I got a ticket for running a red light recently and, since I didn’t run the light, I’m trying to prepare a defense for myself. I figured just going in front of the judge and saying I didn’t do it isn’t going to work, so I went to the intersection and walked over to where the officer was sitting. I confirmed my suspicion that he couldn’t see my light from where he was at - he was watching the opposing light and assumed it was on the exact same schedule as my light. If I can prove that it’s not, I’m sure I’ll get out of the ticket.
(Alternatively, if he can’t prove that it is, I think I should also get out of it?)
So, where should I start looking for this info? It happened in Scottsdale, AZ, if that helps.
I don’t know about you, but I can quite often see the traffic light which a car opposite me is controlled by reflected in his windshield, depending on light placement and the layout of the intersection.
He was really far away. On the opposite corner of the intersection, but it’s a really big intersection. He was across and on the other side of a bridge. There’s no way he saw anything reflected in my windshield.
They should know what the signal’s supposed to be programmed for (the phasing and any sensors), or they should be able to point you to someone who does. If their answer is different from your experience, you may want to try videotaping the intersection.
Is there any vantage point near the intersection where you can take photos including both lights and capture the combination that you think confused the cop?
Get a friend and let them signal you when the lights change and you monitor the other light at the same time. You can worry about proving there is a problem if you find it is out of sync.
How did this happen? The cop saw the opposing signal turn green? If so, you would’ve had to have a red light. You’re not going to have every light green at once.
Or are we talking about a complicated intersection with multiple left turn signals?
Good luck,
I was ticketed many years ago for not stopping and after drawing up charts and planning my defense, the Cop pulled into court on a day off and then the prosecutor goes and dismisses the case :mad:
I was going to win that one on its evidence :dubious:
Yes the turning lanes in any 2 horse town will be traffic controlled.
You have to hope the Copper can admit to making a mistake, or he will lie to try and save face
Modern traffic lights in some locations have a little white lamp on top, visible from all directions, that indicate which main signal is currently red. If this intersection has those installed, the judge is more likely to believe the officer, regardless of whether he made a mistake.
I infer that you were turning left, and that your green arrow stayed lit longer? But if he saw the light for the traffic going straight through on his side turn green, he knows that by that time, your arrow was red.
So I would do two things:
First, I would go back and make certain that what you think was true is really true about the light. Film it if you can. Show that what you think happened can happen.
Then, when you plead not guilty, and get to talk to the prosecutor, ask the prosecutor how the officer knew that you were running the light. Explain briefly the geometry of the situation, without going into detail. If the officer cannot establish that he saw your light, or had some other valid method (such as the white light mentioned above) for knowing when exactly your light went from yellow to red, then you should tell the prosecutor politely that he has a significant proof problem. If you do all this politely, you should end up with the prosecutor deciding not to waste his/her time.
It’d be best to draw a picture but I don’t have my wacom tablet set up and if I drew it on this laptop mousepad it would be about as bad as not having drawn one at all :D.
I was coming off the freeway (headed S), turning left onto the bridge (headed E.) So I was on the NW corner of the bridge and he was on the SE corner. The only light he could see was the green arrow opposite of mine (for the people getting off northbound and going SE to NW.) I know this because I went and stood where he was sitting. I didn’t ask him anything when he ticketed me. I was shocked when he told me, matter of factly, that I had run the redlight (I thought something was wrong with the front of my car and he was just stopping me to let me know) but I kept my mouth shut, signed my ticket, and went on with my day.
I really don’t know what he saw, but he couldn’t have seen the eastbound traffic coming, because he wouldn’t have been able to get in behind me to pull me over.
Depending on the resolution of that area, a Google Maps satellite view might be helpful.
I second videotaping the intersection as you describe it. I was one ticketed for making an illegal U-turn. The officer insisted that I had disregarded the sign that said “No U-Turn.” I pleaded not guilty, and got to ask the officer to identify some pictures.
“Is this the intersection in question, officer?” Street signs clearly visible indicating road names.
Here’s a rough diagram, there’s so many damn lights at that intersection it’s hard to remember exactly where they’re at in my head, and I didn’t ask any questions so I can only guess what the cop was thinking/looking at, but that should be ~95% accurate.
The Red X is me, the Blue X is the cop, and the green circle is the next traffic to go after me. If I ran the redlight I don’t think he would’ve had time to get behind me because they would be on my ass.
If you bring a video to court, make sure to contact the bailif well in advance for s/he will have to make arrangements for the video equipment, or move your case to a different court room. (I have second-hand experience here having seen it happen when a lawyer wanted to show a tape to the court. The case had o be moved to a different court room after speaking to the bailif in sufficient time prior to the start of the court session.)
