red 80percent into the intersection... is 70percent into it ok? what about 60... oh 50? 40 30....

bottom line is there are a ton of people out there gunning the light that its getting freaking ridiculous.

at least now that you get this ticket hopefully it will stop you from running those stale yellows...

i completely agree, more and more people are running yellows. and then this causes the left turners to have less time to turn, which in turn increases the queue and sometimes they even get honked as the light has already turned red and the perpendicular flow of traffic gets antsy

i think overall people are less patient driving.

Lomac

03-09-2010, 02:15 PM

yea I agree, gunning the light is ridiculous
but I tapped the breaks once, thought I could make it, so I went

Correct me if I'm wrong but enterring an intersection on a yellow is not illegal

It is if, and only if, it turns yellow and you don't have enough time to come to a stop. If you honestly were going the speed limit and it turned red while you were still in the intersection, you would have had enough time to stop back at the light. Yellow lights are timed this way.

taco

03-09-2010, 02:15 PM

forgot to mention that it was on a downhill, at night, and raining
roads were slick, so I didn't want to slide into the intersection or get rear-ended

ShyGuy

03-09-2010, 02:17 PM

Yellow light means you have to STOP unless it is unsafe to do so.....perhaps it was apparent to the officer that you could have stopped in a safe manner but didn't.

JSALES

03-09-2010, 02:18 PM

should've slowed down

Lomac

03-09-2010, 02:20 PM

forgot to mention that it was on a downhill, at night, and raining
roads were slick, so I didn't want to slide into the intersection or get rear-ended

Same rules apply. If that was the case, you should have been going slower than the speed limit if you felt your car was incapable of stopping at the normal distance.

SMDBICH

03-09-2010, 02:25 PM

how about you slow down next time?

CRS

03-09-2010, 03:00 PM

So the other day I was driving back from Whistler on Granville.

I ran a yellow light and I got pulled over by the cop right before the next intersection. He said "You didn't make an attempt to slow down."

I thought I had plenty of time to go, and I thought it was safe to do so. The signal turned red maybe 80% into the intersection, so it wasn't exactly last minute. Personally I think it's BS.

I expressed my frustration and he said "Well I could just give you a ticket for speeding." Frick, I wasn't speeding at all.. .

it's very frustrating
the ticket is $167

I'll be disputing it, and I need some help on determining what to say
or if anyone can share their experiece, that'd be good too

thanks in advance

well, I didn't speed up
I didn't "gun-it" because I saw the yellow

I just cruised along at 60

forgot to mention that it was on a downhill, at night, and raining roads were slick, so I didn't want to slide into the intersection or get rear-ended

:rolleyes:

Fafine

03-09-2010, 03:02 PM

^ LAWYERED!

TRDood

03-09-2010, 03:22 PM

you shouldn't have mentioned that you were going 60, that is speeding on Granville (some sections).

I have gotten a "running yellow" warning ticket before for making a left in Richmond. The cop stopped me after half a block later and asked me "Do you know what you did wrong?". At the time, i was very confused because I wasn't speeding, of course I didn't talk back.

the cop said "yellow means slow down, not go".

I'd say dispute it, but you just caught the cop in a bad mood. since you talked back, i'm sure he can ding you for other stuff like "speeding relative to condition", etc. haha

Mugen EvOlutioN

03-09-2010, 05:41 PM

^ LAWYERED!

lol jigga what?

StylinRed

03-09-2010, 06:48 PM

you could dispute it... give your side of the story about the conditions and the fact you didn't increase your speed (also because of the conditions) and it was in your opinion unsafe to attempt a stop given the situation

just don't display yourself as a jackass and you may even see the ticket disappear

kennyken123

03-09-2010, 06:56 PM

those tickets are hard to dispute mainly becuz the cop will say every yellow light takes 4 secs to change into red .......i suggest u just get a fine reduction to 65 dollars

smoothie.

03-09-2010, 07:05 PM

you should have tried to stop.

fishing666

03-09-2010, 07:21 PM

these are the lights that causes accidents.

Consider this scenario:

you are heading northbound w/ 1 car in front of you
heading southbound are 2 cars wanting to make a left turn

1 car makes the left turn while light is green
car in front of you passes as orange light appears
2nd car makes the left turn doing that orange/red light
if you continued moving, you could potentially hit the 2nd car making the left turn.

ziggyx

03-09-2010, 07:29 PM

^ too true.. I saw two accidents a couple of days ago. My guess on what happened was the scenario you just described.
On top of that I see a lot of people running reds lately. I sometimes just wish I was a cop so i could bust them for it.

