Red light camera ticket at 0.8 sec

[henryko]

I got a ticket from a red light camera in the mail just the other day. It says I approached the interaction when the light has been red for 0.8 sec. This ticket showed my front wheel right at the line at 36km/h.

I was actually doing a left turn at the intersection, and when i looked, it was amber, that'y I slowed down instead of stopped. But since I was doing a left turn, I just kept my eyes open for pedestrian instead of the light when I passed the light.

I am thinking whether I should take it to court, or just pay that hafty $325 bill...any thoughts? I just wonder what I just said above would make a good case...

[Mitchell3]

I had a similar thread started last year about this last year, read up if ya wanna. mine was 0.3 sec, provided it was me driving im not even sure... http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/showthread.php?46486-ridicules-ticket/page2

[p-o-g-i]

Check in with the JoP to see if you could have the ticket at least reduced.

I think you may actually lose if you try to fight it.

[henryko]

So did u end up getting it reduced?

[henryko]

Check in with the JoP to see if you could have the ticket at least reduced.

I think you may actually lose if you try to fight it.

Yeah, i dont think I can win. I was thinking more of a reduced fine...just not sure what I said i reasonable enough...

[p-o-g-i]

Well, if it's any indication....... from past experiences when I would dispute a ticket or try to get the fine reduced, I would always end with a sob story about trying to pay bills/ hard to make ends meet/ in between jobs/ etc. As an angle to pay a lower fine. If I knew I was at fault, I would admit to it, but advise that due to financial restraints.... anything they could assist with in terms of reducing the fine would be greatly appreciated.

In the 18 years of my driving experience, not once have I ever paid the full fine for a ticket.

[Mitchell3]

So did u end up getting it reduced?

My mom paid it, since it was her car and never figured out who did it just paid it in full. she figured it wasnt worth the time and effort to reduce or fight it

[henryko]

My mom paid it, since it was her car and never figured out who did it just paid it in full. she figured it wasnt worth the time and effort to reduce or fight it

Good to know!!

[henryko]

Well, if it's any indication....... from past experiences when I would dispute a ticket or try to get the fine reduced, I would always end with a sob story about trying to pay bills/ hard to make ends meet/ in between jobs/ etc. As an angle to pay a lower fine. If I knew I was at fault, I would admit to it, but advise that due to financial restraints.... anything they could assist with in terms of reducing the fine would be greatly appreciated.

In the 18 years of my driving experience, not once have I ever paid the full fine for a ticket.

Play the financial restraint card, i like that! :D

[ronphan]

I have one which said I ran it at 0.03 seconds

[henryko]

I have one which said I ran it at 0.03 seconds

Wow, that really sucks...

[Hoodzy]

WTF... red light cameras for left hand turns are BS..
So what line are we talking about here. The line under the light itself or the stop line??

[henryko]

WTF... red light cameras for left hand turns are BS..
So what line are we talking about here. The line under the light itself or the stop line??

Yeah, i know! for left hand turns!!!!

I mean the stop line.

[Hoodzy]

Ok Henryko.. let me ask you a question.. Do you consider yourself a good driver??? Have you been in any accidents?

[Pillbox2010]

Sorry to say but you guys are the reason we have red light cameras in the first place. You try to follow the 1-2 cars in front of you making a turn on the yellow and by the time you cross the line its red but you're still accelerating. This causes the people going left on the advance green on the opposite intersection to have to wait until 2-3 extra cars turn during the red, and then there is not enough time to clear the line of cars turning left.

If I'm not the first car I will sit at the line and wait until the next round of advance greens because half the time there are idiots running straight through the line on a yellow/red that causes the left turners to wait anyways.

Henry you should know how small Hamilton's intersections are, there usually isn't enough room to get 2 cars in the left lane waiting for a yellow/red so why not just be patient and wait instead of risking an accident or a fine.

Suck it up and pay and I hope you learn from it.

[Hoodzy]

Pillbox I am confused as to what you are trying to say??? Even if you cross the line at speed when its been red for .3 seconds you are out of the intersection before the light even turns green for the next group. If that's what you are trying to say??

[Pillbox2010]

What I was describing is if car B is sitting behind car A at a left turn waiting for the light to change so car A can go through, and car B squeeks through and sometimes car C. Car B and C usually don't have enough room to enter the intersection behind car A so they sit behind the line until the lights change. When they do drive through they are not at speed they are accelerating the whole way through. Most of the time car B and C are cutting off the perpendicular left turners who now have an advance green or people waiting to drive straight through.

