Fixed Penalty Red Lights

Coupon-mad

Post on this pepipoo board, they have experience of the process:

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showforum=5

HTH

skivenov

fivetide wrote: »

Just to clarify for the OP since the thread seems to now be about willy waving and who can post the most unhelpful information....

Amber means stop. It doesn't mean "its only Amber" it means stop. As already posted you can't really get away with driving like that. Never heard of the phrase 'Amber gambler'?

Amber doesn't mean stop, it means stop if it's safe to. Someone (too) close behind you, or if it would need sudden braking and you're right to go.

OP - When it goes to court, it's not what happened, it's what you can prove happened. Assuiming you've not got a camera in your car, what's the camera in the Police car likely to show?

Stigy

skivenov wrote: »

Amber doesn't mean stop, it means stop if it's safe to. Someone (too) close behind you, or if it would need sudden braking and you're right to go.

Absolutely, otherwise there's be no amber....

elektra-2007

Skievnov- the police car camera, will show me going through the lights and then his lights changing to green and him following, I've re visited the junction, from where he was you cannot see my lights, but the officer was saying he knows the junction well, and he saw me going through the lights, then his changed to green. He felt there should have been more time between the two therefore he said I must have gone through on red.
I don't know how long the police keep videos for, this went to court in February this year, would the officer have kept the recording just in case?
I'm naffed off he didn't change my address, this matter has dragged on for over a year.

Hintza

Just get a solicitor to plead that they haven't used due diligence etc and ask for the case to be thrown out.

Yorkie1

Hintza wrote: »

Just get a solicitor to plead that they haven't used due diligence etc and ask for the case to be thrown out.

Please could you clarify the exact legal issue and law you refer to here?

AlexisV

skivenov wrote: »

Amber doesn't mean stop, it means stop if it's safe to. Someone (too) close behind you, or if it would need sudden braking and you're right to go.

OP - When it goes to court, it's not what happened, it's what you can prove happened. Assuiming you've not got a camera in your car, what's the camera in the Police car likely to show?

Someone close behind you isn't generally a defence for passing through an amber stop light. 9 times out of 10 there will be another car close behind - it's their job to stop, not for you to avoid stopping just in case they can't.

elektra-2007

I appreciate where you are all going with the amber light, BUT I didn't get a ticket for an amber it was for a red, whether or not I should have gone through on amber is upto the judge, my defence is just I didn't go through a RED light which is what I got the ticket for. I'm just unsure of hat happens next and the time scales.
I need to get this sorted, it keeps me awake just thinking about it, not sure if I should ring the police again to check they are sending stuff out to my new address I don't want all this again on a few months.

pmm1981

My dad a few years ago was in this scenario.
He was driving a mini bus with a police car behind, as he approached the stop line of a junction the lights changed to amber, he deemed it unsafe to stop without doing an emergency stop so carried on and the lights were still amber on crossing the stop line. The police car then followed him by passing through the lights on red before switching on the blue lights and stopping him.
He got a FPN but appealled it, got taken to magistratres court, was found guilty and got additional £100 odd costs.
He appealled this and the case was then seen in a crown court where the judge threw the case out appalled it had got this far. My dad got his fine/costs back and that was it.
This is a very similar case to the OPs and does show that the public can win against the police.

elektra-2007

Thank you pmm1981,
Unfortunately I was in my car! Had I been driving a bus, I would have had cameras to prove it!
Just out of interest how long would you wait to hear from them? I went to court for the stat dec last Thursday,
Hopefully there will be some post when I get home!