I got a ticket for running a red light,however i was nto speeding and i was looking to see if it is worth trying to fight in court or just pre-paying.I was hoping to avoid the ticket with extenuating(sp) circumstances,i was driving a 98 expedition on 20's with a motor and tow dolly in the back.Now the thing is it turned red just as i hit the line and i was coming off a off ramp going 2under(38 mph) and if i would have stopped the motor and dolly both would have shifted and smashed the rear glass,i pointed that out to the cop and he said "every action has a consequence"

my question is does anybody think a judge would let it fly and avoid the ticket with the given information,the braking distance of 38 mph in a expedition along with additional weight in the back,and possible damage to cars behind me if i would have stopped.

i know i should have tryed to stop but i didnt have a quick enough reaction and was worried about stopping in the middle of the intersection.any thoughts/comments are well appreciated

 

If the cop was nice he should have given you a warning. We did the same thing with our race trailer in Detroit a few weeks ago and got warned. Usually cops have enough intelligence to realize that trying to grab a late light is a lot more dangerous than running it. He wouldn't have ticketed a dump truck I'd be willing to bet.

 

well i believe he was in training there was a officer in the passenger seat telling him what to do and how to do it,but i just found this

Comparison of Braking Distance

Vehicle Braking Distance 60 - 0 mph
Jeep Cherokee 128'
Ford Crown Victoria 136'
Ford Explorer 148'
Ford Expedition 4WD 157'
Chevy Tahoe 4WD 165'


tow dolly=200 pounds motor+tranny a good 250-350 pounds wheels about 50 a piece


im deabting this because i want to avoid the court charge and hopefully the ticket

 

Pay it, you were in the wrong.

If you would have upgraded your brakes to go along with your bigger/heavier wheels, maybe then you could have stopped in time. I'm sure you saw the light was yellow as you were approaching, that's to let you know to stop.

 

What is your avatar? I think thats a civic hatchback.. but I cant make out the rest.

 

Scroll down and you'll see the big version.


https://www.vadriven.com/forums/show...=192197&page=2

 

well its not my car im not very aware of the stopping distance,i know i should have i actually tried then rethought it and proceded(sp),the cop also asked ''why did you hold your brake down through the light but now stop before it'' all in all i was trying to save the rear window as he noticed but still decided to be a prick

 

fight it dude....

 

What's there to fight?

You shut your mouth.

 

yup. The judge is just going to tell you that you need to realize that your stopping distance would be greater and you should have been traveling slower. It doesn't make a difference that you were going 2mph under. Sorta like how you can get a ticket for going 62 in a 65mph zone, if it's snowing heavily. However, if you ran from the cops and hit a dumpster, you'd get some sympathy on here

sorry I couldn't resist