[Hoodzy]

Ahh so you are talking during traffic jam/rush hour situation. That's not running a red light.. that's obstructing traffic... Different things

[Dreamliner]

Sorry to say but you guys are the reason we have red light cameras in the first place. You try to follow the 1-2 cars in front of you making a turn on the yellow and by the time you cross the line its red but you're still accelerating. This causes the people going left on the advance green on the opposite intersection to have to wait until 2-3 extra cars turn during the red, and then there is not enough time to clear the line of cars turning left.

If I'm not the first car I will sit at the line and wait until the next round of advance greens because half the time there are idiots running straight through the line on a yellow/red that causes the left turners to wait anyways.

Henry you should know how small Hamilton's intersections are, there usually isn't enough room to get 2 cars in the left lane waiting for a yellow/red so why not just be patient and wait instead of risking an accident or a fine.

Suck it up and pay and I hope you learn from it.

I think you're referring to the people who are going straight who have to wait for people who want to try and run a yellow arrow. I've seen 3-4 cars turn while the light is green for me to proceed forward.

[Mitchell3]

Sorry to say but you guys are the reason we have red light cameras in the first place. You try to follow the 1-2 cars in front of you making a turn on the yellow and by the time you cross the line its red but you're still accelerating. This causes the people going left on the advance green on the opposite intersection to have to wait until 2-3 extra cars turn during the red, and then there is not enough time to clear the line of cars turning left.


I dunno I see this as a grey area. Sometimes theres a dump truck in front of you thats slow.. sometimes people going straight keep running the yellow.. watching for pedestrians. It can be trickier to judge whether to stop when turning left because of the added variables in contrast to just driving straight through a yellow/red. I think they should be focusing on more pressing concerns..
But at the same time, people that just keep turning left and its obvious they just dont want to wait, thats annoying. When my lights green Im coming at ya.
Really though you probably should stop because your already slowing down to make a turn, you might as well stop rather than push it.

[vinnierap]

I would fight it, come on its 0.8 seconds. Even if the coast is clear and the light just turned yellow if you are at speed you will not have enough time to slow down. Worst case scenario, they make you pay the full amount anyway. 99% of the time they will reduce it.

[Default User]

Worse case scenario - the government decides to raise taxes again because people keep tying up the court system trying to fight tickets they know they were guilty for in the first place.

Honestly - if you know you were wrong - man up and pay it.
If you truly think its BS - fight it, and best of luck to you.

But if you're plan is to fight just so you don't have to pay - I hope you lose

[vinnierap]

Worse case scenario - the government decides to raise taxes again because people keep tying up the court system trying to fight tickets they know they were guilty for in the first place.

Honestly - if you know you were wrong - man up and pay it.
If you truly think its BS - fight it, and best of luck to you.

But if you're plan is to fight just so you don't have to pay - I hope you lose


WOW!!!! first of all the government is gonna increase taxes regardless because they are a**holes and dont know how to budget and want to screw everyone while lining there pockets.

Secondly .8 seconds... not even a full 1 second. Its worth a shot to fight it. Im pretty sure every single 1 of us is guilty of going through a red light either making a left or right or even going straight.

[Hoodzy]

The court system is tied up because it is government run. That means it is the most inefficiently POS run so called 'system' in the country.
People who run red lights and almost cause accidents deserve 350 dollar tickets. Not people who happen to be caught by the flaw in camera systems that are purposely set up as revenue generators and not in the name of safety.

[Default User]

Taxes will go up regardless - I totally agree.
Our system is inefficient - I agree

But it is also abused by people that really should not have any cause using it.

The whole "fight the ticket and hope it gets dropped" routine is way overplayed.

Like I said - if the OP thinks he shouldn't be penalized because the Red light camera is unjust - then he should fight it. But if it's just so he can he away with it...that's a different story

[Thrizzl3]

i ran a red light (apparently)..got pulled over by a officer and he gave me a $325 ticket. fought it...and didn't pay a penny. i dunno i guess I'm lucky

[thanu31]

i ran a red light (apparently)..got pulled over by a officer and he gave me a $325 ticket. fought it...and didn't pay a penny. i dunno i guess I'm lucky

totally different situation with no camera

[Thrizzl3]

totally different situation with no camera

meh...worth a try...i was trying to motivate him to fight it :P

[STeeLy]

Worse case scenario - the government decides to raise taxes again because people keep tying up the court system trying to fight tickets they know they were guilty for in the first place.

Honestly - if you know you were wrong - man up and pay it.
If you truly think its BS - fight it, and best of luck to you.

But if you're plan is to fight just so you don't have to pay - I hope you lose

Worst Case Scenario:
- It's not your first ticket so you don't have forgiveness anymore.
- You flght it, you lose. Instead of having no points (No proof as to who was driving), no insurance increase and a $325 ticket, you have 3 points, insurance increase and STILL a $325 ticket.

