Red Light Camera Got Me I Think :(

[KrazyKong]

So I'm on my way to meet my Mum for a Mother's Day lunch today. I'm cruising along watching the cars ahead to keep a safe distance, glancing down to check my speedo to make sure I was doing the speed limit. As it so happens I look up and see I'm fast approaching an orange light not more than 20feet in front of me. I hit the brakes but it's soon very evident I'm not going to be able to stop in time before going through a red light. Feeling it was going to be more dangerous to skid out and stop right in the middle of a busy intersection, I stop braking and carry on through the red light. This intersection also happens to have a notorious red light camera installed. Great, I just happen to luck out on that one.

So I imagine I'm going to receive a fine in the mail next week. I'm not sure what leg I have to stand on here, as either way if I braked and skidded and locked up, I would have gone over the white line, then be stranded in the middle of an intersection blocking traffic. And or doing what I did in the end which was to simply keep going. That felt like a safer option, even though it now means I've run a red light. I've only ever received one ticket in my life and that was a few years back now for doing 70 in a 60 zone. I don't have a history of reckless driving, and thus I feel quite strongly I would like to contest this ticket, or at least plead my case. What bothers me about this is whatever decision I had made, whether it was a full lockup, smoking tyres screeching to a halt, or trying to stop and realizing you're going to run out of road really quick and thus carrying on, both put me technically as having infringed on the law. From memory don't tickets have info on them stating that if you want to contest it, you may face higher fines for having to pay court costs? Thus in a way you're intimidated to just pay the fine, even if you have or feel you have a right to plead your case without facing further penalties?

[PWND]

No leg to stand on.

Should have been paying better attention as an amber light gives you ample time to come to a stop before it turns red.

[Excuses]

Yea, don't both trying to fight it. They will always come back an say it was orange and instead of looking at your speedo you should be looking at the intersection/lights.

Sorry mate, take the fine and the points, less money then taking them to court and fighting it

[KrazyKong]

Big Sexy, you're 100% correct that is what an orange light is for. I was focused on the cars ahead of me, keeping a safe distance and driving the speed limit. It was only through peripheral vision I saw the orange light. And at that point I had no idea how long it had been orange for. I did mention this intersection is notorious for a reason. There are hedges blocking some of the lights, the orange I think being shorter than other lights in the area too. Its not an area I drive past often at all, so it wasn't until I saw the light, brain goes, uh oh this is a red light intersection, i hesitate, whereas any other time I would have probably speed up a little to get through ok. When I went to brake, the car didn't feel like it was going to stop that quickly. I wasn't speeding either, but was doing 80 in an 80 zone. So it then felt the safer option would be to go through and hope I'd have enough time. I think it went red either right on the line or a foot before, so it was close.

I was the driver so if you look at it in a black & white sense, I am to blame. I'm not trying to deflect any blame, rather that I found myself in a situation, had to make a split second decision and felt the decision I made was probably safer, as the other cars in the intersection hadn't even begun to move, nor did it appear they were even on a green yet. Otherwise the other option would have been to slam the brakes, lockup and skid into the intersection. At that point 'm not sure what I'm supposed to do. Do I backup back to the line? or carry on through the intersection as safely as possible.

[Hadouken]

You do neither of what you were saying. If you were a experienced driver you would have planned your events as you were coming up to the light.

Or were you staring at the speedo for 4 sec? that is a long time, usually it takes 1/2sec to look down and recognise the speed your doing.

But instead I think you were just day dreaming and then oh its orange, Oh its red keep going through.

Suck it up take it, learn from it!

[KrazyKong]

I was focused on the cars ahead of me and doing the speed limit. Believe me when I say that when I got my first and only speeding ticket, I'm paranoid about making sure I'm doing the speed limit. I wasn't looking at it for 4seconds, it was a glance. But I also wasn't taking my eyes off the road to look at and focus solely on the lights. I saw them peripherally, but at that moment, they were orange. I didn't know how long they had been orange for. 1 second, 3 seconds, I didn't know. Thus I applied the brakes. I'm doing 80k in an 80 zone. 3-4 car lengths from the white line. I'm not going to be able to stop in time. I had to make a decision. Either way I was stuffed as far as the red light camera goes, as I would have skidded into the intersection, and got a ticket, or gone through a red and still got a ticket.

[89CAL]

Just take it on the Chin and stop trying to defend yourself. I'm not trying to be a Jerk, just saying your not going to get any sympathy for doing the wrong thing, no matter if it was with the right intentions or not.

We've all done silly little things, and I'm sure most people on here have got at least one fine. Just as long as you learn from it.

