Done for breaking a red light passed on green

zz_52

I was stopped for breaking a red light even though I had passed the stop line and traffic light on the approach side of a junction (by a few meters), when they were green. I had to stop before proceding through the junction, due to a yellow box; during which time they had changed colour.

So be very carefull or you too will end up getting penalty points for an offence you didn't commit.

tabatha

this happened to my mum before the penalty points. she got fined. lot of crap if you ask me.

drdre

i got 2 points for the same reason.:mad: this was a 2 years ago.

Seth Brundle

How far were the lights from the box? They are not usually that far!

optiplexgx270

Tonight i passed on 10+ oranges and 2 reds must be more careful if they are stopping people for this now esp with the points

Dre whats it with you and driving offences

drdre

optiplexgx270 wrote:

Tonight i passed on 10+ oranges and 2 reds must be more careful if they are stopping people for this now esp with the points

Dre whats it with you and driving offences

i donot know i think its just bloody bad luck:mad: .ive got 4 points and a court case on the way.the 4 points will be clear by this december so im lucky.

mike65

I dont get it, if you passed the lights on green you should be fine - if you paused at a yellow box then surely you had not past the lights/stop line?

Mike.

optiplexgx270

I do think luck comes into all this big time as i speed 90% of the time and its always that 10% that the cops are out with the speed guns etc. or someone pulls out in front of me at the right moment causing me to slow down

zz_52

kbannon wrote:

How far were the lights from the box? They are not usually that far!

The lights are around 2 meters from the box so that predistrians can cross. and the stop line was around another 2 meters before the light.

zz_52

mike65 wrote:

I dont get it, if you passed the lights on green you should be fine - if you paused at a yellow box then surely you had not past the lights/stop line?

The lights and stop line were well in advance of the yellow box.

And you are right; leagly I should not have been stopped as you can only break a light, by crossing the stop line on red or amber (when you could have safely stopped).

optiplexgx270

zz_52 wrote:

The box was around 2 meters from the box so that predistrians can cross. and the stop line was around another 2 meters before the light.

In that case you dont move from the light / cross into the area after the light if light was green on approach until the exit from the yellow box is free.

mike65

Thing is if the yellow box is not empty you should'nt enter, and when approaching lights the amber should give plenty of time to slow to halt.

On the face of it you either were'nt really paying attention to the lights or you thought you could sail though the box when in fact you could'nt. Other possiblity is that someone from the other direction jumped the lights or a pedestrian stepped out early.

zz_52

mike65 wrote:

Thing is if the yellow box is not empty you should'nt enter, and when approaching lights the amber should give plenty of time to slow to halt.

When the lights turned green. I followed a few vechicles forward, when I got to the edge of the yellow box the traffic had stopped blocking my exit. I waited for the my exit to clear before proceding.

As I said before, I went through on green (however they changed after I passed the lights and stop line)

zz_52

optiplexgx270 wrote:

In that case you dont move from the light / cross into the area after the light if light was green on approach until the exit from the yellow box is free.

I drove through on green to the edge of the yellow box and waited.

When I crossed the stop line, with the way the traffic was moving I expected to clear the whole junction with out stopping.

cormie

it's a tough one alright, best solution is to just stay behind the stop line until you see cars way up moving on, and then wait until you can get passed the yellow box without stopping in it.

zz_52

cormie wrote:

it's a tough one alright, best solution is to just stay behind the stop line until you see cars way up moving on, and then wait until you can get passed the yellow box without stopping in it.

I agree, the problem was I was turning so I couldn't see vary far, as the stop line was well in advance of the corner.

My real problem was i stoped before the yellow box and waited (either too long or not long enough depending on your point of view).

cormie

suppose the right thing to do would just be wait until you know for sure it's clear, even if that means waiting for the lights to go green again, you'd be first in the queue and hopefully the cars would have moved on by then. I know I've been at the front of the row behind a green light for a full rotation of lights and couldn't move because the road ahead hadn't gone anywhere and there was also traffic coming from the left adding to it.

TempestSabre

I got pulled over for the very same thing on a wide junction once aswell. Guard was trying to charge me for dangerous driving, even though as I wasn't even the last car that went through them and it was at low speed. Luckily it got dropped, but it made me realise that all you need is a cop having a bad day and he can make yours worse. If you are driving around town every day its almost impossible to never break some traffic law unintentionally, especially in heavy traffic.