[henryko]

Ok Henryko.. let me ask you a question.. Do you consider yourself a good driver??? Have you been in any accidents?

I consider myself a good driver, since i only had one speeding ticket, and one accident when someone bumped into my back in over 10 years of driving. And now, my first red light...

[henryko]

meh...worth a try...i was trying to motivate him to fight it :P

How did u fight it to end up didnt pay a penny? share the experience?

[henryko]

Sorry to say but you guys are the reason we have red light cameras in the first place. You try to follow the 1-2 cars in front of you making a turn on the yellow and by the time you cross the line its red but you're still accelerating. This causes the people going left on the advance green on the opposite intersection to have to wait until 2-3 extra cars turn during the red, and then there is not enough time to clear the line of cars turning left.

If I'm not the first car I will sit at the line and wait until the next round of advance greens because half the time there are idiots running straight through the line on a yellow/red that causes the left turners to wait anyways.

Henry you should know how small Hamilton's intersections are, there usually isn't enough room to get 2 cars in the left lane waiting for a yellow/red so why not just be patient and wait instead of risking an accident or a fine.

Suck it up and pay and I hope you learn from it.

Well, i agree with you and i dont rush through i left turn on yellow following another car. The intersection that I got flashed was a one way 5 lane turning left to 4 lanes two ways. So it's a different situation...

[Hoodzy]

I consider myself a good driver, since i only had one speeding ticket, and one accident when someone bumped into my back in over 10 years of driving. And now, my first red light...

Right so one would assume from your lack of accidents that you are a competent driver overall.. You don't deserve a fine that large. It's absolute BS.. it is simply for revenue generation. SO EFF THE CAMERAS and eff the stupid laws.

[henryko]

Worst Case Scenario:
- It's not your first ticket so you don't have forgiveness anymore.
- You flght it, you lose. Instead of having no points (No proof as to who was driving), no insurance increase and a $325 ticket, you have 3 points, insurance increase and STILL a $325 ticket.

Considering it is my first red light ticket, you are making a good case to fight...lol

[henryko]

Right so one would assume from your lack of accidents that you are a competent driver overall.. You don't deserve a fine that large. It's absolute BS.. it is simply for revenue generation. SO EFF THE CAMERAS and eff the stupid laws.

And the last speeding ticket i got was driving at 120 at QEW coming back from toronto...that's total BS considering how often you will get tailgated when driving at 110 on QEW...

So i think I will try to fight this one...wish me luck!

[henryko]

totally different situation with no camera

should one caught by an officer be harder to fight than a camera?

[Thrizzl3]

How did u fight it to end up didnt pay a penny? share the experience?

i brought the ticket to court to set up a trial date. Went to the trial to try and have it reduced. The officer didn't have his evidence...so i'm off the hook.

[thanu31]

should one caught by an officer be harder to fight than a camera?

easier to fight with no camera, like phil stated, he got off the hook because of no evidence, or even if cop doesn't show up, ticket gets dropped..unlike a camera, where there is a clear pic of the violation

[henryko]

i brought the ticket to court to set up a trial date. Went to the trial to try and have it reduced. The officer didn't have his evidence...so i'm off the hook.

wow, lucky u!

[Default User]

SO EFF THE CAMERAS and eff the stupid laws.

LMFAO!
BIG +1!!!!

[Slade]

You know what I do, as soon as my light turns green I hammer the gas if someone is in the intersection, if your in the middle of the intersection when you shouldn't be, next time you will think twice about trying to make that turn in time. Guess who is gonna get the ticket if there is an accident, defiintely not me going straight on a green light.

I believe if you try and sit in the middle of a lane on a light to make a turn on your driving test, the instructor might have something to say about it.

Not saying I am perfect, as I have gone through a yellow, but it was either that or try and stop 4,000pounds on wet pavement.

[Hoodzy]

My driving instructor taught me to wait in the intersection. When it turns yellow make sure it is safe to proceed (all traffic oncoming is going to stop) then proceed. This is safe it also ensure people behind you aren't backed up forever from short turn signals or too much oncoming traffic not allowing a turn. Obviously don't be an idiot about it don't wait until the light is red unless someone is oncoming and running the red which they shouldn't be.. but give it some gas and you'll be ok. There is enough of a delay to ensure you aren't going to be in anyone's way.

[vinnierap]

You know what I do, as soon as my light turns green I hammer the gas if someone is in the intersection, if your in the middle of the intersection when you shouldn't be, next time you will think twice about trying to make that turn in time. Guess who is gonna get the ticket if there is an accident, defiintely not me going straight on a green light.

