Traffic Infringement Dilemma

[zorb_rules]

yeah def go court..and honestly I wouldnt bother too much with the p plates mainly go for the ofailing to obeying signals...

[W0rp3D]

Thanks for everyones opinions.

It sounds like most people are suggesting that I should take this issue to court than write a letter..?

you can try writing a letter first, a guy at work did that, he got declined and then he took it to court.

[dalostcambo]

Sorry to bring the old thread back to life but I'm assuming that you know why...

The letter for both infringements were rejected by Civic Compliance, which means now I have to take it to the Magistrates Court.

I'm wondering if anyone knows any solicitors or should I just seek 'legal aid'?

Thanks in advanced for the replies.

[m3nG]

gee that sux.. cant do much about the P plates but i woulda thought they'd let you off the hook for running the light, i see heavy vechicles do it all the time & i was pretty sure they were allowed to as it'll be safer to do so then to slam on the brakes. I work in logisitics as well and i see alot of damaged stock coming back from deliveries where the truckie slammed on the brakes due to other cars cuttin them off. Find yourself a good solicitor, preferably someone that has experince with traffic offences. Legal aid are ok if you're on a budget but i guess you'll get what you pay for. As driving is your profession you cant afford to lose your licence, hopefully the courts see empathy towards ya. All comes down to the juge on the day.. though most likely they wouldnt give a rats ass if you need your licence for work. all the best anyways!

[dalostcambo]

I thought I would've gotten off the P-Plate and not the amber light!

Does anyone know any Traffic Law solicitors? Only found one and that's in the city.

I guess I should also take in the remaining P-Plates which were sitting in the truck.

I'd like to see what the judge has to say when he/she sees one of my P-Plate.

Left one of them in the truck and how do I get it back? The P side says "PRI*K" and the L side says "LOONEY" -_-"

[W0rp3D]

i see heavy vechicles do it all the time & i was pretty sure they were allowed to as it'll be safer to do so then to slam on the brakes.

I was told when i got my license that if you run a red light that you dont get a fine for it as there more forgiving for trucks, in the last 5 years i have been flashed 3 0r 4 times and never got a fine.

I work in logisitics as well and i see alot of damaged stock coming back from deliveries where the truckie slammed on the brakes due to other cars cuttin them off.

Thats got more to do with the way the truck is loaded, if something is unstable it should either be put behind something bigger and solid or tied down, found out all these things in the first 6-12 months of driving trucks now i never have a problem, you will find most good drivers that have been driving for a couple of years dont have these problems, if they do them there the type of people your company can do with out.

[some_cs_student]

I thought I would've gotten off the P-Plate and not the amber light!

Does anyone know any Traffic Law solicitors? Only found one and that's in the city.

I guess I should also take in the remaining P-Plates which were sitting in the truck.

I'd like to see what the judge has to say when he/she sees one of my P-Plate.

Left one of them in the truck and how do I get it back? The P side says "PRI*K" and the L side says "LOONEY" -_-"

According to the automated camera definition of running a red, your front wheels must cross the line at the start of the pedestrian crossing, or close to the stopping line 0.5seconds after the light goes red.

EDIT: The police definition will obviously be more strict, as they can judge that you "could have safely stopped".

I'd recommend finding a good solicitor, judge's tend to hate when people are defending themselves and have a history and are about to lose there license, then again they also are against incorrectly issued fines so if you were careful with the amber light you might get off it

[dalostcambo]

Can anyone recommend a solicitor for me?

[Mean_R34]

Show me a rule that says you can't run an amber light. It's all above board.

If it turned red halfway through the intersection, as you say it did, then you're laughing.

On the other hand, if you actually crossed the stop line when the light was red, then "you're nicked!"

[W0rp3D]

Show me a rule that says you can't run an amber light. It's all above board.

If it turned red halfway through the intersection, as you say it did, then you're laughing.

On the other hand, if you actually crossed the stop line when the light was red, then "you're nicked!"

