Going to court over running a red light

[ThisCoralSwan]

Just after a little bit of advice please
I recently run a red light and have been given paperwork regarding going to court if I want to plead guilty etc because the light was red for 34 seconds before I went through it
for some context I was 29 weeks pregnant with a serious pregnancy complication called vasa previa this is exposed fetal vessels which if ruptured the baby could bleed out in the womb I woke up at 5am bleeding
the ambulance would’ve taken too long to get to me so I drove
i ran the light as babies have only 300ml of blood in her body and had it been her blood I wasn’t wasting a second and I’m sure a lot of people would do the same
there was no other cars on the road or the side road I turned into I put my hazards on I did the best I could to do it safely
my question being is their any point me trying to fight it or just please guilty by post and accept my fate ? I don’t expect to be let off but
apparently they could find me heavily and currently I am on SMP and also when my baby was eventually born at 32 weeks following yet another bleed we spent 6 weeks in NICU after my husband used his 2 weeks paternity and what little holidays he had left he took unpaid leave on top of travel costs and eating at the hospital etc so financially it’s been hard and we could do without a huge fine

No, you ran the light so take the hit. Hope you and baby are OK that's what matters but bear in mind you risked both your lives and others by breaking the law.

No, there’s no justification for it. Take the fine.

I'm a paralegal based in Scotland so the road traffic legislation is slightly different here (assuming you are elsewhere in the UK...)

If I were you, I would go to Court and plead guilty (because you are guilty of the offence) but request that a Special Reasons Proof is set for you to attend - usually around 4 weeks later. A Special Reasons Proof gives you the opportunity to admit your guilt but give your reasons for doing so. In your case, I think you could be successful and, while you may be still be punished, they might be more lenient given the circumstances of the offence.

Good luck :)

I’d encourage you to contact the Clark of the court to explain and ask their advice on how to plead special mitigations. I’m not aware of needing a separate hearing in England but it would be worth asking the clerk. Phone number on the relevant courts web page. Might take a few goes to get through. Good luck

Were you told to drive yourself rather than wait for an ambulance?

It sounds unsafe to be driving in that condition so I'm not sure I would use it as a justification of running the red light.

I'd just plead guilty and save the extra stress of possibly going to court

sorry, you have to take the fine. Imagine if you had smacked into another car and injured someone?

I know of someone who got a court summons for a driving offence (speeding) on route to the hospital. They contacted the in court with all medical evidence in advance and everything was waived…however, they were under instruction from 999 and were on the phone to be “blue light escorted” (not sure the specific meaning but it was a serious incident) so they had evidence they were told to go to the hospital as an emergency.

If you justify with those reasons, I’d be wondering if there is a possibility you might be considered as driving when it wasn’t medically safe for you to do so? I would surprised if it would be considered reasonable mitigation.

So pleased to hear your baby is well enough to be out of NICU.

As stated above, you need to plead guilty and ask for your case to be listed for a special reasons argument. The special reason you will be arguing is the fact of an emergency - you had no choice but to go through the red light as your unborn baby's life depended on it. If successful, and I think it will be, the court cannot impose any penalty points. I would go and see a solicitor as most offer 30 mins free advice. You will need evidence of your medical condition - so gather all the documents from the hospital. Just as a side note - police officers who have crashes when on emergency calls (when have lights and sirens on) often use special reasons (emergency) to avoid penalty points/ disqualification.

Also I am a non practising criminal litigation solicitor. So do go and get some legal advice.

Best wishes xx

I think I'd personally just take it on the chin. You weren't safe to drive in the first place, so made a conscious choice to get behind the wheel. It could make ot worse and asked why a taxi wasn't an option.

I would have driven rather than risk a delay due to no ambulance. I had to bomb it to hospital and had no choice but to drive my son to hospital with a severe allergic reaction. The area I lived in was well known for lack of ambulances/delayed response time and a man had nearly died of a heart attack the week before after a 5 hour wait. My DH called to tell them we were on the way and they were waiting at reception for us. I was right to do so too, as they confirmed I got there before an ambulance would have got to us. I would absolutely have argued the toss over a red light.

Taxis can refuse to take you if you are bleeding/vomiting etc. It’s not their job.

Good luck OP

So presumably very easy for you to prove that you were heading to A&E for an emergency

Met someone who got 5 speeding tickets trying to get to his dying mother in time to say goodbye and got the whole lot waved when they went to court

Find Mumsnet advice about the law is the law and just paying fines is ridiculous.

The law maybe the law but under certain circumstances sometimes it isn’t safe to keep to the law.

I had vasa previa so I can understand how you ended up taking the decision. It is drummed into you a lot at appointments that the baby can exsanguinate in 2.5 minutes so it feels like walking around with a grenade and I can understand how you would feel that you had to take action. No idea how that affects the ticket, but you might as well try to explain it.