I'd say that the very first thing you need to do is find out what your law says about yellow lights. Where I live, unless you're already IN the intersection, not entering it, when the light turns yellow, you are violating the law.

My town has put up red light cameras and there was a big uproar about it, people claiming rear end accidents would go up, yadayada. Well, turned out that the collisions actually went down because people were more aware of the law after a few months.

Also, I'd been in an accident where I was in the intersection when the light turned yellow, and the other driver turned left in front of me. I hit her, but she was charged because she entered it after the light had changed.

And, one final word...I've been both rear ended and T-boned. I can tell you that I'd MUCH rather have a lower speed rear ending, from a car following too close, than to be t-boned at 45 mph from someone running a red or trying to beat a yellow.

Sorry this happened to you, it "is" upsetting.

I used to be an insurance claims adjuster for CA. "IF" your in an intersection and the light turns red? Then you ran a red light. Even if you enter when it's yellow. Two officers saw this? Then you can go to court instead of paying the ticket and have a judge decide if the decision stays....but "IF" your were the judge what would "you" say?

"MOST" insurance companies give you a one accident or ticket "pardon". So unless you change insurance policies, that's when it counts against you.....it shouldn't change your policy premiums to stay with your current company. In 5 years time, it's wiped off your insurance record.

Sorry, I hope your lucky Irish didn't run out, but it's the same here - you have to be IN the intersection when it turns yellow, not entering it, and if you're in the intersection when the light turns red, you ran a red light.

I know a guy who pays his lawyer 3 or 4 times what the fine would be to get him out of his tickets and keep his record clean. Maybe you can try that. If the town has only two lights, maybe you know the judge? I hope he's not the hanging type......

Seriously, I wish you the luck of the Irish in this matter.
Sherry

If you have an otherwise perfect driving record, retain an attorney. The attorney you retain will negotiate with the prosecutor to downgrade the violation to one that does not assign points. You will still pay court costs and fines, probably substantial, but you avoid the points on your driving record.

If you don't have a stellar driving record, I would still recommend retaining an attorney in order that you have proper representation and have the charge downgraded somewhat, probably not altogether, if possible.

Best of luck.

Yellow light means anticipate red in the eyes of the law. Better to abruptly stop than head into the intersection on yellow.

Thanks everyone, I do appreciate the feedback. Yes, I guess I need to see what the laws in Michigan are regarding a yellow vs. a red. My DH used to be a professional truck driver and he said his instructor said it does vary from state to state. When I told the officer it was yellow he didn't mention it still being illegal though, so maybe that's in my favor or maybe that's why he said he could have sited the other driver as well. I also don't understand why he's saying I made an illegal turn through the red. I didn't make any turns at any light. Also I'm having a problem with the fact that he wasn't even on my side of the road so he didn't actually see MY light, he saw the light facing the opposite direction. And being so far away, I don't understand how he could realistically say he knows what was going on from his vantage point. Grr...

Work in progress - thanks, while in earlier years, I admit I wasn't the best of drivers, I am a good driver now and have had a clean record for a while. I don't speed, use my phone while driving or drive like a bat out hell to get some where. I don't run yellows as a habit, only when I can't stop safely without ending up in the intersection. I've never considered hiring an attorney for a traffic ticket before...hmmm...I think I need to find out what the law stipulates first.

I also got a ticket for running a red light awhile back. It was yellow when I entered, but just as I went under the light, it turned red. Here in OH, I was told we can be ticketed for running a yellow. I had changed stations on the radio before I entered the intersection, & I think I missed when the light first turned yellow. If I were you, and were afraid of rising premiums & maybe losing your insurance, I would get an attorney. They can work magic & maybe make so you don't get any points at all. Just cost you some $$$.

I feel for you. The intersection to enter my little neighborhood is a bad one. The north/south street is only a single lane in either direction, and then there is a parking 'lane'/bike lane on each side. Still, it's busy because it's an alternate route for commuters that's off the beaten path, so much less traffic. Speed limit is 25 mph, but 40+ mph is common. The east/west cross street is just a little two lane street, not a shortcut to anywhere, just going into small residential areas.