Classic one is crossing a yellow box. Space ahead of yellow box so you move across and then some joker swerves into it from another faster lane before you get across. You're stuck in the yellow box as the lights change. See this almost every morning and evening at more than one junction.

Another one is long junction and you move in into the middle to turn right. People comming head on keep comming even though theres no where to go, so they block your exit. Lights change and you are left in the middle of the road.

All it takes is for a cop to see the last 20sec of any of these and they'll get the wrong idea and you'll get reported and get points.

Of course when theres guys doing 70+ though your estate theres no one around.

cormie

TempestSabre wrote:

Another one is long junction and you move in into the middle to turn right. People comming head on keep comming even though theres no where to go, so they block your exit. Lights change and you are left in the middle of the road.

I'm pretty sure that it is perfectly ok and legal to turn after the lights have turned red if you are in the middle of the road waiting to run right. Anyway, the ROTR say you should give way to cars who are in the middle of a manouver and you are at that stage. I think all traffic lights that have a right turn will show a right green arrow after the main ones turn red anyway.

zz_52

TempestSabre wrote:

but it made me realise that all you need is a cop having a bad day and he can make yours worse.

I totaly agree

Classic one is crossing a yellow box. Space ahead of yellow box so you move across and then some joker swerves into it from another faster lane before you get across. You're stuck in the yellow box as the lights change.
.........
........
All it takes is for a cop to see the last 20sec of any of these and they'll get the wrong idea and you'll get reported and get points.

I've lost count of the number of times I've got stuck in yellow boxes like this. It would ends up beeing your word agains his. Try proving your exit was clear when you entered the box.

I'm beginning to think, I should fit video camers to my car, to provide some evidence if caught out like that.

BrianD3

TBH I'm not sure what you're expected to do in these cases. Basically you end up stopped in "no mans land" between a yellow box with a blocked exit and a traffic light that was green when you went past it but is now red.

Surely it would eliminate any confusion if
a) there was a clear statement about this in the ROTR (i don't believe there is at the moment but am open to correction)
b) the authorities were to paint all yellow boxes right up to the stop line at traffic lights. That way, it's clear that you don't cross the stop line unless your exit is clear.

of coruse if you are turning right and only blocked by oncoming traffic you can legally enter the yellow box and are in control of the junction and entitled to proceed if you don't get a filter arrow before the light turns red.

cormie

I'm sure it's ok to just stop before the yellow box, even though you've passed the lights, and then wait for them to go green again. It seems like the only legal solution (not staying in a yellow box/not breaking lights) but then again I think the best solution is to just stay behind the stop line until the road after the yellow box has enough room for you.

Esel

BrianD3 wrote:

..of coruse if you are turning right and only blocked by oncoming traffic you can legally enter the yellow box and are in control of the junction and entitled to proceed if you don't get a filter arrow before the light turns red.

This is the law as I understand it. You can enter the box if you are turning right and are not blocking any traffic by being in the box.

However, I see so many muppets waiting outside the box to turn right (sometimes waiting for a couple of cycles of the lights!) that I wonder has the law changed?

TempestSabre

Same thing happens on roundabouts.

I think the points should be less. For these types of offense. A persistent offender would still get caught, but it would give more leeway for people who genuinely get wrong footed.

We could with less of an attitude from the guards too.

BrianD3

esel wrote:

This is the law as I understand it. You can enter the box if you are turning right and are not blocking any traffic by being in the box.

However, I see so many muppets waiting outside the box to turn right (sometimes waiting for a couple of cycles of the lights!) that I wonder has the law changed?

Here's one possible source of confusion: I was taught that only the "lead" right turning car is allowed to move into the yellow box to wait for a filter arrow or gap in the traffic. And that any cars behind the lead car must wait behind the stop line until the lead car makes his right turn

However it does say in the ROTR that you are allowed to enter a yellow box when turning right if you are blocked by oncoming traffic or by other right turning vehicles. The latter part of this seems to suggest that following cars can follow the lead car into the yellow box and wait there for the filter arrow.

Victor

If you hadn't entered the yellow box by the time the light had gone red, you should not have proceeded until the next green light.

Otherwise every idiot that doesn't know to stop at a stop light would be able to proceed.