I was pulled over today.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by btimbit

Block all numbers you don't know then I guess? I'm not saying you're weird for not wanting the call, I'm just saying him making the call is normal and happens all the time

I get that and I maintain it's invasive and stupid as evidenced by the fact that in the one and only time I've ever heard of this happening the cop called the wrong person at an ungodly time and then embarked upon a high-speed ice chase on our public roads, thus making things more dangerous for all of us.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Sliver

I fought my yellow light ticket and lost.

Apparently the law says yellow = stop. That's the whole rule. It's why I lost. I don't even know why we have yellow lights since that's the exact same thing red means.

Only consolation for me was the cop did show up to fight me and he was dressed like a cowboy for Stampede. He asked/bullied me before our appointed time to try to pressure me into not fighting the ticket. I didn't relent so this dude had to go change out of his little costume and into his uniform. I think he was more pissed about that than I was for having to pay a whole bunch of money because I went through a yellow light instead of slamming on my brakes on ice.

That’s surprising. I haven’t been to traffic court often but the last time I went there seemed to be lenience toward even crossing a red in bad conditions, and it was only the people who ran a red without brake lights showing or in good conditions that seemed to get no leniency. I’ve never heard of anyone being tagged for crossing a yellow (until now).

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by zamler

Rule says stop unless it is unsafe to stop. Which can mean anything, so you're screwed if you get a ticket.

No it doesn't. It specifically states this:

Drivers and pedestrians must not enter the intersection when the light is yellow.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

That’s surprising. I haven’t been to traffic court often but the last time I went there seemed to be lenience toward even crossing a red in bad conditions, and it was only the people who ran a red without brake lights showing or in good conditions that seemed to get no leniency. I’ve never heard of anyone being tagged for crossing a yellow (until now).

I know. I wandered in there with all the confidence in the world that I'd be getting off.

Nope. It is illegal to enter an intersection if the light is yellow.

And think of the impracticality of that rule. If you're, like, two meters before the intersection going 60 and the light turns yellow, you've just broken the law and can get ticketed.

I know. It happened to me.

And it's also crazy to think that the cop couldn't even get me on a red light ticket. Like, I was through the intersection before the light even turned red. He was such a loser.

[rohara66]

Originally Posted by Sliver

That's a struggler move. If you aren't speeding and didn't realize going the speed limit was going to trigger phone calls to your wife and a high speed ice chase then why would you slow down?

Also, if the cop could have thought a little faster, the safest and most prudent thing to do would have been to light JonDuke up right then and there. No phone calls and no speeding to catch a guy on crappy roads.

If the cop let him go by and then had to chase him down some minutes later, he probably should have just left well enough alone and decided to catch the next guy going too fast.

But seriously, I'm still just annoyed for JonDuke and his wife about the ridiculous 5:30 a.m. phone call and then an ice chase over basically nothing. And then just to give him a warning? That's so fkn dumb. So JonDuke was causing enough chaos out there to require a phone call and a chase, but his behaviour wasn't so egregious that he deserved a ticket? Then leave him alone hah. I've been ticketed for running a yellow light when the roads were icy. They'll ticket you if they can. I think this was too nebulous to even ticket...that seems pretty easy to fight IMO. Just a cop looking to flex on us a little.

This. Total joke move by CPS.



Shocked the cop didn't hammer the OP with some sort of ticket to help their 'serve and collect' quotas.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by jar_e

I imagine there’s always likely some sort of wait. Obviously how much effort people want to put in to verify this will vary from person to person. It’s definitely not an instant thing.

Would you want to wait on hold with someone for 20+ minutes while they called the non-emergency line to verify? Seems not-ideal to me, but also pretty unreasonable to expect people to assume that just because some on the phone says they're a cop that they are in fact a cop.

[opendoor]

Originally Posted by Sliver

No it doesn't. It specifically states this:

That's just a summary. The actual law includes the caveat that the stop must be able to be made safely:

Yellow traffic lights

53(1) When, at an intersection, a yellow light is shown by a traffic control signal at the same time as or following the showing of a green light, a person driving a vehicle that is approaching the intersection and facing the yellow light shall stop the vehicle before entering

(a) the marked crosswalk on the near side of the intersection, or

(b) if there is not any marked crosswalk, the intersection,

unless the stopping of that vehicle cannot be made in safety.

https://www.canlii.org/en/ab/laws/re...-304-2002.html

[Doctorfever]

Originally Posted by Sliver

No it doesn't. It specifically states this:

I fought a red light ticket when I was 16. Took the day off school to represent myself. It was fun, after I was on the stand the judge asked me if I would accept 50% off the ticket. I agreed and that was that.

It was also icy, winter conditions. Had I “stopped” it would have been in the intersection. The police officer was a dick when he pulled me over, but after the court was over he came up to me and we shook hands.

Was an experience at 16 for sure!

[Acey]

Originally Posted by TrentCrimmIndependent

Any FWD sedan needs quality tires. They're the first victims to get stuck or spin out somewhere.