To get home I have to make a left off the busier N/S street onto the quieter E/W street. I despise making that left. There is always some moron flying up on your tail end, swerving over into the bike/parking lane to skirt around you so they can sail on through the intersection without pause. I can't tell you how many times I've almost been rear ended. (It's not even a long light to wait for.) It's so bad it's habit for regulars to watch their rear view as much as watching ahead for an opportunity to turn.

The other afternoon I was coming home, same situation, waiting to turn left at the light. Car A was directly on my right, in the park/bike lane to make a right turn. So for a few moments we were adjacent to each other, taking up the entire south bound pavement. I hear a horn blaring and in my rear view see a twerp kid barreling down on both of us, easily doing doing at least 45. There was nowhere for Twerp to go and he wasn't slowing down. I couldn't turn due to oncoming traffic. Just at last possible moment Car A saw him too and floored it to make their right. Twerp then swerves over into the now empty park/bike lane, just missing Car A's bumper. But Twerp was thisclose to me, and as he flew past I heard a noise against my rear quarter panel like he had skimmed it by a hair's breadth. There was no damage but I had fumes coming out my ears. It could have been much worse, it's common for a cyclist or jogger to be in that little outer lane or kids waiting to cross to get to the park.
So yes, like you chose, if it's a toss up between being plowed into from behind or entering my left turn on a yellow or yellow turning red, I'm making that turn.

I've never had to fight a ticket, but can you video tape the intersection to show how closely people follow? I don't know if that would make a difference or not to a judge.

Yep, get an attorney - it's called deferred adjudication in Texas - keeps it off your record, but you must stay ticket-free for a while.

Moonshadow, thank you for your story! And thank goodness you weren't hit! Talk about luck, geeze. That's very much how it is here! 35 mph speed limit, driving 50+ in 2 lane roads w/little bike lanes. Last October when we got rear ended, we were stopped behind other cars and the kid who hit us did not even see us stopped. He had the nerve to imply it was my fault and asked me WHY I WAS STOPPED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD! Ummm, 8 - 10 cars were stopped at a red in front of me? He went under our car and the wheel on the back of my Jeep Liberty pushed the hood of his car up to his windshield! Too busy texting possibly?

That's not the first time I've been hit from the rear by a teen on this road, it's just the most recent, so I tend to watch what's going on behind me at these stops. I drive a lot and my car is my livelihood. I don't care about having to stop for a red and running yellows isn't a habit. When I learned to drive, I was taught the yellow is so drivers can either prepare to stop or have time to clear an intersection. I drive defensively with added incentive, I'm self employed and loosing my car = loss in income, I can't work without it.

greenthumbfish and ruthy, thank you, I'm taking that advise under SERIOUS consideration.

Were you on a road where people frequently go over the speed limit? Because if 2 police cars U-turned over the light, it could be that there was another police car checking speed or infractions on the side of your road before you even got to the light, and that's how they knew that light was yellow. (Like how police double up on speed traps: One has the speed machine, another one farther up gets the signal to pull the driver over.)

Hi Pammyfaye, thanks for your thoughts, sorry, I've been working and hadn't had time to check back. You have a very valid point and I know the state police do that on the freeways because I've seen them. I'm pretty sure our the local sheriff's department doesn't though since they only have 7 deputies to cover a very large area and this road isn't a big problem for them, that I know of any way.

After doing some research though and reading the responses to my post here, I could see that no matter what the truth is or what I say in court, chances are I'm taking a big risk if I fight it by myself. I know a lot of people say they didn't do it when they did and it's hard for the people in that line of work not to be cynical. But I still don't appreciate the fact that this officer felt it right to insinuate that I was a liar. I have a problem with the whole scenario but that part really irked me. I decided to take everyone's advise and hire an attorney. When I told him I thought the cop just wanted the over time in traffic court, he agreed that it's not uncommon and he said they know the magistrate will generally take their word for it. At this point, I'd much rather pay the attorney his 350.00 to fix it outside of court than to give that freaking cop the overtime he's looking for, besides I'd just rather not see him at all. Thanks for your idea though, here's hoping it works out for me. :c)

DD ran a yellow light(I was w/her, and KNOW it was yellow)about 6 months ago. The officer was sitting 1 block away(she had passed him)and around a corner. It was also evening and this was a small country road with street lights about every other block. Anyway, she was adamant, knowing the light was not red and she made the decision to contest the ticket. Her case came up about 3 months later and the officer showed up, giving his story. DD explained he was a block away and around a corner, but the judge took the officer's side.

