Running an orange light - annoyed
Discussion
The girlfriend got pulled last night for allegedgly running a red light. She insists the light changed orange as she crossed the line and she didn''t stop as she didn''t think it was safe and that she was across the junction before it was red. Police car was sitting on a side road waiting for the lights.
The PC was quite rude to her from the start (she was being the polite ''dumb'' American) and said 3pts/£60 or court. She (being a militant American and knowing she wasn''t in the wrong) said "no way am I taking 3 pts for something I haven''t done" etc. The PC then got quite rude and kept on repeating his request that she take the 3 pts, not mentioning the court part again. In the end he took her details down and said that she will hear from him.
Do you really think he will try to press charges? Methinks he was just trying for a ''quick 3 pointer'' to add to his count.
(For the Surrey locals it was on the A322, heading North at the Bagshot crossroads, just after the M3 - if you saw a Black TT pulled over that was her - I think there is even a camera at the lights there).
Trefor/.
I do not live in the area but have been commuting from bedford to farnborough for the last year and have used that road on many occasion.
There is a traffic light camera on those crossroads. My radar detector has never picked anything up from it. I assume that it uses radar and not an under the road sensor. In fact, i have never picked anything up from any gatso / truvelo camera apart from those on the m25. The detector does pick up traffic lights though which is annoying!
Thanks Hardcore2000, that's enough info if they actually do want her to go to court.
If there is a traffic light camera at said junction then it will have picked up the fact that she ran the light - do they have the evidence - er no. Also, as she uses the road every day and knows there is a camera there she wouldn't have crossed the line on red anyway as she knows she'd have been flashed etc. etc.
Trefor/.
quote:I was merely commenting that with those things you never know whether you've been flashed or not.
Thats not the point is it !!!! He wants to argue that the whole case is bollox and that the plod have got it wrong i.e. flash / infra red / bloody fairy with a polaroid it didn't go off....
If you argue that its not safe to stop then tey say you are driving too fast for the road/junction conditions and thats the without due care and attention stuff. so they have you either way.
As for the gatso red light cameras they use normal 'visible' flashes and inductive loops in the road (ie no radar). They can also measure your speed on amber and green and flash you for that but DONT do that at present in this country.... yet?
Edited by Marv on Friday 21st September 00:43
Ferxakerly. If you don't think it's safe to stop then you can pass an orange light, but it does mean STOP.
I got stopped in my early driving days 5 up at 11:30pm in a Mk1 Escort - I'd run an orange and the fuzz were turning right at the same junction. Once I said that I saw the light go orange and made the decision to cross the junction as it was not safe to stop (car fully loaded plus cars behind) they didn't try anything.
T/.
quote:Had the same in Milton Keynes once - driving a Golf GTi, police obviously bored and had followed me for 1/2 mile, and light changed to orange as I went through. "That'll lose them", I thought, but no, they charged through on red and pulled me. I was inscrutably polite and pointed out that they went orange as I went through not even before, but they still gave me a lecture. Sigh. Neil
Ferxakerly. If you don't think it's safe to stop then you can pass an orange light, but it does mean STOP. I got stopped in my early driving days 5 up at 11:30pm in a Mk1 Escort - I'd run an orange and the fuzz were turning right at the same junction. Once I said that I saw the light go orange and made the decision to cross the junction as it was not safe to stop (car fully loaded plus cars behind) they didn't try anything. T/.
>>Marv Friday 21st September
If you argue that its not safe to stop then tey say you are driving too fast for the road/junction conditions and thats the without due care and attention stuff. so they have you either way. <<
Not strictly true, as you could be doing the speed limit and literally a few feet from the line when it goes yellow - in such a situation it is safer to continue than to try and stop. To always be able to stop, one would have to slow to walking pace as approaching the line, which might be unpopular.
However, at the end of the day, if its your word against a copper's, with no witnesses, you're Donald Ducked!
Been off line for a bit ,urgent work etc but this just caught my attention. most cameras move around so there will probably not have been a camera in. But a few points the camera is only 'live' when the light is red, it works on loops, triggered by bthe crossing of the first loop then takes a second piccy showing the car in the middle /crossing the junction. It also shows the speed of the car as it crosses as well as the number of secs the light was red. Just as a generalization almost without fail everyone I have pulled for a red ATS says " I'm sure it was amber". But if yer not happy take it to court. Just a point with the bit about the 3 pts, it is up to the copper whther he deals with it by fixed penalty you do not have to accept it you can just fill in the back bit and opt for a court appearance after the event, so if possible always take the fixed penalty at the time you can change your mind later, but you cant go back and ask for a fixed penalty
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