Go read the rules again, if it is an amber as you are approaching an intersection you must prepare to stop, if you dont and a cop spots you then it is up to his judgment as to whether or not you were able to stop.

Dont go handing out advise on matters you clearly know very little or nothing about.

[SKYL1N]

forgot about this thread.. interesting to see whats been going on. good luck mate.

[Ant97GTR]

Show me a rule that says you can't run an amber light. It's all above board.

If it turned red halfway through the intersection, as you say it did, then you're laughing.

On the other hand, if you actually crossed the stop line when the light was red, then "you're nicked!"

Go read the rules again, if it is an amber as you are approaching an intersection you must prepare to stop, if you dont and a cop spots you then it is up to his judgment as to whether or not you were able to stop.

Dont go handing out advise on matters you clearly know very little or nothing about.

Actually mean R34 is correct...legally and as per the rules. As long as you don't SPEED UP to run the amber there is no problem with driving through an amber light. The light sequence timing isn't a coincidence....the amber light stays amber long enough to allow a car travelling at or just below the speed limit enough time to cross the intersection from a pre-determined distance away. This timing and 'set distance' is worked out using various factors (such as reaction time, enviroment) to allow for both a safe stop and a safe crossing of the intersection before the red.

[W0rp3D]

Download the file below, go to page labeled 27 (33 in acrobat), you will see it says "yellow means stop unless you are unable to do so safely" so therefore it is up to the cops judgment as to whether or not it was safe for him to stop, i have not read back through the thread but from what i can remember he was worried about his freight going every where, that is his problem and it should have been secured before it left the depot, or atleast that is what a judge will say.

Rules Handbook

[Ant97GTR]

Lol brett you don't need to quote the road rule book to me and I'm not arguing with the "yellow means stop unless you are unable to do so safely".

What I'm saying is that the yellow light is timed to allow for the above. *Usually* a cop will only issue a fine for the above is if you have sped up for the yellow as it is obvious that you should've stopped. I will repeat...it is not ILLEGAL to cross an intersection on a yellow light if in your opinion you were not able to stop safely.

[W0rp3D]

Thats where the problem lies, as with most things involving cops what you think does not mean shit, its up to what the cop thinks, ever heard the phrase innocent till proven guilty, well more and more these days its guilty untill you prove your innocent.

[dalostcambo]

Download the file below, go to page labeled 27 (33 in acrobat), you will see it says "yellow means stop unless you are unable to do so safely" so therefore it is up to the cops judgment as to whether or not it was safe for him to stop, i have not read back through the thread but from what i can remember he was worried about his freight going every where, that is his problem and it should have been secured before it left the depot, or atleast that is what a judge will say.

Rules Handbook

Thanks for the support Brett.

Actually, all the freight is palletized and cage-stacked so I'm not fussed about freight going everywhere.

It's the fact that I'm driving a medium rigid which feels really unstable. I reckon I woulda locked up instead of stopping!

Even this morning coming back from Geelong, when it comes to turning, I had to slow to around 5-10km/h and turn really slowly.

[Ant97GTR]

Danny,

If I was in your shoes and at risk of loosing my licence over this (the fact that you don't have the best history may work against you), I'd take it to court get up and tell the court that I haven't done an advanced driving course in my truck and therefore have no idea how the truck would react in a heavy braking situation. As such, when I was approaching this set of lights and it turned yellow, knowing/judging that I would safely cross the intersection under the yellow light, I made the decision to drive through it to avoid a potential brake lock up and possible accident.

The policeman could argue that in his/her opinion the truck could've stopped but I'm sure that when asked how much experience he had of driving this kind of vehicle, his/her answer would leave the magistrate/judge with only one way to view this case.

Please note that I am not a lawyer or anything related to such this, I am just viewing this from a logical.driving point of view and we should all know that law and logical don't usually end up in the same sentence

[dalostcambo]

Cheers for that Ant, I'll keep that in mind.