Is it just me?

I just got a ticket for the same thing. Was about 15 ft from the light when it went yellow and decided to go for it cause its winter up here in minnesota and the roads are pretty shitty. I had been applying my breaks though because right before the light it goes from a 40 to a 30 so i was slowing down a bit. I never sped up to make it through the light but as i was going through a car turning right coming from the other direction started to go at the same time as me, and then honked at me. I'm guessing the cop saw the dude honking and figured i blew the light, even though I could see it was still yellow in my rear view. Then we he came up and asked me why he pulled me over, I said "for running a yellow light?" because thats all i did, and he said "no i can't ticket you for that"... thats all he said. Then he left, wrote the ticket and told me to fight it or pay it. I was kinda like "Wtf just happened" and was like yeah ok w/e. I ended up just paying it and paying like 15 extra bucks so it wouldn't go on my record, because I don't want my insurance to go up any.
 
Valandil said:
If you're not slowing down they can give you a ticket. In the legal sense, a yellow light literally means "slow down."
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I don't know about you, but in my drivers handbook, it specifically states that if you are approaching a green light that turns yellow, you are to slow and come to a complete stop or if you have to proceed through the intersection to do so with caution.
 
Excalibur said:
Holy shit, what a fuckin dick. He even told you to fight it for fucks sake, why issue a ticket if you yourself don't even believe it's right? Sounds like the pig is just out there to make money off of people for the city. GOD this type of shit pisses me off so bad >< Where's a damn mosh pit when I need one
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Lmao. That's the typical response to the vast majority of cops around here. They issue a ticket and tell you to fight it knowing that it's minor and usually pretty bulllshit to begin with.
 
Lanien said:
This is even more reason for you to have stopped and not gone through the light. You are saying this intersection is huge (6 lanes across) and that when you were 15-20 feet away, the light turned yellow while you were doing 30 miles an hour. To get to the light, and then cross 6 lanes will most definitely mean you went through a red light no matter how you look at it, unless somehow your yellow lights last a good 6-8 seconds.
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Nah you're wrong lol.

Ok here are the facts.

60km = 40 miles per hour, not 30!

traveling 40miles 10-15 from intersection before slowing into turn, light turns yellow. I could JAM it all on and kill my car faster which I'm not in the business of making the dealerships or mechanics more money than they already rape out of us. Can you slow your car that quickly without jamming it on?

The advance light was for traffic traveling the same direction as me therefore the oncoming traffic was waiting for their green after the advance turned red and THEN theirs turned green. I had more than enough time to safely make it through the lights. All of this I argued and stipulated in court btw.

The cop after issuing the tickets advises me to fight it! Jesus was it bullshit to begin with sir??

Cop mentions, I'm not speeding A: and I was not driving carelessly B: (which I did not mention before but had him admit to saying in court)

All of these facts makes my case in my opinion. Not to mention, I am a careful and conscientious driver. Do not think I don't take driving seriously, I am in a city, surrounded by cities that seem to issue licenses based on the newest accepted immigrations into my country. I do not mean to offend, but there are a larger growing number of people who seem to get their licenses from cereal boxes. Although there is not excuse for careless driving, I am not one of them!

I fight for my rights, I fight for principal, I will be the first to tell you how very stubborn I am, and goddamn-it I don't give a shit!
 
Yes, slow down and stop at yellow lights (be cautious for stale green) unless it is unsafe to do so. Entering that lane at 60 is incredibly fast...Are you positive you were going that fast? Edit: I'm Canadian, so I do know exactly how fast 60 is. It's not slow. :P

Regardless, I have to reiterate that unless you were able to stop at the white line safely, you did the right thing. If you were unable to stop at the white line and had the majority of your vehicle in the intersection, it is okay to complete your left turn as the light turns to red.
 
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Dowzer said:
Yes, slow down and stop at yellow lights (be cautious for stale green) unless it is unsafe to do so. Entering that lane at 60 is incredibly fast...Are you positive you were going that fast?

Regardless, I have to reiterate that unless you were able to stop at the white line safely, you did the right thing. If you were unable to stop at the white line and had the majority of your vehicle in the intersection, it is okay to complete your left turn as the light turns to red.
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Ty but the light was green and turned to yellow, not yellow and turned to red. At no point in my driving history have I ever crossed the white line after the light has turned red, not even come close. :) I know I did the right thing in this situation, I was not driving TOO FAST to control my vehicle or be classified as driving recklessly. The fact of the matter is, no matter what you do in life, you're given choices to make based on personal judgment, but we can then be persecuted for making the wrong choice? It just doesn't make sense ><
 
Oh, I meant you had already crossed the line and were in 2/3 across the intersection when it turned from yellow to red?
 
Morcheeba said:
Nah you're wrong lol.

Ok here are the facts.

60km = 40 miles per hour, not 30!
traveling 40miles 10-15 from intersection before slowing into turn, light turns yellow. I could JAM it all on and kill my car faster which I'm not in the business of making the dealerships or mechanics more money than they already rape out of us. Can you slow your car that quickly without jamming it on?

The advance light was for traffic traveling the same direction as me therefore the oncoming traffic was waiting for their green after the advance turned red and THEN theirs turned green. I had more than enough time to safely make it through the lights. All of this I argued and stipulated in court btw.

The cop after issuing the tickets advises me to fight it! Jesus was it bullshit to begin with sir??

