Red light ticket

Hi, I need an advice. This morning I got a "red light failed to stop" ticket (89-9). This happened at the T-cross of Park Rd and South Ave in Weston. This is a tricky T-cross - there are additional lights on the right side for the right turn (see the attached photo from Google). You cannot see these lights if you are in the second or third car in the right line. I was the first in this line, an officer was behind me.

The officer who was in the car behind me, stopped me and told that I made the turn on the red light. I told him that there was green light for the right turn and red light for others. I am sure he didn't look at the additional right-turn lights because he started to follow me. He even responded on my comment about the additional right-turn light "there are no additional lights" (!).

So, I got the ticket, the first one in my 20-years driving history. I make this turn every morning for a few years. Do I have any chances to prove that the officer made a mistake?

Appeal to a magistrate and then a judge. Court makes money the cop makes money and you may get out of a ticket. It is a win win for all involved.

Appeal it twice, its your right

Yes Vasily, you as the coffee drinking, bagel eating, semi-conscious early morning drone, listening to your early morning am radio gab fest and thinking about how much you hate your boss as you've marched mindlessly to your no-where job on the same road for a few years, are correct and the officer, who has driven that road, day in-day out, for years, all while actually paying attention to his/her surroundings, looking for violators and such, made the mistake...

Yup, it happens, pay or appeal....

OK, I'll ask it. Did the Officer have his hat on? If not just tell the Clerk at your requested hearing.

I just wanted to show the lights for the right turn that the officer didn't notice, I took the photo of that T-cross from Google maps.

I like my job (and my boss is a great guy), don't eat while driving and usually don't listening radio. In addition, when you see the officer behind your car, you will drive twice more accurate than usually, right?

The officer was a nice guy but he did a mistake.

This is probably why you got the ticket...

Don't tell him what he saw... or what he didn't see... :adolf:



Also was he wearing his cover during the stop? :thumbs_up:

#1 Good job to the boys out in Weston! #2 Police are human and could have missed the little green arrow (a blurry arrow at that), so it is your right to appeal and tell the magistrate the same story you told here.

I don't understand what advice you're looking for. Take a better picture of the intersection, because the google maps is blurry. Bring it to the hearing, and tell them. Personally, I doubt the light was green when you turned, and there is probably a "no turn on red" sign. Since the police officer was behind you, there is no way he didn't look at the light to make sure. The intersection light for that right turn is not near any other lights, so he couldn't mistake it for the other ones.

I reviewed this intersection on Google Maps Street View. I see what light you're talking about. Also, from what I can tell, the three traffic lights for the two left turn lanes are (left) arrows when red. So I'm willing to bet the officer wasn't mistaken. You are free to take your own pictures of the intersection and the traffic lights for traffic coming off Park Road and appeal it.

A person might think that, but he'd be wrong. I'm not a police officer , but I've seen people do more unbelievably stupid stuff in front of, behind or next to a police officer than I could possibly remember. I can only imagine how bad it would be if I were looking for it. People are either oblivious or just don't care. I have seen people tailgating cruisers, make unsafe lane changes, make illegal turns, you get the point. My favorite ones are the idiots that buzz down the BDL past the cruiser and the idiots flying down the highway who hit their brakes so hard that you'd think a parachute was about to pop out of their trunk. Those are the ones that make me want to buy the officer/trooper lunch. It's amazing how many people don't notice the cruiser until the blue lights go on. It's even more amazing how many people still don't seem to notice even with the blue lights on.

I looked a little closer too, and there IS a no turn on red sign. haha!

There looks like there is a blurry "No turn on red" sign right under the Park Rd street sign and under the South Ave street sign (which is clearly visible). It also looks like the right turn has a separate light from the left turn altogether, but not little green arrow below it.

Like everyone said, that's why you have the option to appeal, to plead your case.

And, like I said before, good job WPD!

Wrong.. I too think to myself people should drive a little more carefully with a fully marked cruiser behind/next to/near them. Alas, you people never fail and do the most absurd things in front of us...

Yes, there is a "no turn on red sign" and additional "left turn" lights that you can see clearly on the new photo (I took the photo this morning from that cross). BUT the "right turn" lights are on the separate section - you cannot see them from that point! I took this photo from the point where the officer probably made his decision - all you can see from that point is the main red light, "left turn" lights and "no turn on red" sign.

But the additional section with the lights for the right turn is behind the sign "90"/ "mass pike" on the right side of the photo. You don't see this section on that photo. Only the person in the car ahead of me on the photo can see these lights. This additional section has a usual large "red" light and two small green right turn arrows. To see the right turn lights lights you have to approach this cross slowly at the right line until you see the additional section.

and THAT is your problem.........Try not to "speculate" when the decision was made. Maybe it was made the moment you ran the red light! Did you axe the officer WHEN he made the decision to gig ya?