Failure to Stop - Red Light (Yes, yes, another one)

Hey guys,

I'll try to keep this as short as possible.

I was given a ticket for "Failure to Stop - Red Light". I am certain that the light had just turned yellow as we crossed the line and about half way to three quarters of the way through the light changed to red. The officer came to my window and asked me "why didn't you stop at the yellow light". I'll be very honest, I was very nervous, didn't know what to expect and I believe I said something along the lines of "I thought I could make the light" which wasn't the case at all because I DID make it, but I was just so intimidated and flustered I don't know why I said that. Moving on, the officer asked for my license and registration and awhile later he came back with a $325 Failure to Stop - Red Light ticket. Ever since the officer had left my window to go back to his cruiser and issue me the ticket I thought to myself that I'm pretty certain I did nothing wrong, and I don't know why I had just potentially incriminated myself by saying something out of sheer nervousness. The officer came back with the ticket and I asked him "what is the ticket for?" the officer said "you failed to stop at the red light". Then, when my nervousness went away I said to the officer "Officer, with all due respect, I'm certain the light changed to red about half way through the intersection and not when I was before the stop line". The officer then said "I don't want to argue with you, I have video evidence with me and It will be used against you should you choose to go to court".

I know it's not much, but I certainly feel as if I was wronged. I don't deserve the Failure to Stop ticket, I mean, if anything I would accept a Failure to Stop - Amber light ticket but there's no way that I crossed the stop line after the light had turned red. There's just no way.

What I want to know from the community is whether or not I have reason to fight this case. I understand that I could have potentially incriminated myself initially when the officer said "You failed to stop at the yellow". But then if that was the case, why would the officer issue me a failure to stop at a red light ticket?

Furthermore, how would I asked for the court to view the video evidence? Like I said, I am 100% certain that the light was not red before I crossed the line. Just like the officer said, I would like for the court to view this video evidence because I know it would prove my innocence. So how do I go about doing that?

Anyway, would the contradiction in what the officer said and asking for video evidence give me a chance to win the case? This is a serious thing for me, my life for the next 3 years would be ruined if found guilty especially when I know there was no way I would ever run a red light. My insurance as a young adult and a newer car is already high,

Any help is much appreciated.

Kind regards,

Razy19

razy19 wrote:

What I want to know from the community is whether or not I have reason to fight this case. I understand that I could have potentially incriminated myself initially when the officer said "You failed to stop at the yellow". But then if that was the case, why would the officer issue me a failure to stop at a red light ticket?

I don't know anything about the video stuff, however, possibly the officer could review the video in the patrol vehicle and see that in fact the light was red prior to your vehicle entering the intersection, hence issued the red light charge. You can always ask for disclosure for this incident and see what the evidence is and go from there

I think your best bet is to pick option 3 on the back of your ticket and request a trial. Once you have received a court date you can file a request disclosure, this should get you a copy of the video as well as the officers notes and any other evidence they have against you. This link has a good little primer on how to go about requesting disclosure. http://www.ontariohighwaytrafficact.com/topic2959.html