GavinJuice

So tonight im leaving chipotle to go home and i pull through the intersection to find the cherries behind me.

So here's my situation. When I entered the intersection i had the yellow, when i got mid way through the light flipped to red. I in NO way had a full red before i had entered the intersection. So when he pulled me over he asked for me license and asked "you know why i pulled you over" and i simply said not really. He said i ran a red at the last intersection and went back to his car. When he came back he issued me my sitation and left. All i said was thank you, but i would have much rather said much for fragrant words.

So here's what im thinking, the ticket for this BS is 130$ and it's going to affect my insurance. I haven't paid it yet but im thinking i can fight it under a few conditions. The fact that the light was yellow when i entered the intersection. I know some will say "but when does it actually start", but i was at least half in. The fact that it had just started to snow and there was about 2" down, means to me that IF the light had turned red right before i entered i wouldn't have been able to stop anyways. I would have most likely slid right in anyways and that would have been even more ****. And there's no friggen way that someone would have had the chance to hit me when i was passing through. They wouldn't have had the time to accelerate fast enough to hit me because of the snow and the fact that I was the only person moving in the whole intersection at the time. And i hadn't been moving more than 10-15MPH when i came through. It's not like i was racing to get through, i could have cared less.

Now I have tried to find what constitutes "running a red light" and i've found mostly that once your in the intersection your not running a red. It's just battling where it starts and when it had turned red. Now I know this isn't anything mechanically related but you guys are all great on the first gen forum and i've learned alot. Now i don't know for sure what the laws in MN are, but maybe some else in here has had this same situation happen before. Watcha guys think? ~Gavin

DAVID GRIMES

Go to court and plead your case if it comes to that. Just taking the time to do that often results in it being thrown out. Also, In Georgia, if the **** cop doesn't make it to court, it'll be dismissed automatically.

Good luck.

brak

iTrader: (3)

I commend you for passing through the intersection...

My wife totaled her car on thursday (american blvd & Xerxes in bloomington).
as we approached the intersection the light turned yellow, and the moron in front slammed on his brakes, so we plowed into him.

The funny thing is that we hit him, propelling him through the intersection, and the light was still yellow when he cleared the other side.

MORON

GavinJuice

I've tried to find out in MN whether or not the officer has to be present or not. This differs in some states.

Yea brak that sucks. Plus the fact that you hit hit makes you liable too, oh the law. Yea i had no one in front of me, i was wide and clear.

brak

iTrader: (3)

I'm pretty sure that in minnesota, the police officer has to show up for all traffic related cases, or it will be thrown out.

My buddy get's pulled over all the time, but he fights it every time, and maybe 3 out of 10 times the cop actually shows.

It's worth a shot, what's the worst that could happen, you pay exactly the same amount, and waste the cops time. sounds worth fighting to me

GavinJuice

Yea i think im gonna go, i just want to find out for sure what the Yellow Light law would be. Like whether or not i can or can't enter the intersection on a yellow. I read that differs in other states. I can always plea there would have been no way i could have stopped in time and not slid in the middle.

Boswoj

Gotta call BS on this one.

Everybody is running red lights these days, and it is an extremely dangerous situation that is resulting in destroyed cars and injured people nation wide. It's a particularly good indicator of whats wrong with the typical attitude towards driving these days. Running red lights is usually motivated more by attitude than anything else. Drivers simply decide that their time is too important to have to wait through another light, and assume that cross traffic will be too intimidated to risk a collision by pulling into the intersection even though the light is green in their direction. It's a decision to risk the property and safety of both yourself, and someone else who may or may not know that YOUR convenience is more important than being on the right side of the law. Most police use some simple techniques to determine if you are making bad decisions, but one of the more common is to see if they can see the reflection of the red signal on the top of your car while you are in the intersection. This means that you are violating the "right of way" by being in the intersection while the light is green in another direction. Contrary to popular interpretation, amber signals mean stop if you can do so safely - not "nail it" and see if you can be out of the other side of the intersection at well over the speed limit to avoid legal traffic passing through the intersection in the opposite direction. The "moron" in the previous example was actually following both the letter and the spirit of the law, while the real "MORON" was the idiot behind who clearly doesn't understand that nearly any rear end accident is indicitive that the driver behind doesn't understand either safe following distance, or proper car control. I'm sure that your insurance agent, and any responding police officers are also "morons" because they informed you that you were 100% at fault and probably issued you a citation.

