If any Dopers have a good knowlege of UK Traffic Law I would be grateful if you could help me with a specific situation.
OK, firstly I admit that I was in the wrong, but that I do not normally speed neither have I ever ‘gone through a red light’.
Saturday evening, travelling down a quiet 40mph dual carriageway, I approached a crossroads with a set of traffic lights.
As I approach the lights (c.40 metres?) the lights change to amber. I decide that I would not be able to stop safely (road was damp), so I continue. As I approach, I accelerate (in hindsight, not very clever) to ensure that I ‘make it’ before the lights change.
Therefore I pass through the lights at c.50-55mph, but am certain that at the point I passed the line the lights were STILL amber.
As I cross the centre of the junction several lights flash me from behind.
There may have been some lines in the road (a la a gatso measurements)
On further reading of the highway code it appears that the whole vehicle must clear the line before the light changes to red, so I may have gone through a red signal as well as been caught speeding.
So apart from shouts of “You deserve it” which I do, has anyone been convicted of both crossing a red light and speeding? Does it work like that?
If I am convicted on both offences, then after 12 years of incident free motoring, I may be priced out of owning a car (insurance)… goodbye job at the end of a long commute… man I feel very sick…
I very much doubt that they had cameras for both speed and red-light-jumping at the same location. And I’ve never seen speed-camera-markings actually on a junction. So I suspect that (if anything) you’ll just get the red-light conviction.
The Gatso 36 does mark speed as well as red light offences, and when I stopped at these lights this morning, the camera seemed to match the picture…
I guess that I deserve to be fined/endorsed for the red light… even if it was marginal, but the thought of another set of points for speeding (which was committed to try to avoid the original offence) is making me feel sick.
I guess I will have to watch the post every morning… as I said this is not a good feeling.
I don’t know about your specific circumstances but I will tell you what happened to me some years ago.
I had a clean driving record for many, many years when this happened. I was driving, at dusk, along an unfamiliar road approaching a set of lights and decided to change lanes. I checked my mirrors, glanced over my shoulder and changed lanes and just kept doing 80kph as I approached the lights. Suddenly the lights turned RED and I started to brake but realised I was going to stop in the middle of the intersection and letting my foot of the brake, got photographed “running” the red light at about walking pace.
What had happened was that when I looked back over my shoulder the lights had gone AMBER. Unfortunately the streetlights on that road are the same colour, so when I looked around I didn’t register the changed lights. My passengers assumed I was running the red light and said nothing.
When I received my booking I wrote to the authorities and explained what had happened. I said that, while it may have been an error to change lanes while approaching lights, I had no intention of “running a red light” and that I am a relatively sedate driver.
My explanation was accepted and the whole thing forgotten. I have helped other people concoct letters to get off driving offences and the combination of an accurate account of what happened and an awareness of how it could be prevented in future has always worked.
I think your post goes a long way to achieving those ends because I can see exactly what you are talking about. Absent the camera I have done the same thing on wet roads.
Hmm…interesting. I still suspect that that camera wouldn’t be used to prosecute for speeding on top of the red-light offence - but the data would still prevent you from appealing and claiming that you were driving sensibly (as in don’t ask’s case).
I went through red light some years ago in very similar circumstances to yours - the notification I received did detail the delay between red light and my crossing the line (which I felt was not entirely accurate, but was not in a position to contest), but also mentioned the exact speed (which was in excess of the posted limit, but by only 5mph or so).
I received three points and a £78 fine (£26 per point). The offence was ‘passing through a red traffic signal’ or some such; the speeding was not charged - I suspect it might have been if I had been travelling at, say, 25mph over the limit.