I'm sorry to say, but it sounds to me like you werent paying attention to the the right things on the day. These things happen but

[KrazyKong]

I wouldn't be posting here if I was me simply attempting to get through an orange light and got caught short of the line. I know you're not trying to be a jerk, so it's all good I got caught out 3-4 car lengths from the white line and the light is orange. My brakes are good, but I simply didn't have the space to be able to stop in time before it turned red. I wasn't on the phone, playing with the radio, or doing anything other than driving and paying attention to the traffic conditions, my speed etc. It's a bit worrying in a way, as it could happen again to anyone really. It just happened to be at one of the few intersections on the coast that even has a red light camera. I've been driving for over 20 years, this is the first time anything like this has happened to me.

[Hadouken]

Ill be the jerk on this one.

Was it a straight road? If yes, then you are in the wrong and you need your keys taken away because you are blaming the road for something that as a driver should be aware of and it is dangerous if your just staring at the back of the person in front of you and not taking in your surroundings. As a driver you are responsible to take in everything around you.

The green, yellow, red gives you ample time to stop, and if you only realised that the light was orange by the time you were 3-4 car lengths away, whilst going 80km/h and it has already turned red before you crossed that line then I am very alarmed at your driving ability.

You shouldnt even have contemplated putting on your brakes when you were that close to the line.

You're on your P's ey? Because it sounds like you need more exposure on the road.

[mad082]

yeah gotta agree with most peoples posts above. no point fighting it because you were clearly in the wrong. if it is a notorious intersection then you are obviously familiar with it, so you were approaching a set of lights that you know are there and simply weren't paying enough attention to your surrounds to see that the light was orange earlier.

put simply, if you try and fight it and the judge feels like being an arse, you may end up also being booked for driving without due care and attention.

[KrazyKong]

Hadouken, I'm not blaming the road, I simply mentioned the circumstances involved. I was the driver of the car, I went through a red light. I did not see the light change from green to orange, but did see the orange. I tried to stop but did not have enough room to stop before the light went red, thus instead of locking up and skidding to a halt and ending up in the middle of the intersection, I went through instead feeling that was the safer option regardless of whether there was a camera there or not.

mad082 I'm not denying I went through a red light or didn't do anything wrong. It's the intent behind it I'm trying to explain here. It was an instinctive thing after I applied the brakes and then felt the car wasn't going to stop in time. Thus what else could I do accept lock up and skid to a halt, then watch as the other lights turn green and I block the intersection -- or get through the intersection hoping the light hadn't turned red yet. It was not a deliberate act of negligence of let's say doing 140km in a 60 zone. It genuinely felt the safest thing to do at the time. I wasn't spacing out, on the phone or doing anything other than making sure I was a safe distance, doing the speed limit etc. No one here can reply and say they have noticed a light change the second it happened, at every single moment they have driven a vehicle in their life. Checking my speed, safe distance, looking in my rear view mirror, can easily take 2 seconds. I missed the change from green to orange. Thus when I saw it was orange, I didn't know how much longer it was going to be orange for. We aren't talking about an alien abduction here, rather something that actually happened. If you guys choose to not believe, that's ok that's your right to do so. But you don't have to all have a go at me as though I'm making something up.

You guys need to ask yourselves why I would post and then come to the conclusion that I'm actually just making this up. No one asks for advice on a lie, at least not anyone I know. I'm posting what actually happened, not what I want you guys to believe. I was after advice, not a pat on the back. It serves me no good to make up a story to make myself look innocent. Too many people these days just think the worst of others or assume they are a d**khead. I have 20 years driving under my belt and I have no accidents, and one speeding ticket to my name. It bothers me people take the stance that when someone comes on here to share a story or ask for some advice, you get picked to death as though you're passing the buck. It may have happened many times before, but that only means folks are just too jaded to believe someone for once. I've readily admitted I did not see the light change from green to orange. But I did see the light was orange. The problem was I did not know how long it had been orange for. I had a split second to make a judgment. Either why I was going to cop it.

[mad082]

I'm not saying I'm perfect and never done anything wrong. I once drove straight through a stop sign (treated it like a give way sign) on a road I'd driven hundreds of times. Got about 10m past it and went "oh shit, that was a stop sign". It's the only time I've ever run a stop sign. But I acknowledge that it was all my fault and I wasn't paying enough attention.

You appear to be posting in order to try and justify yourself. Just admit that you weren't paying enough attention and move on. You may honestly think that you were paying enough attention, but the fact that you didn't see the orange light till you were right on it proves that you weren't. I doubt you will find too many people who disagrees with this

Edit: I didn't read all of your last post till after posting this, so take that into account before replying to mine

[KrazyKong]

I'm not saying I'm perfect and never done anything wrong. I once drove straight through a stop sign (treated it like a give way sign) on a road I'd driven hundreds of times. Got about 10m past it and went "oh shit, that was a stop sign". It's the only time I've ever run a stop sign. But I acknowledge that it was all my fault and I wasn't paying enough attention.

