Doppelgänger

iTrader: (12)

Aww man, your state/local municipalities are spendy...sending out videos and all. What a waste of time/resources.

Braineack

iTrader: (62)

if they outlawed red lights, you guys wouldn't have this problem.

i love how we still use the same concept as we did in 1910 in regards to traffic flow.

GTRicky

$75?

You really want to go through the headache of pushing this for only $75? I understand it's the principle of it, but it's only $75.

sixshooter

iTrader: (12)

Admitting that you chose to proceed through an intersection without having clear view of the signaling devices governing that intersection will place the fault at your feet. Learn the lesson and pay the ticket. It is fortunate that cross traffic wasn't already in motion and "timing" the light's change. You might have been injured.

If the truck had been directly in front of you and the light was overhead you would have been guilty of following too closely for conditions. The condition being that you were approaching a controlled intersection.

Chiburbian

iTrader: (1)

I will likely pay the ticket. My contention is that under certain conditions it is nearly impossible to see the "signaling devices." Check out the google maps I linked. "Drive" the road into the intersection with google streetview.


The truck wasn't directly in front of me. See that dump truck in the google maps streetview that I linked? Now picture that a full height semi truck and us both over one lane. I was in the left lane, he was in the center. I was approximately the same distance back. You still think I was following improperly?

The first time I even saw a light in any condition other than green was at most about 30 feet before I crossed the line to enter the intersection. At that point it was too late to stop. The semi-truck to the right never even slowed down, and also ran the red light without ever slowing down.

Any person who does slow down and change lanes to prevent themselves from never loosing sightline with a "signaling device" must be real fun to drive with.

I will try and post a video of the approach to the intersection that I filmed on the way to work today.

Faeflora

iTrader: (2)

I say part out and lawyer up.

gospeed81

iTrader: (51)

Umm...what?

I didn't start the ******* thread. Your posts in this thread have been misguided drivel, likely written at the wrong person.

I was simply illustrating another circumstance where following traffic flow can make it impossible to NOT get caught by these damn cameras.

But YES...I at least looked into fighting it. It's 75 MOTHERFUCKIN DOLLARS I WORKED MY *** OFF FOR....not to mention the principle of the matter.

fooger03

iTrader: (2)

First: have you timed the yellow light with a stopwatch? The vast majority of yellow lights will stay yellow for 4.9 seconds. The few exceptions (about 3.5-4 seconds) usually exist in 25 mph zones.

Second: It's your responsibility to see a red light and stop for a yellow light. If you can't see over a semi, you're too close - and if you can't see around a semi that you are not directly following, it is your legal responsibility to slow down such that you can stop until you can confirm that the light is green. Yes, it is inconvenient to slow down - Think about how "inconvenient" it would be if that semi was running a red light, and a small car coming from your right with a green light was lucky enough to just barely miss being T-Boned by the semi - only to get nailed in the drivers door by you doing 55 mph because you sped up to get through the 45mph intersection instead of slowing down... It was inconvenient for you to slow down until you could confirm that the light was green, but think of the inconvenience you've caused for someone else because you were impatient. Your argument may help to get an additional signal light put up to the left side of the intersection, but your local legislative branch will not find you innocent based on your argument.

I was driving through an intersection a few months ago in a small town. My traffic direction had a mid-phase green light, and I proceeded through the intersection at the speed limit behind several other cars that were doing the same. Imagine my surprise when I glanced to the left and saw the grill of an SUV coming directly at me at 35mph, and already halfway across the intersection. I can't imagine she missed me by more than a couple feet, and I can't imagine the two cars following me (2 lanes in every direction) missed her by much more than that... I don't want to imagine what would have happened had she been going any faster.

Chiburbian

iTrader: (1)

That is on my list of things to do in the next couple days. I didn't feel like stopping today. I might be able to see the time on the video I did though.

This isn't about convenience. At least not in my understanding of convenience. If an intersection is designed and signaled in such a way that the only way that you can see the signals behind a large truck is to either zoom in front of it or drop way back, then the intersection is poorly designed.

What I am getting here - is that to most people my argument fails and likely the judge will see the same way.