You sure it's not RWD coupes on less than ideal tires?

Cause anybody who has actually driven a car would say that, on equal tires, a light RWD coupe would be more difficult to manage than a FWD sedan for the average person.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by opendoor

That's just a summary. The actual law includes the caveat that the stop must be able to be made safely:

https://www.canlii.org/en/ab/laws/re...-304-2002.html

Okay, but that's unfightable/unwinnable because we're back to trusting a cop's judgement over my judgement.

The rule is crystal clear. The judge explained it to me. "Yellow means stop. Did you proceed through the intersection even though the light was yellow?" "Yes, but it was unsafe to stop because of the ice." "Guilty. It is illegal to enter an intersection on a yellow and that cop over there says it was safe."

Boom. Done. Here's my $300 or whatever it was.

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

Would you want to wait on hold with someone for 20+ minutes while they called the non-emergency line to verify? Seems not-ideal to me, but also pretty unreasonable to expect people to assume that just because some on the phone says they're a cop that they are in fact a cop.

I guess, but if the message was "Hey this is Constable Dingleberry, I think you're driving too fast for the conditions, slow down" are you really going to bother calling to verify if it's a cop or not?

Any of the calls I've gotten from the police, the context of none of them were really something where I felt I should verify the persons identity. If it's a serious conversation, they're going to have it in person

[Torture]

Originally Posted by btimbit

That's why he tried to call first


I agree with the rest of your post but the phone call isn't weird or ridiculous

Maybe, but unless you made the call you don't get to determine the cop's intent...

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by btimbit

I guess, but if the message was "Hey this is Constable Dingleberry, I think you're driving too fast for the conditions, slow down" are you really going to bother calling to verify if it's a cop or not?

Any of the calls I've gotten from the police, the context of none of them were really something where I felt I should verify the persons identity. If it's a serious conversation, they're going to have it in person

Why are cops calling you? I've never had this happen to me.

[jar_e]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

Would you want to wait on hold with someone for 20+ minutes while they called the non-emergency line to verify? Seems not-ideal to me, but also pretty unreasonable to expect people to assume that just because some on the phone says they're a cop that they are in fact a cop.

I mean I wouldn’t be waiting for them. I’d give them my number and they can phone/email me back. I appreciate people’s scrutiny for not believing it may be a cop and will talk to them whenever they’re satisfied. If it’s urgent, I’ll figure out another way to make contact with them.

[zamler]

Originally Posted by Sliver

No it doesn't. It specifically states this:

The law is horribly written probably on purpose. If the light turns yellow when you are 1mm from the stop line you can't stop, but technically you are breaking the law? If this was true then photo radar would be dishing out tickets for every driver that proceeded through the intersection when the light was yellow, but did not turn red while they were still in the intersection.

AMA interprets the law as this:

Safely Approaching Yellow Lights

Yellow lights, also known as amber lights, let drivers know that the light is about to turn red. If you’re approaching a yellow light, use proper judgement to determine if you have time to safely clear the intersection before the light turns.

You must be able to completely clear the intersection before the yellow light turns red (Figure 3). If the light turns red while you’re still in the intersection, you’re running a red light (Figure 4). The exception to this rule is if you’re waiting to turn left and the light turns yellow - you complete your turn and clear the intersection when it is safe to do so (Figure 5). The vehicle behind you is not allowed to enter the intersection.

If that is not indeed how the law works then the law is idiotic.

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Why are cops calling you? I've never had this happen to me.

The most recent one was from the RCMP up north somewhere, someone noted my plate because I was pulled over to the side of a rural road in an area that had had a lot of theft recently. Told him I was on my way home from Lloydminster and probably just pulled over to take a leak, and that was that

[jar_e]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Why are cops calling you? I've never had this happen to me.

Shockingly people have different experiences than you do? Is it really that mind blowing that the police phone people? What a ridiculous statement.

[Torture]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Okay, but that's unfightable/unwinnable because we're back to trusting a cop's judgement over my judgement.

The rule is crystal clear. The judge explained it to me. "Yellow means stop. Did you proceed through the intersection even though the light was yellow?" "Yes, but it was unsafe to stop because of the ice." "Guilty. It is illegal to enter an intersection on a yellow and that cop over there says it was safe."

Boom. Done. Here's my $300 or whatever it was.

If yellow means stop just like red, one has to wonder why we even bother with yellow and don't just go straight from green to red.
Think of the tiny number of dollars we could save by only having 2 lights instead of 3!

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by btimbit

The most recent one was from the RCMP up north somewhere, someone noted my plate because I was pulled over to the side of a rural road in an area that had had a lot of theft recently. Told him I was on my way home from Lloydminster and probably just pulled over to take a leak, and that was that

most recent one.............you sound sketchy

[zamler]

Originally Posted by Torture

If yellow means stop just like red, one has to wonder why we even bother with yellow and don't just go straight from green to red.

lol you have to admit that would be entertaining.