You appear to be posting in order to try and justify yourself. Just admit that you weren't paying enough attention and move on. You may honestly think that you were paying enough attention, but the fact that you didn't see the orange light till you were right on it proves that you weren't. I doubt you will find too many people who disagrees with this

Edit: I didn't read all of your last post till after posting this, so take that into account before replying to mine

I posted to ask advice and being initially cross that I found myself in that situation. I'm a careful driver, this is not an ordinary occurrence for me. When everyone is having a go at you and or insinuating you're a liar, it's instinctive to try and set the record straight. Then you just give up and realise the only person there was me, thus it really doesn't' matter what people think they know, or think they think I'm not owning up to. I know what happened at the end of the day and I've admitted many times I went through a red light. However I only went through it because I could not safely stop the car in the space provided whilst doing 80km. That's probably the first time since owning this car I've stomped the brakes that hard and tried to stop in such a short space of time. It felt unsafe to continue on that course, and I let off and then tried to get through the light before it turned red. I probably missed out on crossing the line by just under a second or so.

[Hadouken]

No one called you a liar.

All we are saying is, grow a set of balls, accept that you ran that red light and that it was 10000000000000000000000% your fault.

[KrazyKong]

You're stating the obvious aren't you lol. I never said it was your fault or anyone else's here. I described some situations whereby I found myself in that situation. It's not deflecting the blame, rather stating what happened up to that point in time. It's not just some stupid thing to me, it was a serious incident, but it seems the approach of just shut-up and accept it, is a little harsh, or own up to it. That's also another way of saying I wasn't being honest about what happened or straightforward.

I was the driver of the car, I am to blame. I ran a red light. I hesitated when it was clear I wasn't going to be able to stop in time, and then went to plan B to try and get through the light instead. As for finding myself in that situation, you can give it another name if you like, but we're talking 2 seconds here at most where I was checking safe distance, speed and rear view mirror, I still caught the orange light, the problem was I didn't know at what point it had changed.

[sinistaGTR]

Stop trying to justify it or whatever your trying to do, If you have twenty years of driving under your belt, then surely you have the maturity to just admit your f/up and pay the fine. Im not sure why you would even post this up and ask for advice. As you stated you are to blame you ran a red light, not like you were getting out of the way for an ambo or avoiding being rear ended.

You were a distracted driver who failed to obey a basic road rule and as such are going to get fined for it.

Your lucky you didnt rear end someone, have an accident in the intersection or even worse kill someone because of your lack of observation skills.

As a motorcyclist that has nearly been knocked off that many times by drivers like yourself, I have no sympathy for you and you should wake up and pay attention to everything thats happening on the road.

You put yourself in that situation of running a red light, there are no other circumstances to blame or ask for advice on.....

[Excuses]

Regardless of why he posted, I think this post has gotten a bit out of hand.

This is NOT a commodore forums, we don't sit back and have a go at the guy. He f"d up and that's that. Leave it at that, I've ran several orange lights knowing I was in te wrong, but would you stop with these cars ? To stop and risk a slide or accident, or speed threw and cause no accident. Green lights take 3 seconds to turn over. He had at least 2 seconds of time to get threw to stop any accident.

I'm not saying its the right thing to do, it's far from it.

But do we need to turn this into a bitch at him? No.

Maturity is overrated regardless of the circumstances.

[Hadouken]

Im pretty sure if you read this whole thread from start to finish, then the reason why Im bitching at him would be quite obvious.

His ignorance in thinking that he can blame something for his wrongdoing is mind boggeling.

Besides I think this guy is trolling now.

[KrazyKong]

Since when does replying or trying to set the record straight trolling. These days you only have to disagree with someone and you're labeled a troll, or face the wrath of the trigger happy troll nazis just waiting and itching to label someone as such. I blame myself, I admitted what I did wrong, but am disappointed I found myself in that situation. I also described the circumstances involved leading up to what happened. You weren't there, and at this point don't seem to have anything of value to add to this discussion either. All you've done is come across as someone with a big chip on your shoulder, yet you haven't even said what you would have done if put in the same circumstances. No doubt you're answer will be that you're just too l33t of a driver to have ever ended up in a situation like that, and thus won't even have the balls to actually say what your split second decision making would have resulted in at the time. Shit happens everyday out on the roads. Nothing is predictable.

[Hadouken]

Shit I haven't been called l33t since cs1.5 days.

Mate my only chip on my shoulder is people coming here and saying, "I know I ran a red light, but is there a way to blame something on the road so that I am not in the wrong?"

I've ran a red light, didn't even know I did until I saw the photo of the traffic camera. Difference between you and me though? I didn't run to a forum and say oh help me I ran a red light but because I'm such a paranoid/good driver it couldn't be my fault.

What do you expect coming from a community where your innocence is put on the line and someone like me coming around and saying "just accept that you f**ked up" or if you think you are so wrongly done then take it to court!

Also how about you tell is all the intersection it was at. I'll be happy to tell you then whether you could have avoided it or not.