Blinking red light

[lovelyspark357]

From California: My girlfriend did not stop completely at a blinking red light and she got pulled over. When we called the number on the ticket, they said her fine would be $361, the same fine for running a red light. Shouldn't the fine be closer to running a stop sign since blinking red lights are treated like stop signs? We are going to go to court and try to fight the ticket. She says the date she's supposed to appear is April 5th. Is that the actual court date or will we show up and have a court date assigned to us? What are the chances of winning on this? Any help would be greatly appreciated.What is the name of your state?

 

[garrula lingua]

Usually, the date on the citation is for the court appearance wherein she'll plead either guilty, no contest (& have fine assessed & possible traffic school) or not guilty & have a date set for a court trial (the cop has to be subpoenaed to court on that later date).

Some courts will still allow traffic school after an unsuccessful trial; other courts only allow traffic school to those who plead guilty/no contest (it's entirely up to the Judge to allow traffic school).

The amt you quote for the fine sounds reasonable for failure to obey a traffic signal. Infractions are usu 100 plus penalty & assessments & in some counties the P&A is 170%, so a $100 fine becomes $371.00 (plus$1. for night court funding).

 

[The Occultist]

Shouldn't the fine be closer to running a stop sign since blinking red lights are treated like stop signs?

It was a traffic light, and, albeit blinking, they were still red. A red light always means to come to a complete stop before entering the intersection. Including when you're going to make a right on a red, which most people apparently don't seem to know.