My question to those that think I am in the wrong is have you looked at the intersection in question in google streetview. Can you at a distance identify where the lights are and can you identify where you would need to position yourself in order to see the lights? I realize this is likely impossible due to the resolution.

fooger03

iTrader: (2)

looked at it in streetview, and I can't give you the benefit of the doubt. There is even a supplemental stoplight posted at the front of the intersection for better visibility as you are coming around that curve. I hypothesize that the light may have been green when you had visibility of it much earlier in the curve. After looking at streetview, I believe that you could have seen the yellow light in plenty of time to come to a complete stop before reaching the intersection if you had actually put effort into it (steer your vehicle to the left side of the lane to gain extra visibility).

I also believe that you saw the yellow light with enough distance to stop the car, but decided to accelerate through the intersection instead of stopping.

Lastly, I believe that you assumed the light to be green because the semi that was next to you was continuing through the intersection. I believe that you had no reason to think that you should make a conscious effort to find out if the light was yellow or red. I believe that, when you saw the light was yellow, you had a gut reaction to step on the accelerator instead of the brake, without knowing how long the light had actually been yellow. You also didn't think it would be a "big deal" at the time when you yourself had the positive realization that you had just run a red light.

What was the guy behind you thinking when he saw you run a red light? What do you think to yourself when you're stopped at an intersection and you see the cross traffic light turn red, and then a brief moment later you see a car blast through?

"God, I wish I were a cop so I could pull that ******* over..."

How are you any different from that guy? ... Wait, you are "that guy", aren't you?

CPSmith

I just got a red light ticket in the mail the other day, and I just watched the video of it online. I go through the light, and the Pontiac Vibe that was next to me does a panic stop to avoid entering the intersection. It sucks, but whatever. I'll pay the $75 dollars and be more careful next time

Chiburbian

iTrader: (1)

Good to see you are qualified to write my biography. When I get ready to retire I will give you a call.

jasonb

do photo tickets hold up in court these days? i think it would be funny to get a friend with same car as yours and put your license plate # on his car and then both of you go through a red light at the same time in two different intersections (in differnt towns). then go in and tell the judge, ok, i'll pay the ticket if you can tell me which of these two red light tickets is actually me.

sixshooter

iTrader: (12)

If you think the intersection is poorly designed or dangerous then that is something for you to stand up before the town hall/city council/county commission meeting and speak about. Bring your charts, graphs, videos, and pictures. They might be very interested in what you have to share.

The judge, on the other hand, will very likely tell you what I have already stated. You, as the driver, are responsible for the safe and lawful operation of your motor vehicle no matter what the conditions.

**Bonus Driver's Test Question** If you are approaching a controlled intersection and the traffic signaling devices are obscured from view, you should: A) Proceed at full speed. B) Slow or stop until you have clear view of the signaling devices and the intersection.
or
C) Execute a handbrake turn and do doughnuts in the intersection while flipping-off the red light cameras.

Bond

iTrader: (6)

When I brought photos to court to fight my ticket (went around one cone, got "illegal barrier crossing") they would not accept them because I had text on them. I had made a powerpoint with writing here and there to explain the pics and they denied it.

Then they fucked me over and jacked my ticket up another $70. That's the last time I will ever be my own lawyer.

thymer

iTrader: (5)

Doesn't matter whatsoever. If you didn't have a clear view of a green signal then you ran the light, period.

jacob300zx

spray paint?

Tony the Tiger

iTrader: (4)

"Mama says red light cameras are the devil" and the people that work that meat grinding machine that is behind the whole red light camera market are some money hungry sons of bitches! Stay away from 59th street cost me $150 a month back. ( make sure to come to a full 3 second stop before turning right their timing it)

FRT_Fun

iTrader: (19)

I hate hate cameras at lights. Like said before, most people who cause accidents are the ones who were not paying attention to the light at all and ran it. In that case the camera does nothing.

I hate even more the ones that get you for not stopping all the way for a right turn on red.

I would just like to see the cost/benefit in some sort of numerical form.

hustler

iTrader: (6)

You're a pretty shitty Virginian. I assume you don't open carry either?