omg omg went through a red light please help

[no1knowsmyname]

ok so tonight i was driving down a duel carrigeway doing 40mph and went through the red light and got flashed there was no way i could have safely stopped in time i litraly was just over the line irisopnasable i know but i really need advice as to what kind of penaulty i will recieve im going out of my mind please help. tia

[AgentProvocateur]

I'd imagine you'd get 3 penalty points and a £60 fine.

[no1knowsmyname]

omg i cannot believe i done that so stupid

[MOSagain]

3 points is likely I'm afraid. Surely though the lights should be set so that when the green light turns to amber you have adequate time to stop before it turns red?

[scarlettsmummy2]

Three points and fine. Although if you are lucky the camera may be out of film. They have seven days to write to you so if you get to next wednesday you should be fine.

[hathorkicksass]

IIRC it's amber for 2 seconds?

[GlaikitFizzog]

Useful link here. You should receive a notice of intended prosecution within 14 days, probably sooner as the cameras are now linked directly to the office rather than the tape has to be collected and uploaded.

Try not to panic. If the light had just changed as you were driving through it there will be a margin of time before they do issue a fixed penalty.

[no1knowsmyname]

thank you fizzog very helpful i.
the light was on amber just as i was coming up to the line there was no way i could have stopped without the car behind me hitting me or me losing control i am just going to wait and see what happens.

[MOSagain]

well if that is the case then no1knows then hopefully you will be ok. Clearly if you had slammed your brakes on there would have been an accident. Was the car behind you travelling too close do you think? Hopefully CCTV/photo footage would show this.

[bemybebe]

pay the fine and suck it up. lesson for the future to pay attention to the signalling. you are not supposed to cross at amber and if you could not stop in time it means you were going way too fast.

[LesAnimaux]

You will get 3 points, and a £60 fine.


The points don't stay on your licence for ever.

At least you weren't speeding.

It's not the end of the world, there wasn't an accident.

[sneezecakesmum]

I think its just a minor thing (driving without due care and attention probably?) Dont worry too much.

If it flashed it probably had film in it

You should hear fairly quickly (2-3 weeks?) as they legally have a time frame for this sort of thing so you wont have long to fret!

Being on amber isnt a defence because youre meant to decrease speed anyway at junctions. Only 3 points but dont forget to tell your insurance company...this is VERY important!

[BIWIWhoMustBeObeyed]

The whole point of the amber light is to give you warning that the 'stop' sign is coming. If you went through the red light, then you clearly weren't heeding the amber light either. Which means you were driving too fast and/or not paying attention.

Sorry. But that is incredibly dangerous driving.

[Alibabaandthe40nappies]

It sounds like you were driving far too fast. If the limit was 40mph, then seeing the amber light should have given you plenty of time to stop.

[lifesalongsong]

I think they have up to 6 months to send you a fine.

If you couldn't stop you were by definition either going too fast or not paying attention to the light afaik they are set so that if you are at/under the speed limit you always have time to stop. I'm not a perfect driver but if I go through a light on amber I know its my fault and I don't think that legally you would ever have a leg to stand on if you go through on red.

As others have said you will get points/fine I think.

[no1knowsmyname]

im not condoning what i done at all and if i have to pay a fine then i will i would never endanger my life or anyone elses on purpose i was also doin the speed limit and like i said i was just approaching the lights when they changed i saw the amber but not the red if u understand what i mean and i will just have to wait and see thank u for advice

[BIWIWhoMustBeObeyed]

Argh! But you were endangering peoples' lives. Your inattention could have killed someone.

If you saw the amber light, and ended up going through it on red, then you must have been going too fast, or weren't paying attention such that you didn't see the light change from green to amber.

[lifesalongsong]

I suppose it's not unheard off for mistakes to be made in speeding cases, maybe you could go back to the lights and time them and work out whether they do give you enough time to stop once the green changes to amber.

From the side of the road of course, not whilst driving

[Kayano]

The traffic lights go

Amber
Red
Red and amber together
Green

Rinse
Repeat

so if it's on amber you know it's just about to go to red so there is NO REASON why you could not slow down in preparation to stop.

There is a misconception that

Red = stop
Amber = get ready
Green = go

When amber actually means stop too

[sneezecakesmum]

This is why poor OP has probably got a fine so she wont do it again and has learned the valuable lesson of SLOWING DOWN as you approach junctions, regardless of what the lights are doing, as the saintly highway code says!

[sneezecakesmum]

btw it is 14 days to contact the driver to let them know of the intention to prosecute for the offence.

Section 1(1) of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988

but if they have not prosecuted after 6 months they have to let it go.

[lifesalongsong]

Thanks for that clarification sneeze, I'd been told it was 6 months but didn't know about the 14 days.

[frikinfabulous]

thank you for all the advice im still waiting for the dreaded letter to see what will happen.

[bachsingingmum]

This happened to me and I got the chance to go on a "Traffic lights awareness course" as an alternative to a fine and points. Cost £75 and took half a day, but was worth it (and you shouldn't be penalised on insurance, because that's the point - education people to drive more safely). The course itself was quite interesting and convinced me amongst other things that a) it is very dangerous to go through red lights and b) if you are not exceeding the speed limit and are concentrating you can always stop in time for a red light. There is a fixed time interval before it goes red - can't remember exactly 3.something seconds. I've tested it since and that's right.

[sneezecakesmum]

bachsingingmum....my DH also went on one of those for speeding (again!). He was so whiney about it and also came back a convert to sensible driving!!!
He was told also no need to inform insurance company, but said they were cottoning on to these courses and might start to ask in the future!