How can I defend myself against a citation for running a red light?
Posted April 22, 2010 – 12:47 am in: Green Cleaning TipsI got a citation for running a red light a few nights ago and on Friday I have to appear in traffic court. I really do not want this to go down on my record. This is a one-time mistake, and I get that it’s an incredibly serious mistake to make, not only for myself but for others as well. I had the flu, it was 9:30 at night, and I swear to G-d when I looked at the light it was green and there was no one coming in the opposite direction; then, all of a sudden, a split second later, my fiance goes, “Becca, it’s a red light” and I’m already out in the middle of the intersection so I complete the turn. Cop pulls me over and gives me a ticket, which I understand is necessary.
What do I say to get the judge to let me off? I have a completely clean record and I can’t have this on my record because my insurance will go up exponentially. Any tips?
Tags: Against, citation, defend, Light, myself, runningPost a Comment
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17 Comments
Nothing, go to traffic school.
If your guilty – plead guilty. A good driving record will likely get you some form of supervision which will avoid a conviction. This will be accompanied by a fine.
Traffic school will get the ticket off your record.
You are not going to get off. don’t drive when you have the flu…
Tell the Judge the same thing that you have just told us
“The Truth” and hopefuly the Judge will show you some compassion.
Good Luck
Nope the only way you can get out of this is if you were in the intersection before it turned red. There is enough time between in turning yellow and it red for you to stop. The only thing you could do is take a driving course and you might be able to get a point deduction, or depending on your state removed. Ask your DMV what the policy is on it and if there is anyway to get it removed. Other then that nothing you can do.
Depends….Was it cold outside? Cold enough for there to be ice? If it is poooossible that there was ice…You might have feared that you would not be able to stop because of the ice. You sliding into the intersection out of control would have been a bad thing to happen.
Or it could very well be possible that the timing on the light was off which would have affected the length of the yellow light. Try going to DOT and see if there are any records of repairs or adjustments to that specific light.
In some states if you take a safe driving course the ticket will not count against you for points or insurance purposes. Don’;t know your state, but you could check if your state has that program. Too many people leave important things like their state out. We need to know it because laws vary from state to state.
You ran the light … not many ways to beat the ticket. None if the police car had a video camera!
Too bad about your insurance! Just think how much it would go up if, when you ran that light … you hit another car!
You got your nice clean driving record all dirty! Time to pay for your mistake. Some mistakes are more expensive than others, a fact that the court and your insurance agent will drive home.
You don’t say what state, maybe there is the option of driving school to take care of the points for suspension purposes … I don’t know if the insurance points would be affected by driving school though.
Say just what you say here, be honest. Perhaps you can go to traffic school so your insurance won’t go up. Ask the court for that.
By not saying anything that you’ve said in this posting. These are called excuses and will guarantee your conviction and harsher penalty than if you just pay the ticket. Try traffic school or some other method of taking responsibility for what you did.
You don’t have e defense. Get to court a few minutes early, and see what options are available to you if any. Your clean driving record may be beneficial.
Tell the judge the complete, unvarnished TRUTH — and you might get lucky.
Just one thing, and believe me when I tell you that the judge WILL also consider this… If you were so affected by the flu that you could not tell what color the light was, why were you driving at all?
Just own up to having done it, be absolutely sincere when you promise to never do it again, accept whatever punishment the judge decides to give you (even if you think it unfair) — and DO NOT try to make excuses for what you did.
if you ran the red light you ran a red light, sometimes they arrest you for that. and im sure the judge had hear “I thought it was green” several times before. just pay the fine, go to traffic school and learn from your mistake.
Yeah, traffic school. Most likely the cop has it on video or tape recorded. You could try to explain just what you said to us. Request traffic school, it’ll keep your record clear. Good luck.
Why should he let you off???? Sounds like a legit ticket to me.
just go to court and tell him what you feel happened. you never know what the judge will say…