Redlines_Daily

03-09-2010, 07:56 PM

Yellow light

128 (1) When a yellow light alone is exhibited at an intersection by a traffic control signal, following the exhibition of a green light,

(a) the driver of a vehicle approaching the intersection and facing the yellow light must cause it to stop before entering the marked crosswalk on the near side of the intersection, or if there is no marked crosswalk, before entering the intersection, unless the stop cannot be made in safety,
----------------------------------------------------

Were you in the wrong? Yes
Is it disputable? Yes

"...unless the stop cannot be made in safety" Seems to me you should be able to dispute this. Maybe you didnt notice the yellow right away, maybe you were unsure of your speed and thought it was safer to proceed through the intersection because of the rain, etc... The ticket is ONLY for running the yellow, the cop didnt ticket you for speeding or driving without due care...so i think you can use that in your defense. To my knowledge they cant give you further tickets while disputing an offense in a courtroom, so I would give it a try. All you have to prove is that in your opinion it was safer to go through the intersection than stop.

J

Beefball

03-09-2010, 08:39 PM

You ran a yellow light and got a ticket for running a yellow light, so what's the problem?
Suck it up and pay the ticket, stop wasting tax payers money and play games with the stupid court system we have here in Canada.

Indeed, make sure you pay attention to the light for pedestrians next time, if you see the flashing hand from far away, then you better slow the fuck down and get ready to stop in time!

[/rant]

zulutango

03-09-2010, 09:42 PM

Telling the JP that you were speeding on a rainy night going downhill and couldn't stop in time ...or chose to not stop in time, is really going to help you get off. There are so many things you did wrong. If you are traveling at the limit...or a safe speed below the limit because of the weather and the downhill grade, the approx 3-4 seconds time would have given you plenty of time to stop. The fact that the light turned red before the intersection proves that...you said you didn't even attempt to slow down. The only defence to this charge is that (obeying all traffic laws, which you told us you were not) you were so close that it was physically unable to stop. You are convicting yourself on your own testimony. I probably wouldn't even bother to cross examine you if I was prosecuting. You have just proved the Crown's case.

The moment your light turns red you are NOT permitted to be in the intersection and traffic coming from the green lane area IS. You would have crashed into any vehicles there at the time. Just some thoughts on your choice of defence tactics to beat a VT that you told us you deserve to get. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

JiggaZed

03-09-2010, 09:52 PM

I don't think this should be a very difficult dispute at all...

I've been pulled over at night in the rain for going through a yellow light. Cop pulled me over asked me if I knew what I did. Told him I went through the yellow light because I did not think I'd be able to stop safely with the rain and whatnot. He said okay and let me off with a warning...

JiggaZed

03-09-2010, 09:58 PM

The fact that the light turned red before the intersection proves that...

Whatever, just don't admit that the light had turned red while you were in the middle of the intersection and simply say that in your opinion you were too close to the light that when it turned yellow you didn't think you could stop in time and that if you did try to stop you would've come to a complete stop in the middle of the intersection.

...you said you didn't even attempt to slow down.

You dont' ATTEMPT to slow down. You either DO slow down and stop, or you go through the light. The worst thing you can do is ATTEMPT to slow down, have a guy in oncoming traffic think your stopping and think it's okay for him to make his left turn, and then you decide you can't stop on time so you go through. You either stop or you go. You don't just make an attempt at it....

dimdiu

03-09-2010, 10:02 PM

forgot to mention that it was on a downhill, at night, and raining
roads were slick, so I didn't want to slide into the intersection or get rear-ended

it doesn't matter if it's at night, downhill, raining, snowing, hurricane etc u need to try and stop when u see a yellow light. A yellow light does not define as: "o i see yellow light" tap the brake, then judge the distance between u and the light and see if u can make it. When you see yellow light, YOU BRAKE, not tap the brake. i hate how ppl like you going through a yellow light at 60, either go through it fast, or u brake. u making a hard time for left turners

and wat kind of car are u driving, i never heard of an excuse of scare of braking on a downhill because there's a chance of sliding into the intersection...either get some new tires...or get some guts and press the brake

IMO u deserve the ticket

Cereal Killer

03-09-2010, 10:15 PM

On top of that I see a lot of people running reds lately.

