Hey everyone,

Today I had a unique situation where I came to a red light that had a 'red light camera' (it's one of the big clunky stand-alone grey ones that sit to the right-rear behind stopped vehicles) in North York, Toronto.

I had stopped completely and was stopped for the majority of the red light. From behind me I see a police cruiser coming with siren and lights, and seeing that I was blocking the cruiser from passing, in the heat of the moment ran the red (I saw the small intersection was clear). Here is where it's tricky. The cruiser was a bit of a distance behind me, and I admittedly acted a bit too fast as the cruiser immediately made a quick right into a plaza area behind me instead of going through the intersection like I had thought, leaving me to look like the bad guy.

In retrospect I know I was completely wrong and should have waited for a honk or voice to tell me to move first. But that's besides the point right now.

Did the red light camera catch me? I was trying to read on how it works, and it seems it's only if you pass the white line right when the light turns red. After completely stopping, one can seemingly drive past the red light if they wanted to break the rules, and not get caught by the camera. Is this correct?

Also, in case the camera DID catch me, do you think this excuse would hold any weight in court? If not, what should I do? Would pleading guilty in person do any good or bad for me?

Thank you in advance.

My understanding is that the camera only activates if you cross the stop line above a certain speed (typically 25-30 km/hr). If you crossed from a dead stop, then you should be ok. That being said, I don't think you have a defence in Court if you were caught, especially since the cruiser didn't actually go through the intersection. My suggestion would be to turn right on the red if the cruiser needed you to yield.

Usually the camera flash is bright enough that you'll know if you've been caught, even it it's daylight. If you had stopped fully and didn't nail the gas to get out of the cop's way, you probably didn't get nabbed, as Stanton says.