Ticket for going through amber light

Hi all!

I was hoping for some advice...

We live near the Quebec border but are Ontario drivers.

My husband was driving on the Qc side when he went through an amber light. Two other cars followed him through. The police were the third car back and they had to pass the two other cars to stop my husband. They all went through the same amber light. The two other cars had Qc plates.

My husband went through the light and it was amber the whole way through, it did not turn red half way and my husband was not speeding and he did not speed up.

Can my husband fight this? Or is the fact that this was a qc offense disqualify him for advice on this forum?

Hello,

Thanks for your Post.

Just to let you know, Quebec drivers are always welcomed, and any other drivers from Canada, can also take part in this forum.

I think if you were charged with crossing a red light, your best bet may be a plea bargain.

Maybe some other members will share their thoughts about this one.

Thanks again.

Admin

www.OHTA.ca

Just to clarify:

My husband is an Ontario driver who was fined for an offense on the Quebec side.

There was no violation of a red light. The light was amber (yellow) all the way through.

What was the charge for then?

Where were you pulled over? ON or Quebec?

Quebec road = Quebec rules. I am not familiar with those, however:

If they stopped your husband, they should have stopped the Quebec driver too. If they did not then you definetly have a case. You can also easily argue that the cop himself is at fault, for he must have ran the red light, which is illegal even for the cop.

The violation was for qoing through an amber (yellow) light. The ticket says:

Driver of a vehicle has a yellow light did not stop before the stop line. (this is translated, the ticket was written in french)

The violation occurred on the Quebec side. And there were two (2) other cars who went through the same yellow behind my husband, three if you count the police cruiser. The police had to pass these two other cars in order to stop my husband.

Audj wrote:

The violation was for qoing through an amber (yellow) light. The ticket says:

Driver of a vehicle has a yellow light did not stop before the stop line. (this is translated, the ticket was written in french)

The violation occurred on the Quebec side. And there were two (2) other cars who went through the same yellow behind my husband, three if you count the police cruiser. The police had to pass these two other cars in order to stop my husband.

Prove that there were other drivers who followed him through the light and your husband can claim if he stopped he would have caused an accident. Can you go with your husband to court if you fight the ticket?

That might be difficult as he was alone in the vehicule.

racer wrote:

...which is illegal even for the cop.

Not true. Police officers are exempt from traffic laws while performing their duty.

I, too, would fight this charge. I would be sure to question the officer (on the stand) about the cars between. I would make a closing statement describing the entire situation, then hope the judge is fair and unbiased when making his ruling.

More information could be gained from this thread:

http://forums.blueline.ca/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=13184

So we know why he got the ticket, , now he just needs to explain the situation in court. He could probably do it himself, if he feels comfortable with it.

Audj wrote:

The violation was for qoing through an amber (yellow) light. The ticket says:

Driver of a vehicle has a yellow light did not stop before the stop line. (this is translated, the ticket was written in french)

The violation occurred on the Quebec side. And there were two (2) other cars who went through the same yellow behind my husband, three if you count the police cruiser. The police had to pass these two other cars in order to stop my husband.

Well I wouldn't recommend walking into court and telling that story to the judge. JP will never believe that, unless the cop agrees to your story. Do you really think the cops going to say that he passed 2 other offenders and then stopped your husband just because he felt like it? No, hes going to say I stopped him because he passed the yellow, and the other cars did not, if there were any behind you.

Also, even if he did choose to only pinpoint your husband, then he still has the right to do that based on his good judgment.

Think logically because courts hear these type of stories every single day. And if your story is proving the cop wrong, then it wont even be considered without proof.

I think a plea bargain can be more beneficial here.