Ran a red light...help

[monkeyhanger1981]

I have stupidly just ran a red light..

.this is my first offence for this and apart from one speeding ticket a year ago I have never comitted any motoring offences.

 

This was caught by the flash of a camera, it only happened last night so there is no ticket yet

but I am 100% sure the camera caught me.

 

I was wondering though would I have a chance of contesting this if I was maybe to say that i had to speed up

because the car behind me was speeding and I hdone this to avoid a collision?

 

I know I was wrong to run the red light but I genuinly did not see the light be on red as my mind was elsewhere...HELP

[BazzaS]

You could say that, IF it were true.

Of course, for it to be true, the car causing you to go through on red will also have gone through on red, no doubt, so they'll see it on the photo's .......

 

Will they be able to see it, did it miraculously brake where you couldn't, or did it turn invisible at the key moments?

[monkeyhanger1981]

Of course they would be able to see it, it was traffic lights...there are queues of traffic

[BazzaS]

Of course they would be able to see it, it was traffic lights...there are queues of traffic

 

Queues of traffic? What has that got to do with it?

 

You say you were caught on camera.

The car behind you that meant you had no safe alternative, will that show on its own photo seconds later?

(Such that when you contest it, the CPS will decide it is not in the public interest to proceed ......)

 

If so, fine. If not, why not?

[Aretnap]

I was wondering though would I have a chance of contesting this if I was maybe to say that i had to speed up because the car behind me was speeding and I hdone this to avoid a collision?

 

I genuinly did not see the light be on red as my mind was elsewhere

So which is it - you saw the light was red and decided to proceed anyway because of someone tailgating you, or you were distracted and didn't see the light? They can't both be true. Remember that lying to the police in this situation (and to a court, if it came to it) can constitute perverting the course of justice - a serious crime which could see you end up in prison. Really not worth it for the sake of a minor traffic offence.

 

A defence based on a car behind you is unlikely to work anyway. The law allows you to proceed through an amber light if (and only if) you are so close to it that stopping would risk an accident, but it makes no such allowance for a red light. The amber light is on for 3 seconds, and most red light cameras don't activate unless the light has been red for at least a second or so, so you would have had at least four seconds to stop had you been paying attention. That's plenty of time to come to a gradual halt, even if you do have someone driving too close behind you.

 

Not all cameras have film in at a given time so you might get lucky - not much you can do for the moment but cross your fingers and hope nothing nasty comes through the letterbox. If it does you're best to take it on the chin - the most likely outcome is 3 points and a £60 fixed penalty, though some areas offer a traffic light awareness course if the light hadn't been red for too long - this would allow you to avoid the points in return for a few hours of your time.

[Bandit127]

Personally I would be careful about posting further possibly identifying details about yourself on here.

 

You have written an admission in your post that would increase your problem to a charge of driving without due care and attention.

I know I was wrong to run the red light but I genuinly did not see the light be on red as my mind was elsewhere...

[Ganymede]

The story about the car behind is a complete lie isn't it?

 

Man up and take your fine.