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Re: Running a red light



In article <41ajk8$7i0@mark.ucdavis.edu>, auyeung@toadflax.cs.ucdavis.edu (Tak Auyeung) writes:
> 
> Does anyone knows what exactly is running a red light?  According to
> "Fight your ticket and win", if the car is already in the intersection
> when the light turns red, it is not "running a red light".  I was
> already 2/3 through the intersection when the light turns red, was that
> still running a red light?  BTW, it happened in SF.

This is correct.  If you were already in the intersection before the light
turned red, you did not violate VC 21453.  In court, it will be your word vs.
the cop's, so your strategy, if you decide to fight it, should be to cross-examine
the officer in such a way as to convince the judge that he did not observe your
vehicle first *entering* the intersection *after* the light turned red.  The
"Fight Your Ticket" book has some good cross-examination questions to use for
this purpose.

Be careful with your own testimony.  I saw one person get convicted because
she testified that she was driving 35 mph, entered the intersection before it
turned *yellow*, and observed the light turn *red* before she left the
intersection.  According to the officers testimony, the cross road was about
50 feet wide.  The yellow light would have had to have been less than 1 second
in length for her to have observed what she claimed at the speed she claimed.
Yellow lights are usually 3 seconds and the officer testified that the yellow
light in this case was working properly and was approximately 3 seconds.  The
judge therefore said that her testimony was unreliable and convicted her based
on the officers testimony.

By the way, don't confuse this with VC 22526, which prohibits entering an
intersection, even if the light is green, if there is not enough room to clear
the intersection.  This is the "anti-gridlock" law and it is not a moving violation
that goes on your record and does not count against you as a "point".

-- 
Dan Howell  <dhowell.es_cp8@xerox.com>




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