Right Turn on Red Light, CVC 21453(A)

I got a ticket through a traffic camera, barely received today. I was looking under that code and i think it shouldve been (B) instead of (A). will it make a difference? any one here have experience with one of these tickets? i made a turn while the other lane was making a left turn so there was no way of an accident and where i live some intersections are allowed with a green arrow to make a right turn while the other lane are making a left turn, i was going slow but did not come to a complete stop. any advice? thanks!
heres a picture of my situation to clarify im the black integra

http://s71.photobucket.com/albums/i1...tickkkkket.jpg

Looks like you did not stop at the stop line, but over the crosswalk.

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21453. (a) A driver facing a steady circular red signal alone shall stop at a marked limit line, but if none, before entering the crosswalk on the near side of the intersection or, if none, then before entering the intersection, and shall remain stopped until an indication to proceed is shown, except as provided in subdivision (b).

(b) Except when a sign is in place prohibiting a turn, a driver, after stopping as required by subdivision (a), facing a steady circular red signal, may turn right, or turn left from a one-way street onto a one-way street. A driver making that turn shall yield the right-of-way to pedestrians lawfully within an adjacent crosswalk and to any vehicle that has approached or is approaching so closely as to constitute an immediate hazard to the driver, and shall continue to yield the right-of-way to that vehicle until the driver can proceed with reasonable safety.

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No signs that say no turn on red. Boy, I hate traffic cameras. Any video with yours? They have to prove your guilty. Saying you did not stop will not help your defense lol. You don't have to prove anything, the state does.

what do you mean by no signs? there is a video and it clearly shows me yielding but no stopping when i turned

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Quoting RnStudent909

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what do you mean by no signs? there is a video and it clearly shows me yielding but no stopping when i turned

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If you don't stop at the red light, 21453(a) applies, PERIOD. If you did stop, and then turned right when a sign saying "no turns on right" was posted, OR you stopped, but then turned right while a pedestrian was supposedly in the crosswalk, then 21453(b) would apply.

Post the intersection and city, please. With the video, you're usually toast.

waterman ave and highland ave right next to St. B's medical center. I see the difference between A and B. Well imma try to pull it off if possible i will probably just say that i assumed that its a right turn automatically since in waterman and hospitality thats the way the lights are set up and i did yield and made sure the other lane were making a left turn w their green arrow.

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Quoting RnStudent909

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waterman ave and highland ave right next to St. B's medical center. I see the difference between A and B. Well imma try to pull it off if possible i will probably just say that i assumed that its a right turn automatically since in waterman and hospitality thats the way the lights are set up and i did yield and made sure the other lane were making a left turn w their green arrow.

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It seems like a pretty recent installation, Google Street View doesn't show any red light cameras at that intersection.

Yousa can try to pull off whatever you want, but you stand a much better chance, if you have the time and inclination, with all of the procedural defenses available for red-light tickets.

You are guilty of (a). (A) says you must stop at a red light unless you comply with (b) to do a right turn on red. If you didn't obey (b) doing the right turn, then you also didn't obey (a).

thanks guys well im going to try to contest this ticket, its 521! yikes...i will plea not guilty and take it from there hopefully it can get reduced, i mean whats the worst that can happen after i plea not guilty

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Quoting RnStudent909

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i mean whats the worst that can happen after i plea not guilty

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You have to pay the full fine, of course...AND you may NOT get to take traffic school to take off the point, even if you are eligible. You should know that a ticket is almost NEVER reduced once you begin to contest it. It's not like the prosecutor is going to be begging YOU to take a plea deal for less $$$$. The minimum fine for RLC tickets, is , in fact, set in law and rare is the judge who will even try to reduce it.

wow... so its really that bad..? i remember when i first did my first undergrad i did a burn out in a empty parking lot.... long story short i was 18 and there was a cop hiding behind a bush... i was going to pay full amount but after research it was a 2 pt ticket and misdemeanor so i contest the ticket and won ;) .....comparing that incident to this one..... the camera seems harder to get out of?

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Quoting RnStudent909

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wow... so its really that bad..? i remember when i first did my first undergrad i did a burn out in a empty parking lot.... long story short i was 18 and there was a cop hiding behind a bush... i was going to pay full amount but after research it was a 2 pt ticket and misdemeanor so i contest the ticket and won ;)

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Ahhhh, young jedi...I think I understand the source of your misunderstandings! :)

See, the red light stuff is an infraction, the least serious kind of crime there is (in CA). The next step on the seriousness ladder is a misdeameanor, followed by a felony. Infractions can only be punished by a fine, no possibility of jail time. Not so for misdemeanors. Hence, for a misdemeanor, you have two things that don't happen in infractions:

1. An attorney from the DA's office has to prosecute the offense, show up in court, etc.
2. You have the RIGHT to a jury trial.

Because of both of the time and effort both of these may take, more so #2 than #1, DA's often don't bother with prosecuting pure "driving" misdemeanors like reckless and will either cut a plea deal or may even drop the case, depending on their workload. (The most common exception to this rule, for misdemeanors, is of course...DUIs). Put simply, you just weren't worth the money (and/or the time) then.

This is different...the DA's office typically doesn't even know about infractions, much less bother with them. The court handles everything, no need for any prosecutor, and no right to a jury trial. Hence, no incentive to cut a plea deal, much less drop the case. If you call or visit most DA's offices and ask to speak to a DDA about an infraction, they'll just laugh (hopefully to themselves) and tell you to go talk to the court clerks or judge.

So, to cut my long story short, you CAN try to beat red light tickets after coming up with a defense. See this thread for an example. If you're VERY lucky, the officer may even not show up in court. But "fighting" it by just hoping the other side will fold and offer you a plea or dismiss...is not going to happen in this case.

wow... im pretty much screwed... whats your advice? the amount i got to pay is 530! cant believe its sooo expensive, is there any way this can be reduced? thanks guys i really appreciate the advice

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Quoting RnStudent909

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wow... im pretty much screwed... whats your advice? the amount i got to pay is 530! cant believe its sooo expensive, is there any way this can be reduced? thanks guys i really appreciate the advice

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Doubt there's an easy way to reduce this. You can try going to one or two arraignment (appearance) sessions BEFORE your appearance date, at the same time, to see if the judge/commissioner you get reduces any tickets, especially red-light ones.

Otherwise, it's a simple equation: if your time is worth much more than $600 (traffic school fee), fight it. If not, pay up and be done with it.