“Fail To Stop At A Red Light”

Hello;

I am looking for advice on how my hubby should proceed with a ticket he recieved for a fail to stop at a red light ticket.

He was in his fuel truck and approaching a light doing 45kms an hour, he was fully loaded. The light turned yellow and he proceeded through believing his truck would be sitting in the intersection if he tried to stop. He entered the intersection while the light was yellow and his trailers were still in the intersection when it turned red.

The police officer pulled him over and he explained why he went through the light, the officer called him liar and told him there was no way he was doing 45 and he could have stopped.My hubby apologized and said that if he attempted to stop his truck would have blocked the intersection the officer said i doubt that and asked for his log books. He said my logs are digital, the officer questioned him about his log books, he explained that the mto is able to access his computer. The officer asked for a print out but he is unable to do so. At this point the officer was yelling at him and demanded his license and registration. At this point my hubby apologized to the officer who clearly seemed frustrated and once again explained about the light and apologized. The officer returned to his car and came back 15 mins later with a ticket.

I truely believe we should fight this ticket, i was wondering what kind of advice anyone has for us, and how should we proceed.

Thanks in advance to anyone who reply!

You probably don't have much to lose by going to trial. Your husband will simply need to present his version of event and hopefully convince the JP that the light was amber when he entered the intersection.

Thanks for ur reply.

We just have no idea what to expect or even what to do to proceed. We have never had to dispute a traffic ticket before.

All the options are explained on the back of the ticket. You'd most likely want to select option 3 and proceed to trial. Your husband will have to present his version of what happened and then it will be up to the Justice of the Peace to determine if they find him credible.

Your husband should probably take some notes about what he recalls, including the conditions, the speed, his experience in driving the fuel truck, his noting the amber light, etc. There are also some good cases that you can read up on that may apply to your situation, such as the R. v. Sandhu case. In Sandhu, the defendant was charged with running a red light. He got on the stand and testified that when he crossed the stop line, the signal was amber. He was credible and consistent, and the Justice of the Peace found in his favour and dismissed the charge. Since your husband is certain that he entered on amber, and that he would not be able to safely stop the vehicle (probably a reasonable assumption based on his experience and the fact that he was driving a fuel truck), I'd say there's a reasonable chance of testifying successfully... if you prepare properly.

After you submit the ticket and a notice of intent to appear (go to the courthouse and they'll help you fill out the paperwork), they'll send you a trial date in the mail.

Keep us posted...