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AIBU?

Red light runner.

20 replies

Bloodylight · 24/06/2020 21:07

Ok, I run a red light tonight and I'm both pissed off at myself and worrying.

Idk what I'm asking really. Maybe to be told, I'm not the only one and not totally shit.

I could see the light was on red but the lines on the road were not there, I went past and stopped.

I've looked on Google and there were lines on the Google maps but not in person, they must have faded to shit and what with the sun light blinding me. Thing is, plain as day on Google maps there is a red light camera. So needless to say, I've been caught.

I'm a fucking stupid cow, because I should have stopped at the red light not gone past iyswim? No line but I went past the light itself. There was more then one light. One at the side (just the left side, non on right) and one at the bottom, facing you. I went past the side one but not the one in front. I know, I'm 100% at fault but I want to cry. Btw first time I had been on this road, it was a back street so really in poor condition but bet that camera is fully working.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing but at the time, I just got a little confused and made a mistake. I did not carry on, I did stop but fat good that will do as the camera will just see me going through the light and not see me stop only a few feet in front.

AIBU to feel like a total stupid cow?
I'm not going to dispute the fine and points. DH is going to go mad at me being so stupid and getting bloody fined and insurance going up. I've been driving years so can't blame lack of miles.

Should I tell DH, or just wait for the letter?

OP posts:

Report

Ijumpedtheshark · 24/06/2020 21:17

I’ve done this and felt very much like you. Didn’t put anyone in danger but did go over the line. Luckily there was no camera on the set of lights so I didn’t get fined. It may be the same for you.

I told my husband because it made me feel better. Everyone makes mistakes. I’d do whatever will make you feel better.

Paul72 · 24/06/2020 21:17

I feel for you as I ran a red light last week. The road was empty, no other traffic, I was paying attention to my speed as there are lots of speed cameras on that road and suddenly realised the lights were changing. I could have done an emergency stop but didn't.
I was driving my wife's car so she will get the letter (we only have the one car and it is in her name).
I hope the cameras were not working.

LochJessMonster · 24/06/2020 21:30

It happens to everyone. Sometimes you get away with it, other times you get the letter.

Unless he is a squeaky clean never goes even 1mph over the limit driver he can’t be angry.

tumbleweed222 · 24/06/2020 21:31

Unless you think there is a chance you may get away with it, tell DH.

gingerninja99 · 24/06/2020 21:32

I once stopped at a green light then drove off when it turned red!
We all have our moments

Janleverton · 24/06/2020 21:34

It’s unlikely your insurance will go up or if it does it won’t be significant. DH got points last year (Speed endorsement, 3 points, first ever) and disclosed at renewal and it didn’t make a difference - was still the lowest quote.

amusedbush · 24/06/2020 21:41

It was an accident. In the last few months I've seen two people sit at a red light and then decide their business is obviously more important than anyone else's as they crept forward on a red to check nothing was coming from either side before haring off down the road. I see shite, dangerous driving all the time but the fact that you feel this bad means you won't do it again.

Maybe nothing will come of it. I was driving in a new city and got stuck in a one way system, then somehow ended up on a road for buses only. There were cameras everywhere and I was shitting myself but nothing happened. A few months later my brother visited the city for a gig and did the exact same thing!

Bloodylight · 24/06/2020 22:07

Wow, thank you to all of you. You have all been so lovely.

I was expecting to get told off by a few but everyone has been lovely.

I will tell DH, it will make me feel better to talk about it. I think, I was just so worried about telling him.

I do feel bad, infact I feel like shit tbh. There is CCTV down that street so maybe they will see that I did stop and take pity on me. I'm not expecting it though, I know, I failed to stop at the line. Even if it was not visible.

Thank you again for making a random feel less shit.

OP posts:

tenlittlecygnets · 24/06/2020 23:48

@paul72 - I was paying attention to my speed as there are lots of speed cameras on that road and suddenly realised the lights were changing. I could have done an emergency stop but didn't.

If you were doing the speed limit and the lights changed, you should not have had to do an emergency stop 🙄

rosiejaune · 25/06/2020 00:58

@amusedbush

It was an accident. In the last few months I've seen two people sit at a red light and then decide their business is obviously more important than anyone else's as they crept forward on a red to check nothing was coming from either side before haring off down the road. I see shite, dangerous driving all the time but the fact that you feel this bad means you won't do it again.

Maybe nothing will come of it. I was driving in a new city and got stuck in a one way system, then somehow ended up on a road for buses only. There were cameras everywhere and I was shitting myself but nothing happened. A few months later my brother visited the city for a gig and did the exact same thing!

Was it Manchester? They made a large chunk of a main road buses only, and everyone kept driving along it by mistake for weeks afterwards.

Though I am very anti-driving, so I support anything that discourages it, including car-free zones and plenty of fines (and I don't even care if they are fairly given or not; poisoning people's air and trashing the planet is definitely less fair).

Elsewyre · 25/06/2020 04:51

@LochJessMonster

It happens to everyone. Sometimes you get away with it, other times you get the letter.

Unless he is a squeaky clean never goes even 1mph over the limit driver he can’t be angry.

Wrll no.

One is a huge lapse in judgement that has a very high risk of killing someone.

Going 1mph over the limit wouldn't even attract the attention of the most anal of police officers.

A better comparison would be if her dh does 60 in 30s

LittleMissRedHat · 25/06/2020 07:12

If you genuinely did stop but over the line slightly then, if you get a ticket you can contest it. My knowledge is from a few years back, but red light cameras used to take two photos, if the 2nd one showed that you were indeed stopped, we used to cancel the ticket. You should also report the lack of lines.

Gunpowder · 25/06/2020 07:17

DH ran a red light a few years ago and he got a letter offering him a road awareness course instead of the three points and fine.

Carandi · 25/06/2020 07:43

I'd go back to the road and take a picture of the lack of lines. If you get a letter then dispute it by saying you stopped before the red light in front and couldn't see where the lines in the road were as they'd not been maintained by the council. It's worth a try.

amusedbush · 25/06/2020 10:27

@rosiejaune

It wasn’t Manchester but I’m glad to hear this happens elsewhere and I’m not just an idiot

zingally · 25/06/2020 11:07

Perhaps I'm showing myself as really stupid here, but I didn't know traffic lights had cameras... Is this a city thing?

Granted, I've never been through a red light knowingly, but I live near a major, busy roundabout that's traffic light controlled. And I regularly see people haring through, when it's VERY clearly on red.

contrmary · 25/06/2020 11:12

I hope your husband won't kick off that you made this mistake, it sounds like you are scared of him to be honest. As others have said, everyone makes mistakes from time to time. You might get lucky, you might not.

(Says the person who got a fine for inching over the line at a red light so that the ambulance behind me could get past.)

RandomLondoner · 25/06/2020 11:12

I'm in London, as far as I know 99% of traffic lights don't have cameras. And where they do, you can see them, and possibly there are signs telling you there are cameras.

I'm assuming that OP knows these particular lights do have cameras though.

Anamechanged · 25/06/2020 11:30

If it's just a traffic camera then it's not looking for people running the red, they just monitor them for traffic volumes during the day. Alot of the time for traffic lights they use the same flash ones they use for speed cameras and you'd have seen it go off

IwishIhadaMargarita · 25/06/2020 12:23

Sometimes the camera is just a deterrent rather than actually working. We all make mistakes on unfamiliar roads. I went straight on at a roundabout. There was no sign and you couldn’t see it until you actually reached it as it was a new addition. Luckily the road was completely empty as I would have hit any oncoming traffic. I later found out my dad had done the same at that bit of road. Now there is a small sign for a roundabout before you get to it.

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