Running red light, caught by camera

(Georgia)

I received a letter notifying me of a traffic signal violation (running a red light).

…North and South bound lanes both have left turn arrows -- both get a get arrow followed by a yellow arrow, then the main light turns green light to allow the main flow of North and South bound traffic (no red turn arrow, meaning: can turn left at intersection if traffic is allowing). Left turn arrow was yellow when I was approaching intersection; I expected the turn arrow to disappear, then the main traffic signal to change to green. Well, didn't happen so quickly... The main light hesitated before changing to green, I assume to allow the turning vehicles to clear intersection before main flow was allowed to commence. Anyways, a camera mounted at intersection documented that the main light did not change immediately, that I crossed the line at 1.19 seconds, 3 seconds before the main light went to green (light was red for a total of 4 seconds so the document/ticket states).

I guess my question is, that is that really running a red light (I know it was red, but typically, it goes directly to green, picture shows no cars for miles in oncoming lane)? Can I get out of this? Thoughts or suggestions?

Also, has anyone heard of the Written Not Guilty Plea for the state of GA?

I received a letter notifying me of a traffic signal violation (running a red light).

(I know it was red, but typically, it goes directly to green, picture shows no cars for miles in oncoming lane)? Can I get out of this?

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No.

Thoughts or suggestions?

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Pay the ticket.

An interesting defense...
The light was red when I went through, but I didn't run a red light.

hahahahahahahaha

im sorry but the court's heart will not bleed for you. expectations and assumptions do not hold up in the court of law. i would plead guilty and get this thing over with. try getting some sort of traffic schooling and court supervision if you can (so that you can get the ticket off of your record).

I dont believe traffic cameras in GA carry points, just a fine. Its hard to prove who was driving the car.

Yeah, sounds odd to say it was red and that I didn't run it... However, you all have experienced left had turn lights, they go to green on the main light after the turn signal runs its coarse. And, it did do this, just 4 seconds after Whatever, maybe I should try a new strategy -- the image on the notice doesn't show me quite at the middle of the intersection. How about I just say that picture was taken just before I stopped and put the car in reverse??

mlittle24 said:

Yeah, sounds odd to say it was red and that I didn't run it... However, you all have experienced left had turn lights, they go to green on the main light after the turn signal runs its coarse. And, it did do this, just 4 seconds after Whatever, maybe I should try a new strategy -- the image on the notice doesn't show me quite at the middle of the intersection. How about I just say that picture was taken just before I stopped and put the car in reverse??

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You can SAY whatever you'd like. Pay the ticket.

Edited to add: You anticipated the light turning green. That is not in the driving rule book. You should have waited until you received permission to go, before going. Since you did not follow the rule book, you received a ticket.

mlittle24 said:

Yeah, sounds odd to say it was red and that I didn't run it... However, you all have experienced left had turn lights, they go to green on the main light after the turn signal runs its coarse. And, it did do this, just 4 seconds after Whatever, maybe I should try a new strategy -- the image on the notice doesn't show me quite at the middle of the intersection. How about I just say that picture was taken just before I stopped and put the car in reverse??

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Yes, when in doubt just lie and hope they don't catch you.

It works for everything!

Post back on your visiting times.

mlittle24 said:

Yeah, sounds odd to say it was red and that I didn't run it... However, you all have experienced left had turn lights, they go to green on the main light after the turn signal runs its coarse. And, it did do this, just 4 seconds after Whatever, maybe I should try a new strategy -- the image on the notice doesn't show me quite at the middle of the intersection. How about I just say that picture was taken just before I stopped and put the car in reverse??

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Claiming you have the right to drive 4 seconds BEFORE the light turns green is just embarrassing. Pay the ticket and learn the lesson.

mlittle24 said:

How about I just say that picture was taken just before I stopped and put the car in reverse??

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I highly doubt that will work. That will be confessing that you were in the interesection when you did not have the right to be.

In Georgia, failure to follow indications by a traffic-control device or traffic officer is a 3 point offense. You do have the option to plead nolo in Georgia once every few years, if the judge allows it. This will result in 0 points being assigned, but the offense will still show on your record as a 'zero point offense.' The only other real option you have is to speak to the DA/Solicitor at your initial hearing to see if you can plea-bargain to a non-moving violation (that will at least keep it off the MVR, where you don't have the increased insurance rates, although you will still have to pay the fine). One word of caution though-a lot of courts have a zero tolerance rule with these tickets, since there is typically a 30 day 'warning' window when the cameras are first activated at a particular intersection. You may just have to suck it up and take the punishment-there's really now way 'out' of the ticket.

The Good News

According to Georgia Law, a red light photo ticket will not have any effect on your driving record and insurance companies will not have access to this information when calculating your insurance premiums. So pay the ticket and just make sure to check for cameras before you decide to run that dark pink light.