Feel sick with stress, incident at traffic lights with man in a van

[H1900]

I am shaking. I was just driving home from the supermarket and noticed this van driving very close behind me. It was making me really uncomfortable and I sped up slightly to get away from them but didn’t want to speed. There was a set of traffic lights ahead and they started to turn red as someone pressed the crossing and I panicked as I didn’t want to stop with the van so close behind me so I carried on going. I went through and they were absolutely definitely on red. Will I now get a fine? Does anyone know if I will lose my licence? I can see conflicting information online. I’m a lone parent and feel incredibly worried as I have no support to take dd to activities etc

Next time, if you can safely pull over and let him past then just do it. If not, tap your brakes very lightly so your brake lights come on and keep a steady safe speed until you can pull over.

Having a plan for these situations helps my anxiety and stops me panic.

Agree with this. The biggest problem seems to be your anxiety having triggered genuinely dangerous driving. Running a red light on a rural road won't have any consequences that way it happened here, but the next time such a situation arises, it might not be rural and there might be other cars or even pedestrians involved.

Part of being a driver is not allowing your emotions to affect your performance. If you like to drive within the speed limit (same here) then you must be able to ignore or block out the behaviour of other drivers.

There was no indication the van driver was being wilfully aggressive or attempting to follow you. Some drivers lack self-awareness and tend to drive too close to the vehicles in front. Tradesmen in particular tend to spend a lot of time on the road or they're late for an appointment so that sort of behaviour is almost to be expected with vans.

Many drivers get slightly annoyed by cars going just below the speed limit and tailgate a bit to try to speed them up. This is irksome but absolutely not a situation where you "must get away from". Either you speed up and go slightly above (a few mph will not make any difference) or you keep your speed and ignore the driver.

You would have seen two very bright flashes - don't worry.

@NutNutmum sure, but the only person here to do that would have been the driver behind who was driving in an insane way already?!

That's why you should have them too, in our house all our cars are fitted with both front and rear dashcam's.

It always helps to protect yourself in a claim or if you get a police report. It may only be anecdotal but I have tested this and found when I had a rear dashcam and placed a large sticker in the rear window to say they are being recorded a lot of tailgaters have backed off.

Not always but a lot do, and If they are intimidating you slow down and report them.

When anybody does that to me if I haven’t got children in the car, I break.
The cheeky bastards

You know now - you'll be fine, don't worry about it. Forget about it and enjoy Christmas

The absolute worst possible case will be a £100 fine and 3 points on your licence - the overwhelming odds are that nothing at all will happen.

Please don't waste any more energy worrying about it

Hopefully nothing will come of it OP.

But lesson learned. If someone is being an arse driving too close to you or whatever, don’t let it panic you.

Drive as you usually would, perhaps pull in to let them past. I’d imagine it’s not personal to you, they’re just driving like a nob for whatever reason.

Easier said than done I know! I’d feel the same, although I usually prefer them to get past me as they normally want to speed on off anyway

At the risk of sounding too insentive, please get a grip. Feeling sick with stress and 'shaking' is not normal in this scenario

No. There is no “month to submit it”. There’s 14 days for an NIP to be sent. Most forces say you must submit the footage within 7 to 10 days in order for them to be able to do anything (unless there has been an accident).

I sometimes flash my fog lights, they are red and the person behind is so close they have to respond immediately incase it's actually a brake light. Also, it's totally fine to just pull over for a second and aggressive drivers pass you. It is worrying that your response was to drive faster and go through a light.

Thanks

Wrong you have 6 months actually

https://nextbase.co.uk/national-dash-cam-safety-portal/

Are there any time limits which i must adhere to?

It’s important that you submit your footage and statement as soon as possible. Most road traffic offences generally have a 6 months time limit for prosecution. Furthermore, some offences place a requirement on the police (only if it is possible to do so) to notify the driver or registered keeper of the offence within 14 days.

No camera on that photo so you’ll be fine. Try to forget about it now.

I’m not wrong. 6 months applies where there has been an accident.

Read the last sentence about notifying the driver within 14 days. That applies to speeding / red light jumps / any other non accident incident.

The point is that the driver might not know about a non accident incident, so needs to be notified while they might have some memory of the day, to build any potential defence.

It doesn’t look as if there is a camera on the lights. Even if there is the penalty is usually three points and a fine. Try not to worry x

You should’ve pulled over and let him pass if it was that bad. Can’t believe all the people here sympathising with you. You ran a red light at a crossing!! You could’ve really injured or even killed someone. He’s a dick yes but you’re the dangerous driver. YABU.

Any professional will tell you that if someone is driving too close behind you that you decrease your speed or if you feel the need, pull over (if safe to do so). They are free to overtake you.
Never feel intimidated to speed up as if something happens, it will be no-ones fault but your own.

@vitahelp what is the black box with the red light though? When I went back that’s all I could see. Feel so so stupid.

@Screamingabdabz i know, I’ve not said otherwise. That’s why I was shaken up by it. I have a lot going on personally and that’s fine for you to feel that should be disregarded but I know me, and this was not how I would usually react. I feel bad enough as it is.

Bless you. You won’t lose your licence. Nothing will come of it. Please get a front and back dashcam. Everything is going to be fine.

You might not get a fine even if the light does have a camera, if the light had only just turned red. But it sounds like you might be in a bit of shock (actual medical shock). Cancel whatever you can until tomorrow (not easy as a lone parent, I know) and take it easy. PP's recommendation of tea is good. 🙏

If you didn’t want to get caught for speeding but still managed to speed up, how much under the speed limit were you doing?

You won't lose your licence.

But as a woman on the road you need to learn to deal with it. I have it all the time, as a woman driving a little car.

Men getting up your arse, men who try and force you to speed, men who try and get you to drive across crossing etc.

Get yourself front and rear dashcams if you don't have them already. Get them installed and set up as soon as they arrive.

Next time, repeat to yourself in your head (or out loud if you need it), "I will not allow you to force me to speed or drive dangerously". Keep saying it as you slow for the junction, as you apply your brakes to ensure you're at the speed limit etc. your dashcam will show if he goes into the back of you because of his dangerous driving. You CANNOT allow people to pressure you into breaking the law.

You say there was a person approaching the crossing, what if you had hit them? It would be a hell of a lot worse.

The week our son was born, i bombed through the same speed camera, on the same road twice, on two consecutive days. Never done it before, or since.