need advice for beating a red light ticket.

[twin99]

Got a bs red light ticket this evening in Dumont.

Anyone have any advice for beating it. Or should I just not bother and just pay it and forget about it?

Scenario:

I was going straight down the road at a T intersection. Honestly the light was yellow and turned red as I was going thru it. Cop was on the perpendicular side street waiting behind 3-4 cars of traffic so I don't even know how he could possible say he saw me blewing thru the light.

Also it was at night and raining pretty hard. Such BS.

Has anyone been able to beat one of these type tickets?

[LTb1ow]

Don't run yellow lights.

[maroman88]

if u got a good record, plead it down to unsafe, bigger fine, no points

[twin99]

yeah I just think it's such bs the way they just want the money.

[twin99]

I wish we could follow all the cops in their cars and watch the way they all drive.

They run around the streets like they own the place and we regular folks

get banged out for the dumbest things.

[deadtrend1]

.......

get banged out for the dumbest things.

you said the light tuned red as you went through it. So, bottom line, you went through a red light. It happens, take it to court and plead it down.

[madness410]

u couldnt come up with a good excuse to tell the officer? like your tires are getting bad and if u hit the breaks too hard you thought you would have slid into the intersection?

the last few times i got pulled over ive been down to earth with the officers and avoided a whole court scenario just by showing respect and honesty.

[sweetbmxrider]

ya honestly you admitted it. so you did it. now work with the system and give them money.

[twin99]

I just called 911 and told them I got robbed for $500.

And when the cop asked me if I might know who or how

I got robbed I told him I got robbed by the police.

[deadtrend1]

I just called 911 and told them I got robbed for $500.

And when the cop asked me if I might know who or how

I got robbed I told him I got robbed by the police.

:roll:

[r0nin89]

u couldnt come up with a good excuse to tell the officer? like your tires are getting bad and if u hit the breaks too hard you thought you would have slid into the intersection?

the last few times i got pulled over ive been down to earth with the officers and avoided a whole court scenario just by showing respect and honesty.

Ditto

[Crayface]

In our great state of New Jersey the yellow light means to start slowing down not to proceed through the yellow light. Just pay the ticket and get it over with would be the easyiest thing to do. Its something petty and should not end up being a lot of money.

[Jensend]

Even if you plead the ticket down and pay a larger fine, most auto insurers will assess your policy based on the original violation. Pleading down may get you fewer points against your license depending on what you're allowed to plead to.

[enRo]

Pretty much what everyone else said, you were in the process of crossing the intersection when the light turned red. Thats considered running a red light. Yellow doesnt mean 'hurry the **** up before it turns red', it means to slow down before it turns red. Pay the fine.

[79T/A]

In our great state of New Jersey the yellow light means to start slowing down not to proceed through the yellow light. Just pay the ticket and get it over with would be the easyiest thing to do. Its something petty and should not end up being a lot of money.

Yup. You nailed it.

[twin99]

If you can't beat them join them.

I submitted my application today to become a NJ State Trooper so all you guys are getting written up for tickets. From your load a$$ exhaust, to your tinted windows, bald slick tires, driving too fast, driving too slow, hell just for driving.

I am even going to ticket your grandma because her grandson owns a Hot Rod.

LOL.......Just kidding. What pisses me off was that I wasn't even in my race car.

Well anyways.......next time I am not stopping. All or nothing. Like on "COPS" where a failed inspection sticker turns into an OJ helicopter chase.

[12secondv6]

Please...... don't breed...... there are already too many of you.

[twin99]

I learned everything from Smokey and the Bandit.

[Mike]

If you can't beat them join them.

I submitted my application today to become a NJ State Trooper so all you guys are getting written up for tickets. From your loud a$$ exhaust, to your tinted windows, bald slick tires, driving too fast, driving too slow, hell just for driving.

I am even going to ticket your grandma because her grandson owns a Hot Rod.

LOL.......Just kidding. What pisses me off was that I wasn't even in my race car.

Well anyways.......next time I am not stopping. All or nothing. Like on "COPS" where a failed inspection sticker turns into an OJ helicopter chase.


make sure you spell correctly on the application, and i hope you mean an application for the exam and not a job...because thats isnt how they do things

[procamaroz28]

i would ask for ridiculous stuff in discovery and most likley court would not be able to comply so thats one way to try to get it dismissed my friend done it he asked for some kinda engineers survey which is what townships are suposed to do before putting up a sighn or light and it worked... but that was for a stop sign, u can research and try for yours but dont get ur hopes up

[procamaroz28]

If you can't beat them join them.

I submitted my application today to become a NJ State Trooper so all you guys are getting written up for tickets. From your load a$$ exhaust, to your tinted windows, bald slick tires, driving too fast, driving too slow, hell just for driving.

I am even going to ticket your grandma because her grandson owns a Hot Rod.

LOL.......Just kidding. What pisses me off was that I wasn't even in my race car.

Well anyways.......next time I am not stopping. All or nothing. Like on "COPS" where a failed inspection sticker turns into an OJ helicopter chase.

Please...... don't breed...... there are already too many of you.