The law is the law to protect the safety of everyone - not whatever you think is the most useful for you personally (you selfish bastard.) OOOps! did I say that out loud?

Rogue_Wulff

The fact that there was snow on the roadway should also be taken into consideration. Would you have even been able to stop before the intersection? The real answer is not as important as the percieved answer at the time you saw the yellow light.
By all means, go to court, and if the cop does show up, simply state your case, including the snow cover, and the inability to have stopped prior to entering the intersection, at the moment the light turned yellow.
Even if you know you could have stopped, swear that it was not possible, due to the slick roads.

Boswoj

That argument will actually make things worse. It is a free admission that you are driving in excess of the speed that road conditions will safely allow. It suggests that you either don't have adequate judgement or experience to be in control of a motor vehicle, or that you intentionally chose to drive above safe limits endangering both property and the safety of other motorists. The first suggests that you should have your license pulled until you can can exhibit the required maturity and/or skills to operate a vehicle safely. The second is a textbook case of the legal threshold for Negligent/Reckless driving that requires harsh penalties to effect behavior modification. Is that what you were shooting for?

GavinJuice

Boswoj i never asked you to rate my driving. I was simply asking what people thought about how the law of the yellow lights reflect my situation. Why you decided to blab on about worthless info is beyond me. I never made an attempt to blast through the intersection without thinking about the safety of others. I know my surroundings to where i was safe to go through. Calling Brak a moron was nice too. It's people like you who have such a sour attitude towards life that i could care less about. **** happens and you deal with it, you don't dwell upon it like yourself mr.perfect. Oh yea thanks for calling me a selfish bastards too, that was a nice addition to fulfill your ego. You've pissed me off now for offending me and others. Maybe next time you respond to someones post, reply with something worth reading. Oh and by the way **** you. OOOps! did I say that out loud?

actually that was typed professor

Bob Holton

Somewhere I read that if you pay the fine by mail and overpay by a couple of dollars, then dont cash the refund check, that points will not be added , because they kick in when the whole thing is finished. might check that out too.

BAN SUVS

Nice try genious. That MYTH, is totally untrue. Doesn't matter what state you are in. They just mail the excess back to you.

GavinJuice

well i heard that if you overwrite the check and they mail back the excess, if you don't cash whatever the excess was THEN they don't charge you.

brak

iTrader: (3)

They most likely will cash your check. and if you don't cash theirs, after a year it's no good. and they win in the end

kettlman

iTrader: (2)

thats an urban legend. i heard the same thing and tried it. i got a check in the mail and never cashed it. it's still on my record.

i'm fighting a case right now that is bs. got it in october. everytime i goto court for arainment i ask for an extention so i can get an attorney. they make you fill a speedy trial waiver. well the last time i went i asked for a 60 day waiver for an attorney. the judge was tired of me taking my time, granted it to me as my last one. well, they forgot to make me sign the speedy trial waiver.( the laws state that you have 90 days for trial) the next court date will be 95 days after i signed the last one. ha ha ha. don't know it it will help. but i'm hooping it does.

just fight it, make sure you ask for the officer to be present. then try to extend it to confuse the officers date to be there. in washington if you don't request the officer they won't come and you have to fight their notes( wich you pretty much can't they are so perfect in lying). so make sure you request the officer.

i've got another speeding ticket now, but i'm prepaired for that one now. if i only knew in october what i know now. check ouit my sig. and see why.

wae

Not sure about MN, but here in KY, the law is written such that it is a violation to be in the intersection afer your light has turned red. If you can't clear the intersection before the light turns red, you shouldn't be entering it in the first place. If you're travelling fast enough that you can't stop in time, then you're travelling too fast for conditions, and they'll stick you with that.