Just got flashed. Question

PiKe · 21 Dec 2006 at 10:50

When you approaching a traffic light you need to have a point of no return, for me its about 5 meters, if it changes to amber at the point i press on.

silversurfer · 21 Dec 2006 at 10:51

regulus said:
Nope, I wasn't even doing 30 (40 zone) and it just suddenly changed over when I was quite close. Probably could've made it but don't like rushing at an orange light.

:/ Lights near a fire station will sometimes do that

Sirrel Squirrel · 21 Dec 2006 at 11:18

If it was only 10 inches I seriously doubt anything will happen, thats not even a whole wheel over the line

Chronos-X · 21 Dec 2006 at 11:35

Traffic lights dont just 'turn' red

iirc you get 3/4 of a second of red before it will get you. In london everyone drives through the ambers :eek:

regulus · 21 Dec 2006 at 11:50

Chronos-X said:
Traffic lights dont just 'turn' red

iirc you get 3/4 of a second of red before it will get you. In london everyone drives through the ambers

I live in London and I don't. Eight years of not even a parking offense. I like my insurance nice and low.

Fr0dders · 21 Dec 2006 at 11:53

Morba said:
he still crossed the line in that case and will get the £60 fine and 3 points iirc

depends where the camera is pointed. Light cameras are usually pointed more towards the middle of the junction to catch people flying through them, if the camera was aimed at the lights, anybody going through it at speed would miss the camera.

He may get away with it, but then as he crossed the line, if hes in shot, he wont

it has happened before remember, somebody posted a while back about a taxi driver with his front wheel a couple of inches over the line, and a copper who took exception and gave them a TS10 with 3 points and £60 fine. If he's in shot. He will allmost certainly get a ticket.

adscan · 21 Dec 2006 at 12:31

lift your vision.....

loki101 · 21 Dec 2006 at 12:33

you have a few seconds of amber before it turns red,to speed up or slow down take your pick

theNude · 21 Dec 2006 at 12:37

i got flashed by one of these... was coming up to the lights and i knew it was going to change, you learn the sequences so i went through as it changed to green and got flashed... didnt get anything though so perhaps people do check the pictures

V-Spec · 21 Dec 2006 at 16:15

I thought the measurment was only taken if the car is in the middle of the junction, otherwise wouldn't the cameras be going mad if there was congestion and cars stopped across the junction? :confused:

Tomsk · 21 Dec 2006 at 16:33

You're supposed to stop your vehicle before the line. This does not mean the front wheels are behind the line, it means the whole vehicle.

Red light cameras take two pictures. One showing the car and traffic lights on red with the car before the line and a second picture a short period later showing the same car across the line and traffic lights still showing red.

The OP's car and registration will be clearly visible if the camera took a picture. If it only took one picture because the OP had stopped (albeit over the line) then it will probably upto a jobsworth to decide whether to prosecute or not.

Pinter75 · 21 Dec 2006 at 17:04

One thing to take into account is the visability of the white line. I have been at some junctions where you can hardly see it, if not at all.

The law is clear though.

RED means 'Stop'. Wait behind the stop line on the carriageway.

RED AND AMBER also means 'Stop'. Do not pass through or start until GREEN shows.

http://www.highwaycode.gov.uk/signs01.htm

Now if it is the same as parking bay penalties when 2 of your wheels being outside the marked bay = penalty, then expect to be got.

They may argue that you were not paying attention. I always slow down a bit before light cams, it is deffo not worth racing the lights.

I dunno if you can argue, that a far greater percentage of your vehicle was stopped before the light ;-)

silversurfer · 21 Dec 2006 at 17:12

V-Spec said:
I thought the measurment was only taken if the car is in the middle of the junction, otherwise wouldn't the cameras be going mad if there was congestion and cars stopped across the junction?

Its triggered at a certain speed I think

regulus · 21 Dec 2006 at 17:16

Tomsk said:
You're supposed to stop your vehicle before the line. This does not mean the front wheels are behind the line, it means the whole vehicle.

Red light cameras take two pictures. One showing the car and traffic lights on red with the car before the line and a second picture a short period later showing the same car across the line and traffic lights still showing red.

The OP's car and registration will be clearly visible if the camera took a picture. If it only took one picture because the OP had stopped (albeit over the line) then it will probably upto a jobsworth to decide whether to prosecute or not.

It definetly only took one pic. They'll probably come after me. Any excuse to get some more money to waste.

Fr0dders · 21 Dec 2006 at 17:46

silversurfer said:
Its triggered at a certain speed I think

not true

i was caught going through a read light camera at 8mph

i still to this day swea that i crossed the line when it was green, but was caught in the middle of the junction in traffic when the light was red, but speed definitely doesnt matter when it comes to red light cameras.

they have strips just in front of the white line that trigger it.

PMKeates · 21 Dec 2006 at 17:53

Reference to something someone posted in this thread, the delay between amber and red varies depending on the particular traffic light. Many will hold amber much longer than others.

I can think of a fairly "golden" excuse as well:

You were driving towards the lights. Human/animal runs out in front of you and you swerve to avoid, swerve back in to your lane and then brake sharply for the red light - you finish up slightly over the line. If you hadn't of swerved and had braked straight away you'd have most certainly hit the random organism. Therefore person deciding whether you get off or not has to weigh up "Killing someone + stopping before line" vs. "stopping slightly after line". No matter what the computer says, if you're willing to lie I can't imagine anyone not allowing you exonerating circumstances.

silversurfer · 21 Dec 2006 at 17:59

They definetly measure speed but arent triggered by that alone. I assume then that its taken as a mitigating factor

regulus · 21 Dec 2006 at 18:19

PMKeates said:
Reference to something someone posted in this thread, the delay between amber and red varies depending on the particular traffic light. Many will hold amber much longer than others.

I can think of a fairly "golden" excuse as well:

You were driving towards the lights. Human/animal runs out in front of you and you swerve to avoid, swerve back in to your lane and then brake sharply for the red light - you finish up slightly over the line. If you hadn't of swerved and had braked straight away you'd have most certainly hit the random organism. Therefore person deciding whether you get off or not has to weigh up "Killing someone + stopping before line" vs. "stopping slightly after line". No matter what the computer says, if you're willing to lie I can't imagine anyone not allowing you exonerating circumstances.

That's actually a good idea. I might look into something along those lines if they're ridiculous enough to come after me when I clearly did NOT skip the light.