Lukkirish, irregardless of that you *think* might happen, I would fight for the simple reason it's *your* truth, as well as on principle. In the United States we're lucky to have such rights, and even though things don't alwasy turn out the way we might wish, we have a choice. Good luck. ;o)

Hi Patty_cakes, I'm so sorry that happened to your DD, I certainly can relate! LOL. You're right, it's our right to dispute and if so much wasn't at stake, I absolutely would. Unfortunately, in our state, this ticket is a 3 point offense, which would raise our insurance by about 300.00/mo for 3 years. That's a lot of money that I can neither afford or justify having to pay because of principal; especially when I sense that the same thing that happened to your DD will happen to me. You know the system is corrupt when "Burden of proof" is supposed to be on the state yet an officer's word is accepted even in situations that make no logical sense. I don't have 500.00 to just throw around either, (ticket costs plus attorney fees) but at least by hiring an attorney to represent me, I have a good chance of it being pleaded down so it won't affect my insurance costs and that deputy won't be making any overtime on my behalf because it most likely won't even go to court. There really isn't an easy way around this at all financially which completely sucks when it's really not deserved.

WOW...I can't believe that insurance would be so madly affected! I guess we're lucky here, DH got a ticket for failure to stop for a school bus...we found out that even if a school bus is stopped at the far right lane of a 4 lane road, and you're in the furthest lane going the opposite direction, you still must stop. DH was the one caught, but there had been a lot of others doing it.

Our insurance only went up about 5%.

I know in our town, that if you get a ticket, the City (not the County) will automatically assume guilt, I had a judge tell that to the night court! That it is the way the City makes revenue. He allowed people to plead down, and therefore pay less $, but EVERYONE was found guilty. And you cannot get out of a parking ticket in our town. But if you're in the County...and our house is just outside city limits, the rules are completely different. It's crazy.

Yeah, insurance costs in Michigan were a huge shocker for us when we moved here. It was more than double what we paid in California without any tickets on either of our records. Apparently, part of the reason it's so high is there is no cap allowed on medical expenses for the insured. I don't know the specifics, but what has been explained to me is it doesn't matter what the cause is, if you have a heart attack, have an accident or get any type of injury while in your car, the auto insurance is responsible for your medical needs until you don't need them anymore. No matter what the situation, if you're in your car, you're covered. Also, it's a no fault state so for example, when I was rear ended by a teenager (texting?) while at a dead stop behind 8 other cars at that same light, it was my insurance company who took care of us and paid for our repairs. After we were back to new, they then negotiated with his insurance company for reimbursement. We were hit on a Saturday and our rear end was in need of some work. Within 24 hours an adjuster was at our house and 4 days later I was back on the road good as new. When a similar situation happened in California, I was in a rental for 2 months. It costs a lot and insurance companies are picky, but it seems you are completely protected in the end.

I think the there is something terribly wrong with the system if there is no way someone can prove their innocence and be let off of a ticket. The entire system is just broken and corrupt.

lukkiirish,

My husband had gotten a ticket quite a few years ago in a very similar situation. He was able to get that ticket thrown out when he appeared in court,when he stressed to the judge that the police did not see the same face of the light he did, since they were on the other side of the street. That seemed to seal the deal, as they could not swear they saw the same light sequence he did.

Bluebird, well it's sad to see I"m not the only one this has happened to but I'm so glad your DH had the outcome that he did. When it first happened to me, I thought the exact same thing he did. Surely if I dispute this I have a chance of winning since he's on the other side of the road and didn't even see the intersection. Unfortunately, from the sounds of it, economics is the catalyst in my situation. It's obvious the municipalities in many areas are using tickets as a method to boost their income. A few years back, I would have felt a lot more confident about having a similar outcome. Actually, if I posted an ariel view of the street scene most people would agree because it's only common sense. However, what I've learned through this experience is the courts don't seem to care anymore. They just want their money and they're going to get it no matter what the truth is. This reality makes me sad. I have always had a lot of respect for law enforcement and the deputy who helped us with our accident was wonderful. I'm hopeful this cop and he's methods to boost revenue are the exception and not the rule.