Cop mentions, I'm not speeding A: and I was not driving carelessly B: (which I did not mention before but had him admit to saying in court)

All of these facts makes my case in my opinion. Not to mention, I am a careful and conscientious driver. Do not think I don't take driving seriously, I am in a city, surrounded by cities that seem to issue licenses based on the newest accepted immigrations into my country. I do not mean to offend, but there are a larger growing number of people who seem to get their licenses from cereal boxes. Although there is not excuse for careless driving, I am not one of them!

I fight for my rights, I fight for principal, I will be the first to tell you how very stubborn I am, and goddamn-it I don't give a shit!
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Bolded for emphasis. Going 40mph into a turn is not how you should be making a turn. You should have been slowing down way before that point knowing you were going to turn.

Also, it doesn't matter if you were able to make it through the intersection while the other cars still had a red light. The invented that delay for a reason, and that reason is people like you going 40mph into turns on intersections where they should have stopped.

And one more thing. It doesn't matter what a cop tells you while he is ticketing you. I dare you to go in front of a judge and tell him that the cop told you to fight it. We'll see how fast you get a ticket and the court surcharge. The cop could have told you he was giving you a ticket just for fun, but it ends up being your word against his. Guess who a judge will believe? If you are basing your case off what he said, I would rethink your approach.
 
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Lanien said:
The cop could have told you he was giving you a ticket just for fun, but it ends up being your word against his. Guess who a judge will believe? If you are basing your case off what he said, I would rethink your approach.
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Actually the judge did go in my favour, she plain out said that I had not run a red light. Hense why that charge was dropped to not obeying an Amber light.
She does however share your same view point on my driving "toofast" towards a turn. Grats! I laugh when ppl are overly cautious and/or nervous drivers. If you're not a confident driver you are usually the one's that endup causing the accidents and yet are never in any yourselves. I use "you" in a general context.

I still know better being I was the one in my vehicle driving, I know of the road conditions and my driving abilities.
 
Morcheeba said:
On a second note, the Judge made a comment that she thought my driving at 60km approaching a light was too fast, she was probably in her early to late 50's. I retorted that I know my capabilities, my vehicle and the road conditions I think I can make that call.

What do you guys think??
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I would think that this action hurt you more than anything else; judges are in a position that demands respect. By retorting back to her, you showed her the complete opposite.

Rayn said:
There has been some speculation that cops need to make a quota of tickets doled out to the general public per month.
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It's not speculation; it's a fact.
 
Dowzer said:
Edit: I'm Canadian, so I do know exactly how fast 60 is. It's not slow. :P
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No it's not slow, but it's not uncontrollably fast either. Considering majority of the roads here are 60km in residential areas and @ the HWY 10 and Steeles intersection 60 is SLOW. You know 60km marked road means 70 to 80% of the population. 10 over is typical. at 10-15 feet from the WHITE I can slow into the turn, I could not however make a STOP for the white line. I am confident if people play out that senerio they will realize this.

A huge intersection, 10-15 feet before the white, I start slowing by the time I actually start turning my wheel I'd be at about 40, MORE than slow enough to make a wide turn :)
 
Tristam Green said:
I would think that this action hurt you more than anything else; judges are in a position that demands respect. By retorting back to her, you showed her the complete opposite.
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You're right there, my tone however makes up for that.

I was in the position where I had to speak for myself. The prosecution was given the chance to question me, apparently they didn't cover everything the Judge was curious about so she asked me a few questions, I at that point made my case.

The officer admitted to making a comment that I wasn't speeding or driving carelessly that day which was in my favour as well. I'm diplomatic when required ;p
 
It sounded initially as if you spoke to her like she was, for lack of a better word, "an old fart", rendering the text you said very disrespectful.

If you said it in a diplomatic manner, that's fine, but just know that fast is fast in the eyes of the law and that just because you say something with a nice tone doesn't mean it can't be taken as condescending.
 
Tristam Green said:
It sounded initially as if you spoke to her like she was, for lack of a better word, "an old fart", rendering the text you said very disrespectful.

If you said it in a diplomatic manner, that's fine, but just know that fast is fast in the eyes of the law and that just because you say something with a nice tone doesn't mean it can't be taken as condescending.
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Oh absolutely. I'm aware of the black and white of law. Still doesn't change my strong will to fight for principals. The plain right of using one's judgment is my point, and how we can be told to do so and when doing so still be corrected as if wrong. It's a double standard.
 
yeah I was just responding as I read them working from the oldest ... but ty for the FYI :)
 
Tristam Green said:
It's not speculation; it's a fact.
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I was just speaking from my experience from interacting with cops that came into my coffee shop at the time. When I would ask them of course they would deny flat out, but at the same time it wasn't something that interested me enough to give further research on as I have never received a ticket for speeding or anything of the sort.
 
A cop once let my brothers friend go because he guessed that on the radio it was a song not a commercial.

Although I do agree that cops have been getting really bored lately, I once got a ticket on the weekend before school started because me and my friends after having a drink and smoking some bowls were walking through a park on our way home. The cop gave us a 80% ticket for being in the park after hours which is complete bull considering we were being safe by not walking on a busy road but through a park at like 10PM.
 
Generally cops have a quota for issuing tickets, no?
At least from what I've heard, they issue alot of tickets towards the end of the month and they may be appropriate or not.

Now if only they would actually pay attention to what I see every time I go to work. People drive so carelessly that you'd wonder if they are actually awake.
 
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