Here is the section:
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.
In your post you wrote:
Quote:
I was facing a red light before turning right onto Junipero Serra. Since I saw cars making left turns from northbound Junipero Serra Blvd to Soughate, I know southbound traffic on Junipero Serra must be waiting for green light. And there was no pedestrian nor bicycles in my sight. Therefore I had nothing to yield to.
You write that you were "facing" a red light, but never said that you came to a COMPLETE stop at the limit line at the light. Did you?
Assuming you did stop, then you will have your say in your TBD and trial (of it goes to trial), and the officer will have his say. He will likely argue that he did not observe you come to a complete stop and that was a contributing factor his detention.
ALl you can really do is articulate what you can and bring in any photos that might help you prove your case ... though I am not sure how they will do that as you will argue the officer could NOT see you and he will argue that he could. Since he identified and stopped you, it's likely that he will prevail in that argument.
- Carl