red light camers!

[jay boi]

i think i may have been caught by 1 yesterday. i was going at the speed limit i know that for sure, but the lights turned yellow and red to quick for me 1 stop. i know i pasted pasted the line while the lights were red.
does any1 know if they flash? ho wlong it takes to come through to tell me ive bin done? and how many points n the fine ill get? :mad:

cheers guys

jay

[ASM-Forever]

Traffic light cameras are a bit of an ass as they invariably go red just as you get beyond the point of no return. However i have had a few questionable red lights and nothing from govt/plod.

Anyhow doesn't the highway code state you only stop if its safe to do so, or something similar? That obviously wont save you if you were doing 60 in a 40, but if your obeying the limit i would think you should be OK. It all depends on how long after the lights changed you crosed the line.

[jay boi]

yh just abit!!
it was less than a second. i was trying to brake but by the time i got close enough to relalise i aint gonna stop.

[tricky]

Personally I think red light cameras are great idea.
They should have them at every single set of lights.
Lost count of the times I've nearly been t-boned by some numpty who's jumped a red light.

I'm not having a go lads, but you should be slowing down to a speed where you can safely stop in time if the light turns red (when its currently green).

I'll get out of the pulpit now ;)

[ASM-Forever]

Personally I think red light cameras are great idea.
They should have them at every single set of lights.
Lost count of the times I've nearly been t-boned by some numpty who's jumped a red light.

I'm not having a go lads, but you should be slowing down to a speed where you can safely stop in time if the light turns red (when its currently green).

I'll get out of the pulpit now ;)

Your probably right and i agree with you....however a few lights in Windsor in particular always pick on me!

[on yer bike]

Personally I think red light cameras are great idea.
They should have them at every single set of lights.
Lost count of the times I've nearly been t-boned by some numpty who's jumped a red light.

I'm not having a go lads, but you should be slowing down to a speed where you can safely stop in time if the light turns red (when its currently green).

I'll get out of the pulpit now ;)

I'm also with this, I've had too many close calls at lights with cars and white vans skipping. whats worse was today my cage instructor was encouraging me to go through a red light because its safer than hard braking, we agreed to disagree, but he said I was more likely to get points on my test for the brakeing as I was going too fast to stop. I know that this is true (and also stupid), but I dont make up the rules.

[the_lone_wolf]

I'm not having a go lads, but you should be slowing down to a speed where you can safely stop in time if the light turns red
but then what if you're closer and it goes red?

slow down even more?

then what if you're even closer and it goes red?

if you always assumed the light was going to turn red and slowed down accordingly you'd stop at the white line, at some point you have to commit and just go through the light even if it turns to amber, it's just that this point is further away the faster you are going. if a light is green and the junction is clear just drive through it at a normal speed, if you know how long it takes your vehicle to stop you'll start to get an instinct for the point of no return and stop having those stop go moments that are probably the worst thing you can do.

be confident, if you are travelling within the limit and the light turns when you don't have time to stop you *will* have time to go through it without getting busted...

edit: :thumbsup: smiley added to reduce the soap box quota for this post...

[FG1]

This has been something I have a hatred for for some time now. I agree that they are a great idea because I too have had too many close calls with people racing the red light (especially on the Hayes by pass roundabouts).
If I ever get caught out by one which I think didn't give me enough time from green to amber to red, I would be inclined to go back to that light and time the sequence. If the lights changed at a speed that didn't allow enough time to stop as per the highway code I would strongly contest any ticket received.
I like the German method, they have double sets of lights so if you got through the first at green and you are not speeding then you will go through the ones at the juncion on green. If you go through the first set at amber then you have plenty of time to stop safely within the remaining distance.

[Needsy]

I really wouldn't worry. They give you a fair bit of grace when it comes to jumping the red light.
Give it 28 days, and if there's no nasty official looking post you got away with it :)

[Needsy]

And further to my last - you get £60 and 3 points if you run a red light and get caught.
They also don't flash if I recall correctly - gatsos flash twice (and take two pics) to measure your speed, but these just have to check you went through a red light.

Or something like that.

[timwilky]

Well talking to a mate tonight and he is a bit ****ed with cameras. He got nicked a few weeks ago with a red light but his licence was with Swansea to add his bike entitlement so had to go to court.

Wednesday afternoon he gets home, to find a letter telling him he should have be in Doncaster magistrates court on the Tuesday, posted on a second class stamp on the Monday to say you are in court tomorrow. So phones the court and gets an idiot. It is not their fault he has failed to appear and there is now a warrant for his arrest. He eventually puts down the phone. Phones back and asks for the clerk of the court. Who agrees stupid to give by mail a summons to be in court next day etc. and simply says fax your mitigation and I will place it before the court.

So Dave is going to fax his statement. But if the cameras are as premature as the court officials he might as well expect to be facing a black cap.