I've noticed that too. In the last couple of weeks, I've seen several drivers who've stopped for a red and when they see that the intersection's clear, they continue on their way.

JiggaZed

03-09-2010, 10:16 PM

it doesn't matter if it's at night, downhill, raining, snowing, hurricane etc u need to try and stop when u see a yellow light.

This is so dumb. Again, as I said in my last post. You do not TRY and stop. You make a decision based on your best judgement. Will I be able to stop on time or not? It's that simple, and then you either do it or you don't. You do not TRY to stop. You either stop or you go.

Mr.Jay

03-09-2010, 10:31 PM

Only way ur gonna win this dispute is if the cop doesn't show up. Its a losing case.

In your own addmission u state u crusing along at 60 and when the light turned red you were about 80% into the intersection which would mean u clearly saw the yellow from a decent distance away.

Yellow lights only premit you to go through only when you pass the point of no return, where trying to stop would be more dangerous than going through.

Also like other people already stated the conditions of the road aren't helping your case cause the judge will probably agree that if the road conditions were iffy why weren't you driving slower?

Do you have a pretty clean record? The judge might be nice and let you off.
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StylinRed

03-09-2010, 10:45 PM

Also like other people already stated the conditions of the road aren't helping your case cause the judge will probably agree that if the road conditions were iffy why weren't you driving slower?

i don't think your required to go slower, its just the safe/smart thing to do (although i dont really know about traffic violations etc)

like i said the op has a chance of winning his dispute as he knows better than the officer about his own abilities and his cars ability to handle stopping at that time with those conditions

sure it will bring up other questions and concerns.. but he still has a chance

the judge could just find the op had bad judgment, acted improperly and still uphold the fine.. or he may lower it

after all this though it doesn't change the fact that the op is an idiot but still worth a shot ;)

JiggaZed

03-09-2010, 10:56 PM

Only way ur gonna win this dispute is if the cop doesn't show up. Its a losing case..........
Do you have a pretty clean record? The judge might be nice and let you off.
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Cool....:rolleyes:

PiuYi

03-09-2010, 11:23 PM

in my opinion, theres never anything wrong with disputing ticket (other than losing that $25 u save from paying early)

even if you have no argument, disputing gives you the chance of:
1) cop not showing up (heard this is rare case now)
2) cop says something wrong in courtroom, ie doesn't identify you in statement or something (don't know how often this happens, but probably rarely as well)
3) talking with the cop beforehand, admitting fault, asking him to plea your case with JP to reduce fine (don't know how often this happens either)
4) gaining courtroom experience (happens 100% of time)

at worst, you go into court room, admit you did it, then pay the fine, even then you managed to delay paying for it

tofu1413

03-10-2010, 01:05 AM

cruised at 60

legal limit is 50 under IDEAL conditions. it was raining/ slick. you should be SLOWER.

honestly you would be even more stupid to say that you were doing 60 in court.

JiggaZed

03-10-2010, 01:26 AM

legal limit is 50

Unless stated otherwise......................................... ..

tofu1413

03-10-2010, 01:57 AM

only part of granville that is 60 (that i can think of) is the bridge itself.

i dont think the airport bridge downhill part is 60

Shun Izaki

03-10-2010, 02:07 AM

DIGGY's theory on stoplights

green = go
yellow = go faster
red = watch for cops and proceed with caution XD

dimdiu

03-10-2010, 12:30 PM

This is so dumb. Again, as I said in my last post. You do not TRY and stop. You make a decision based on your best judgement. Will I be able to stop on time or not? It's that simple, and then you either do it or you don't. You do not TRY to stop. You either stop or you go.

not everyone in the world can estimate if they will be able to stop before the light or not.

Mugen EvOlutioN

03-10-2010, 12:47 PM

DIGGY's theory on stoplights

green = go
yellow = go faster
red = watch for cops and proceed with caution XD

ok..............

how about
green = go
yellow = downshift into vtec
red = u are fucked son

y2k?!?-

03-10-2010, 01:16 PM

I personally think that trying to dispute this will be quite hard in fact,
Ive heard people doing it when it was wet or snowing.. unless ive missed a part of this..
Good luck on the dispute tho!

Lomac

03-10-2010, 03:37 PM

not everyone in the world can estimate if they will be able to stop before the light or not.

And not everyone should be allowed to drive a car. Judging your stopping distance is one of the most basic bits of knowledge you need...
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