I believe if you try and sit in the middle of a lane on a light to make a turn on your driving test, the instructor might have something to say about it.

Not saying I am perfect, as I have gone through a yellow, but it was either that or try and stop 4,000pounds on wet pavement.

WOW!!!!! So you are saying, that you deliberately try to cause an accident because someone is making a left turn. That is amazingly STUPID!!!!!

You have absolutely no purpose commenting on this thread if that is the way you act on a daily basis. That is just stupid and dangerous. Dont tell me that you have never made a left turn on a yellow light or border line red/yellow. Gimme a break.

I hope you stop "hammering the gas when someone is in the intersection" so you potentially dont kill someone.

WOOOOOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

[Default User]

I think Slade is more inclined to scare the **** out of the guy stuck in the middle of the intersection when they have no reason to be there.

I do the same thing - only I lay on that horn until the driver is out of my way.

Put it this way - if you just let ppl do the things they do - and not say/do anything about it - they'll just keep thinking its ok.

[Hoodzy]

I think Slade is more inclined to scare the **** out of the guy stuck in the middle of the intersection when they have no reason to be there.

I do the same thing - only I lay on that horn until the driver is out of my way.

Put it this way - if you just let ppl do the things they do - and not say/do anything about it - they'll just keep thinking its ok.
Exactly why I honk and flash my high beams and give the finger to whoever I deem driving like an idiot.

[Default User]

Exactly why I honk and flash my high beams and give the finger to whoever I deem driving like an idiot.

Kinda like the guy that's turnin left running through a red light?

[Hoodzy]

Kinda like the guy that's turnin left running through a red light?
Only hidden finger to the guy in front of me who doesn't sit in the intersection and doesn't go through when it's yellow but sits there..

[STeeLy]

Considering it is my first red light ticket, you are making a good case to fight...lol

Red light ticket is still a moving violation... since you already had a speeding ticket on your record, it wouldn't be a first ticket.

[henryko]

Red light ticket is still a moving violation... since you already had a speeding ticket on your record, it wouldn't be a first ticket.

point taken!

[Slade]

I think Slade is more inclined to scare the **** out of the guy stuck in the middle of the intersection when they have no reason to be there.

I do the same thing - only I lay on that horn until the driver is out of my way.

Put it this way - if you just let ppl do the things they do - and not say/do anything about it - they'll just keep thinking its ok.

Exactly,

My light is green, yours is not, why are you in my way.

And I said I wasn't perfect in my last post.

[STeeLy]

There's also a delay from when one direction turns red and when the other direction turns green, I think it's usually 2 - 3 seconds. (Unless you're in Montreal)

So if there's still someone in the intersection when your light goes green, well...

[bunchi]

photos from red light cameras are reviewed by the cops before sending it to you and telling you that you are guilty of running a red light. why fight when you already have a photo evidence in front of you saying you are guilty? if you've been driving long enough, you know how long it takes for a yellow light to turn red. just man up and pay the penalty. consider it a cost of being at the place where you are going 3 minutes earlier than you are supposed to be. and next time don't enter an intersection when the light is already red. could have been worse.

[queens49]

photos from red light cameras are reviewed by the cops before sending it to you and telling you that you are guilty of running a red light. why fight when you already have a photo evidence in front of you saying you are guilty? if you've been driving long enough, you know how long it takes for a yellow light to turn red. just man up and pay the penalty. consider it a cost of being at the place where you are going 3 minutes earlier than you are supposed to be. and next time don't enter an intersection when the light is already red. could have been worse.

+1

[vinnierap]

There's also a delay from when one direction turns red and when the other direction turns green, I think it's usually 2 - 3 seconds. (Unless you're in Montreal)

So if there's still someone in the intersection when your light goes green, well...

The delay is 3 seconds most places. Except in brampton its 4 seconds

[Pillbox2010]

It's only 4 seconds in Brampton because the intersections are Massive and there are too many idiots who try to squeeze through the yellow, but it really shouldn't be needed. Yellow means get ready to Stop not slam on the gas and try to make it through.

[henryko]

photos from red light cameras are reviewed by the cops before sending it to you and telling you that you are guilty of running a red light. why fight when you already have a photo evidence in front of you saying you are guilty? if you've been driving long enough, you know how long it takes for a yellow light to turn red. just man up and pay the penalty. consider it a cost of being at the place where you are going 3 minutes earlier than you are supposed to be. and next time don't enter an intersection when the light is already red. could have been worse.

Yeah, i've decided to just pay up, since it's my fault to react 0.8 sec slower than i should :D plus, really dont have time to deal with the court stuff...especially now that i know a camera ticket wont cost me any points...