[Flamin_Squirrel]

Personally I think red light cameras are great idea.
They should have them at every single set of lights.

No they are a crap idea. Out of say, 15,228 potentially dangerous and stupid things that drivers can do, this will be no doubt a very expensive way of [i]maybe[/] preventing one of them.

It's yet another example of the government being so utterly incompetant they've gone straight for the symptom of a problem, rather than the cause. The cause in this case, being bad driving - which is in its self is a symptom of the breakdown of social responsibility.

[Captain Nemo]

highway code states that red traffic signal means stop, not stop if safe, all traffic lights have the same timings for the amber light before they go to red,
so really if youre approaching a green light you should be prepared for it to go to red, they dont just suddenly do it..........although that said weve all done it i expect, just carried on regardless in the hope that it stays green.

if an nip is going to be sent , the LA have 14 days to issue it to the registered keeper, if youre not the registered keeper, it will get sent to them, they get 14days togive the the driver information then a new nip is issued with the new information on. they also have 6 month from the date of the offence to lay the papers before the courts.

different la's have different times for overlap before RLC's record , often dependant on the risk at that junction, although tbh la's only tend to put RLC's on junctions where there have been quite a few accidents.

and they dont always flash, some have light sensors.

[tricky]

No they are a crap idea. Out of say, 15,228 potentially dangerous and stupid things that drivers can do, this will be no doubt a very expensive way of [i]maybe[/] preventing one of them.

It's yet another example of the government being so utterly incompetant they've gone straight for the symptom of a problem, rather than the cause. The cause in this case, being bad driving - which is in its self is a symptom of the breakdown of social responsibility.

Maybe we should bring back the "Amber Gambler" adverts instead then.
(And the Tufty Club while they're about it !)

;) :p

[Benji]

I often agree with you, but this time I don't. I think they're a good idea and I think they should be employed more. You should always approach traffic lights at a speed where you can stop safely should they change. If you go through the lights when they're changing to red it's generally:

a) your fault for driving too fast [for the conditions]
b) your fault for not paying attention
c) your fault for gambling
d) a fault with the lights [unlikely]

Ditto, gotta disagree with you on this one Jordan and totally agree with Lee.

Good god, I better sit down. :smt120

[ArtyLady]

so if the lights are just still in your view and they change to amber just as you go through, have you committed an offence? :confused: I thought amber was to warn you they are about to change, and you should stop if you can safely do so.

[Benji]

so if the lights are just still in your view and they change to amber just as you go through, have you committed an offence? :confused:

No.

I thought amber was to warn you they are about to change, and you should stop if you can safely do so.

Correct.

[Warren]

if i recall, traffic lights go amber before they go red.
if you cant stop while its amber, then carry on.
if its gone from amber to red . . and you cant stop - something is seriously wrong with your brakes/eyes.

ill get off my high horse now.

if you did get flashed, probably a 30 quid fine and 3 points.
did you see a flash ?

if your lucky, it was a dud / out of film or something.
try dropping a gear before you come to lights, so all you have to do is roll off the throttle, and the engine does most of the work if it does go amber.

[northwind]

but then what if you're closer and it goes red?

slow down even more?

then what if you're even closer and it goes red?


This is why you get the yellow light as well :thumbsup: Basically, if you're going slow enough that you're not through the lights by the time they turned red, you should be able to stop. Alternatively, you should be going quick enough that by the time the lights turn to red, you're on the other side.

[jay boi]

wen i saw the lights goin amber, i did brake straight away.but as i got closer i realised that if i kept braking i wud end up in the middle of the junction. so i gave up braking an just accelarated.
i was at the speed limit, but did have enough time to brake to a stop. 2 days gone and nothing through post yet :thumbsup:

[Ch00]

If you was riding though the junction and staring at the camera and you didn't see it flash twice then you are probably going to be fine.

Ch00

[jay boi]

the camera was bhind me.and it was sunny. do they even flash?

[Ch00]

Yep same as the old Gatsos

[SVeeedy Gonzales]

There's supposed to be a 2-second delay between red and the camera being activated so you should be OK.

I've gone through reds with cameras up to a second after the red and had no problems so I assume that's true.


There's also meant to be a speed limit below which the camera will not work (to allow for the fact that you could have gone through the light legitimately and then been stuck in traffic while the light turned red) but I don't know what it was meant to be - probably around the 10mph mark. Never knowingly been in a situation where I could try that one out though - if I can get through the lights on the bike by the time they're red then I'm long gone by the time the camera would kick in.

[Islandboy]

I belive its the case that if you are even partially over the white line when the lights change to RED, you are ok to continue (Its an offence to stop with your wheel over the line remember)... If you where going at a speed that would have "left you in the middle of the junction" you where more than likely to be over the line, even if only a bit, when the lights changed... Unless you where going some. I wouldnt worry too much..............