Is it illegal to run a yellow light?.....?
"don't be an amber gambler"
Is it illegal to go through a yellow traffic light?
By reading the other answers, I appears many are confusing a steady yellow with a flashing yellow. Flashing yellow means slow down, proceed with caution. A solid yellow means stop, unless you are so close you can not do so safely. As for the other car, I am guessing he was going the opposite way as you, and was faced with the same light. He was probably already in the intersection, waiting for traffic to clear. A left turn requires you to yield to all vehicles legally in the intersection. Your whole case depends on how long it was yellow, and if you could have safely stopped. The yellow lights in my state are about 4 seconds long in the 25mph zones. At 25mph, you are traveling approximately 40 feet per second. That means you can travel about 160 feet during the 4 seconds of yellow. A car with decent brakes can stop in about 50 feet at 25mph, so this leaves you with about 110 feet reaction time. The fact you admitted to speeding up probably led the officer to believe you could have stopped. Apparently the car turning left thought so too. This one is going to be tough for you to prove.
If you pass the stop line when the traffic light is yellow but go through the light when it’s red, can you get a ticket?
The answer depends on where you are. In Wisconsin, and probably all the other states in the U.S., yellow means “stop.” You can be ticketed for entering the intersection on yellow, not just red, “unless so close to it that a stop may not be made in safety.” Wis. Stat. §346.37(1)(b).If you’re in the intersection when the light turns yellow, or if you’re so close to the intersection that stopping before you enter the intersection is impossible or would cause a person behind you to hit your car, then the stop may not be made in safety and you can proceed through the intersection on yellow. Otherwise you have to stop.If you’re not entering the intersection until the end of the yellow so that it turns red before you get through the intersection, then most likely you were sufficiently far away when the light turned from green to yellow that you could’ve stopped safely. Therefore yes, you could get a ticket.
Will stopping past the white line during a red light get you a ticket?
Will it get you a ticket? Probably not.Can it get you ticket? Yes.You are supposed to stop before the white line, if one is present. This would be a typical intersection with a crosswalk with all of the lines present:You are supposed to stop before the white line on the left in this picture for a red light and wait there for green. You need to allow pedestrian to cross and not block the crosswalk even when you are turning right on red legally.You probably won’t get a ticket if you are over the line unless you impede the crosswalk or are actually in the cross street. I would think most cops would think they have better things to do.But, if you are blocking the crosswalk or you are actually nosed out into the cross street, especially if you are making cars divert around you, you are certainly ripe for a ticket.If the street doesn’t have any markings, you still need to stop far enough back to allow pedestrians to cross the street.There is still a crosswalk there, even though it’s not marked.
Changing Lanes Under A Traffic Light Illegal?
It isn't the traffic signal. It is normally illegal to change lanes in intersections, whether it is a light, a stop sign, or uncontrolled.
Do I get a fine when I cross the white line in green light and stocked into the intersection until the light turns red?
Never enter an intersection during your green light, if you can not leave it. It is for for its availability to the other drivers during your red light.
How long must I wait at a red light before I can "legally" go forward/turn, etc?
There really is no answer to this. Technically you cannot disobey a traffic control device unless directed by someone who is controlling traffic.I assume that you are not talking about a situation where there is an allowed “Right On Red” where as long as you come to a complete stop, and it is safe to turn you may do so.From reading your question, I think you are talking about that light that does not change to green.Couple of things, most lights these days have sensors to detect a vehicle at the light, which will cause the light to change.What I have seen very often is that people think that it is better to stop back further away from a light. That is not the truth, you should stop at the line before the light, most intersections have this line and may even have a sign that says “Stop here on red” this is to guide you to the sensors. So if you are stuck at that light that seems to not be changing then pull forward more and you may trigger it. The sensors used to be cut into the roadway, if you ever noticed a square cut into the road before a light? Well that is where they put a sensor wire. These days they are not really used anymore. Cameras are used on top of the lights. And NO these cameras are not “Red Light Cameras” where they issue tickets.Now if you have pulled forward a bit, you are stopped where you are supposed to be stopped, and there is a sign that says “NO TURN ON RED”. If you go through the light, you can get a ticket. Now I know of some lights that are sometimes faulty and the sensors just don’t work some times.Now depending on the agency, (size of the agency) you can call the police desk and let them know that the light has not changed in X minutes. Now this is not authorization to go through the light. But using my agency for example, we are a small town so there is usually always a patrol car in the area. So we can go there and check on it, and if the traffic is backed up, we will manually control traffic and check the light for cycling.So in the end “how long do I have to wait”, in the eyes of the law “Until the light turns green” or you are told to go by a police officer/traffic control officer.
Is it legal to run a red light to make way for a emergency vehicle?
Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, and this is not "legal advice". If you have been ticketed for running a red light in the situation you describe, you should consult a competent defense lawyer.In most jurisdictions, "necessity" is a general justification for actions that would otherwise be criminal. If you trespass on someone's property to save a person from drowning in a pool or pond on said property, the good greatly outweighs the harm.To your example, if your vehicle is blocking an emergency vehicle while stopped at a light, and the only way the obstruction can be cleared is if you pull into or through the intersection to make space, then it is necessary for you to do so, red light or otherwise. It is not, however, necessary for you to cause a collision in doing so; let the ambulance's lights and sirens clear the intersection (in many cities, emergency vehicles are also equipped with IR transmitters that will cycle the intersection to give them a green light as quickly as possible), and then pull through the intersection and then as far over as you can to let them by.
Whats the rule on Red light cameras?
You "run" a read light when your car has fully passed the white line. while the light is red. If you are in the intersection and it turns red. you are in the right. There is a sensor right behind the white line, when you cross it even with one tire, it flashes and takes a picture of your license plate, then it takes a picture when your back wheels roll over it, so that it has a picture of you over the line when it is red. Because you did not cross the line with both tires, you dont get a ticket. People check the pictures to make sure they are correct.
I passed a red light camera mid yellow turning red. Would I get ticketed?
I was on the Red Light Camera development team in British Columbia in the late 90's. Firstly, Red means STOP, as does Yellow ( unless you are so close that you cannot stop safely. There are two sensors in line before the intersection that determine your speed. They determine whether or not you will be able to stop for the red light. If not, the system will take a photo with evidence to process a ticket that is sent to the registered owner. Recent changes to the system and the law will enable the processing of speeding tickets through intersections on yellow also. Initially there were 120 camera locations sprinkled through the province with 30 film cameras rotated among them. Now all cameras are digital and live 24/7.Wherever you are, drive safely and obey traffic laws. Yours and others lives depend on it.