I learned everything from Smokey and the Bandit.


was that last comment supposed to prove 12secondv6's point?? hahaha

[NJSPEEDER]

Best thing you can do is plead not guilty and talk to the officer and prosecutor. Be straight and tell them you know you made a mistake going through the light. Just say that you can't really afford the points on your license and your insurance. 99 times out of 100 they will give you a bunch of fines that will cost you more initially, but will save you long term by avoiding insurance increases and surcharges

[twin99]

i would ask for ridiculous stuff in discovery and most likley court would not be able to comply so thats one way to try to get it dismissed my friend done it he asked for some kinda engineers survey which is what townships are suposed to do before putting up a sighn or light and it worked... but that was for a stop sign, u can research and try for yours but dont get ur hopes up

now that sounds like it might work.....thanks

When I went thru the light it just turned yellow and I wasn't even driving fast as there was cars in front of me so it's possible that it turned red by the time I was finished crossing the intersection.

[Mike]

yellow dosent mean speed up........you ****ed up, live with it

[twin99]

yellow dosent mean speed up........you ****ed up, live with it

that's my problem....I didn't speed up. I wasn't even driving fast that day as it was raining and icy out.

So what you are saying is that if a person enters an intersection under a yellow light and doesn't leave that intersection while the light is yellow he should be subject to a red light ticket.

So if that was the case why have a yellow light in the first place?

Any way the point of this thread is for ideas about how to get this ticket dismissed. Not you f'ed up so now pay up because that's the real reason why I got it in the first place......because the town just wants my money to pay the cop's salary.

[Mike]

the yellow gives you a chance to slow and stop, its not there for you to hurry up and make it through, if you think that you should have never got a ****ing drivers license

[79T/A]

Any way the point of this thread is for ideas about how to get this ticket dismissed. Not you f'ed up so now pay up because that's the real reason why I got it in the first place......because the town just wants my money to pay the cop's salary.

If you want to get it dismissed, then scrape up some cash and talk to a lawyer. There are thousands of them here in New Jersey. They may very well find a creative way for you to get your ticket dismissed, and you will be out more money than it would cost you to just go to court, talk to the prosecutor and plead it down to a no points offense that won't affect your insurance.

Or, you could put your faith in someone here who got lucky in one court and managed to contest it and get the ticket dismissed on their own. You could try your luck and see what happens. I've seen a few very articulate and intelligent people walk into court, contest the ticket, properly and successfully cross examine the police officer and create doubt and have the ticket dismissed. But I've seen at least ten times as many people try that and fail miserably. And guess what? When the verdict is read as guilty, the option to make a deal is out the window. And by the way, whether the cop wins or loses may not mean much to him as he's being paid to be there and you're not.

Whether you like it or not, this is a public forum that you asked for advice on, so if you don't like the opinions you're getting, it sucks to be you. There are three sides to your story: Your side, the cop's side and somewhere in the middle, there's the truth. You say you never sped up, but you didn't say you slowed down, either. The law reads, "The driver of every vehicle shall obey the instructions of the official traffic control device applicable thereto." The instructions for the yellow light are SLOW DOWN (Jim from "Taxi" had problems with this one, too!). If the cop takes the stand and says that the light changed to yellow and you made no apparent effort to slow down, and he's more articulate than you (And I'm guessing he is, not because of your grammar but because it's his job to testify properly), you're gonna lose.

If it were me, I'd try to go for the no point offense. I'd walk into court (After calling ahead to let them know I was going to appear) in a suit and tie (Because judges don't take people dressed in street clothes seriously) and ask the prosecutor for the no point offense as stated above. I'd also be sure to have the money in my pocket. But that's just me.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

[V]

I know dumont, been driving through there for over 10 years. dont try to get wise to the cops or prosecutor. Wont end well. i was 17 once and got hit with speeding total bs ticket, went to court for 3 months over it. errors on ticket and all. wasnt gonna pay a lawyer so i took it finally after pleading to only 2 points.

and i assume you were at the intersection by dunkin donuts and rushmore convenience store. thats a toughy since its not a typical T intersection and acutally setback for an offest street on the other side. i probably even know who the cop was(not friends with him though). IMO dumont is the worst town out of our area. but i dont know how bergen co has truly been the last 3-4 years. i dont have issues anymore regardless how loud my car is(garunteed louder than yours) or the fact it basically is a race car and getting stopped and seeing the expression on a cops face when he sees the cage is priceless. ok yes i occasionally get stopped but rarely ever last more than a "hello...have a nice day"

[Jersyboyy]

The camera caught me running a red light..... http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b1/Shaggy-wasn%27t-me.jpg

[1_Hot_SOM_WS6]

u couldnt come up with a good excuse to tell the officer? like your tires are getting bad and if u hit the breaks too hard you thought you would have slid into the intersection?

the last few times i got pulled over ive been down to earth with the officers and avoided a whole court scenario just by showing respect and honesty.


Yeah great idea. :rollseye: Failure to make repairs to veh perhaps? careless driving? You are suppose to have control of your vehicle at all times. Read your manual.

[procamaroz28]

Cop was on the perpendicular side street waiting behind 3-4 cars of traffic so I don't even know how he could possible say he saw me blewing thru the light.

go to the library and look up the statute... when i was researching how to beat the stop sign ticket i found that the cop can not ticket if there is not a clear view of the line, front bumper and sign (i guess because people can say you stoped behind) but still... dont get ur hopes up... cops do not like going to court, its counted as overtime and they alredy got tough schedules, so so they dont really bs with these types of tickets...

but best thing, just do what NJSPEEDER said

[Knipps]

I don't think they build statues in honor of these sorts of things.