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So here's what happened

I was driving straight down a road and planning to make a right at the next lights.
Right before I reach the intersection, the lights turn yellow. It was one of those yellows that if you were driving straight, you would be able to make it through with no problem. So it's yellow and I've already in the motion of turning right.
From the oncoming side, there was a car turning left. When it saw the yellow, it started turning too. We were both turning onto a 2-lane street, but the way the other car was turning, it looked like it might swerve into my lane.
So I pause a little to make sure we wont' hit and then completed the turn and kept driving. A minute later I got pulled over and the officer gave me a ticket for failing to stop at the red light....WHAT?

The officer said that he observed that when the light was red, I was behind the line so I should have stopped completely before making the turn. But I saw the light was yellow and I was already about to turn.

What do you guys think? I'm ready to contest this...180 fine and 3 points...

 
Rep Power: 728

yellow means stop. the only time you go through a yellow is if you physically cant stop. clearly in this case you could have stopped but unfortunately you are a bad driver and don't know the rules of the road.. time to pay up.

 
Rep Power: 0

I've practially already turned right halfway when the light turned yellow. No disrespect to you or anything, but I don't see how you can conclude that I'm a bad driver. Are you a bad driver too for every rolling stop that you make through a stop sign?

 
Rep Power: 688

damn shut his *** up lol, every body does something stupid while driving, and the tool above who told the thread starter that hes a bad driver, i guarantee u, he himself has done this many time, or rolled thru many stop signs, except the difference is, he hasnt been caught.

 
Rep Power: 660

First you say:
Right before I reach the intersection, the lights turn yellow.

and then you say:
**I've practially already turned right halfway when the light turned yellow

And the Policeman said:
The officer said that he observed that when the light was red, I was behind the line

That pretty much covers all the choices of what happened. Do we get to choose? Pay the fine and stop next time.

 
Rep Power: 728

stop changing your story here.
i am only going to comment on the facts that you posted in the original post that point towards your attitude on driving.

by your comment that "It was one of those yellows that if you were driving straight, you would be able to make it through with no problem" it shows that you believe that a yellow light mean "speed up and get through". we you are wrong. a yellow light means STOP. the only caveat is that if you CANNOT stop in time then you have a slight grace period to continue through the intersection before it turns red. there is a slight difference in attitude, but thinking "stop" instead of "speed up" is the difference between a good driver and a bad driver.

now we will deal with the offence in question. you claim that you were about to make a right turn and as you were approaching the intersection the light changed to yellow. i assume you started to slow down... this would have allowed you to properly stop behind the line once the light changed to yellow. as a result of doing this the person legally in the intersection to make the left turn would have been able to complete the turn and clear the intersection properly. your poor judgement may have caused him to do the same thing that you did, and stall for a short amount of time wondering if the two of you were trying to occupy the same space.
you should have come to a complete stop behind the line and then proceeded to turn once the road was clear. you instead chose to drive through a yellow light without stopping when you definately could have, and thus are guilty of running the red (because you rolled into the intersection and the light turned red once you were in it you are guilty of this offence as the yellow will give enough time to clear the intersection at the posted speed limit if you were unable to stop once the yellow was displayed... and yes at intersections with higher speed limits the yellow will be displayed for a longer period of time)

this is simple traffic 101. you made a driving error, live with it.
still... take it to court and tie up the system please.

 
Rep Power: 728

only someone who is stupid will believe everyone else is just like them.. it makes them feel better about themselves. just because you do stupid things while you drive does not mean that everyone else does as well.

 
Rep Power: 720

The instant the light turned red, were you still behind the thick white stripe, yes or no? That's what the case pretty much comes down to. Nevertheless, take it to the court house, do the paperwork to request a trial date and request the disclosure of evidence from the crown. Go to your trial and see if the cop shows and/or the CA has his case ready. If their case looks solid, you can always stand in front of the JP and say you've reviewed the evidence they have against you and plead guilty. The point is at least you tried to beat the rap and you made the bastards work for your money.

 
Rep Power: 720

^^ listen to that guy

 
Rep Power: 0

Cheap insurance from bogus tickets = on-board mini-cam:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjw4_QKG170

Associated discussion thread at cop forum (don't post there though, they'll eat you alive!!):
Blue Line Forums • View topic - Yellow Traffic Light

It's probably not win'able as the JP will always take the officers word over yours. I'd try to plea down to "improper equipment" with the Crown. If he won't deal, mount a defense (including a Disclosure request) and come away with, at least, a good education on how the process works.