Driving through a yellow box and lights turn red

[dan30]

Hi All,

I had to go through an amber light at a crossing today as I didn't feel it safe to stop, another car was tail gating me. The road has a 30mph limit.
After crossing the two solid lines at the lights there is a huge yellow box. As I entered the yellow box to go straight the lights turned red, before i was out of the yellow box.

Is that a fine and points?

Just to clarify I believe i was past both sets of solid lines at the lights on amber.
The exit of the yellow box was clear.

Any advice would we much appreciated!
Cheers

[youngsyr]

IANAL, but if you passed the lights on Amber and didn't stop in the yellow box then you're OK.

[Mandat]

dan30 said:

Hi All,

I had to go through an amber light at a crossing today as I didn't feel it safe to stop, another car was tail gating me. The road has a 30mph limit.
After crossing the two solid lines at the lights there is a huge yellow box. As I entered the yellow box to go straight the lights turned red, before i was out of the yellow box.

Is that a fine and points?

Just to clarify I believe i was past both sets of solid lines at the lights on amber.
The exit of the yellow box was clear.

Any advice would we much appreciated!
Cheers

You are overthinking this a bit, as the yellow box is irrelevant in your situation. Also, if you passed the stop line on an amber light, this wouldn't trigger a red light camera.

That being the case, what offence are you worried that you might have committed to warrant a fine & points?

[outnumbered]

dan30 said:

Hi All,

I had to go through an amber light at a crossing today as I didn't feel it safe to stop, another car was tail gating me. The road has a 30mph limit.
After crossing the two solid lines at the lights there is a huge yellow box. As I entered the yellow box to go straight the lights turned red, before i was out of the yellow box.

Is that a fine and points?

Just to clarify I believe i was past both sets of solid lines at the lights on amber.
The exit of the yellow box was clear.

Any advice would we much appreciated!
Cheers

Highway Code says you can proceed on an amber light in two cases: 1) You've already started to cross the line when the lights change ; 2) you haven't crossed the line, but it would be dangerous to stop. So it sounds like you would be OK here.

[Obviously one should always approach traffic lights being prepared for them to change, and if you just steam through everywhere at the road's speed limit, you'll eventually have a problem with the police or causing an accident]

[dan30]

Yeah you're right, probably stressing out about it too much, its not like i don't have enough on my mind anyway.

There is a dotted Pedestrian crossing after the last solid line at the lights. As the lights turned red, i can't be 100% sure the back of the car was out of the last dotted line (before the yellow box) of the Pedestrian crossing. I was worried there may be some kind of fine due because of that. I believe the front of the car was in the yellow box though when the light turned to red.

This happened in Bromley, on Tweedy Road (outside Bromley North Train station) if it helps anyone else.

Cheers for the reply

[sixor8]

There is a generous threshold, red light cameras take a photo after a delay (about 1.5s I think?), not at the same time as the lights go red. These day, I frequently see drivers going through reds a good while after they've turned red, deliberately.

[SkodaIan]

The rules about the yellow box are nothing to do with the colour of the traffic lights. Fundamentally you mustn't stop in it (unless waiting to turn right).

The rules about red lights are only about the stop line, not the rest of the junction beyond it. If you are past the stop line, those lights have no relevance to you any more. I've seen people panic many times when waiting to turn right but a couple of cars coming the other way jump the lights so they are red (and sometimes the lights going the other way go green!) before it's possible to turn right. As you're past the stop line, you turn complete the turn as soon as its safe to, not sit there like a pudding in the middle of the junction because "your" light is now red. Even worse are people who decide to reverse back!

If the rule was that the back of the vehicle had to be clear of the yellow box before the light turned red, every HGV driver in the country would end up getting banned within weeks......

[akirk]

Ahhh - explains your other thread...

worth a read...
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code

sounds as though you will be fine

[Pica-Pica]

These are two separate issues. Red light infringement, and a box junction.

You did not infringe a red light - no problem there.
Yellow Box junction, from what you said you did not infringe the rules.

[RSstuff]

SkodaIan said:

The rules about the yellow box are nothing to do with the colour of the traffic lights. Fundamentally you mustn't stop in it (unless waiting to turn right).

The rules about red lights are only about the stop line, not the rest of the junction beyond it. If you are past the stop line, those lights have no relevance to you any more. I've seen people panic many times when waiting to turn right but a couple of cars coming the other way jump the lights so they are red (and sometimes the lights going the other way go green!) before it's possible to turn right. As you're past the stop line, you turn complete the turn as soon as its safe to, not sit there like a pudding in the middle of the junction because "your" light is now red. Even worse are people who decide to reverse back!

If the rule was that the back of the vehicle had to be clear of the yellow box before the light turned red, every HGV driver in the country would end up getting banned within weeks......

So when there are lights before and after a junction, as long as a driver gets through the first light on amber, they can pass the second light on red, no matter how long it's been red?

[Pica-Pica]

RSstuff said:

So when there are lights before and after a junction, as long as a driver gets through the first light on amber, they can pass the second light on red, no matter how long it's been red?

Yes. The effective light is one next to the stop line. The light further on is for clarity, but relates to the same stop line.

[911hope]

dan30 said:

Hi All,

I had to go through an amber light at a crossing today as I didn't feel it safe to stop, another car was tail gating me. The road has a 30mph limit.
After crossing the two solid lines at the lights there is a huge yellow box. As I entered the yellow box to go straight the lights turned red, before i was out of the yellow box.

Is that a fine and points?

Just to clarify I believe i was past both sets of solid lines at the lights on amber.
The exit of the yellow box was clear.

Any advice would we much appreciated!
Cheers

Assuming there was a red light camera. It is triggered by crossing line, when light is red(plus some margin?).

Never triggered on amber.

Yellow box not relevant, to this issue....another rule. (Exit clear before entering)

This is basic knowledge. How on earth is it considered an "advanced driving" topic?

[RSstuff]

Pica-Pica said:

RSstuff said:

So when there are lights before and after a junction, as long as a driver gets through the first light on amber, they can pass the second light on red, no matter how long it's been red?

Yes. The effective light is one next to the stop line. The light further on is for clarity, but relates to the same stop line.

I'm not saying that you're wrong, but a quick look at the highway code seems to suggest that a red light always means stop. Locally a second light doubles up as a pedestrian crossing. How is a driver supposed to know if the lights have turned red because they were late passing amber, or because a pedestrian has pressed the button?

[Pica-Pica]

RSstuff said:

Pica-Pica said:

RSstuff said:

So when there are lights before and after a junction, as long as a driver gets through the first light on amber, they can pass the second light on red, no matter how long it's been red?

Yes. The effective light is one next to the stop line. The light further on is for clarity, but relates to the same stop line.

I'm not saying that you're wrong, but a quick look at the highway code seems to suggest that a red light always means stop. Locally a second light doubles up as a pedestrian crossing. How is a driver supposed to know if the lights have turned red because they were late passing amber, or because a pedestrian has pressed the button?

A red light means ‘stop before the stop line’. Read the Highway Code again

RED means ‘Stop’. Wait behind the stop line on the carriageway

[RSstuff]

Pica-Pica said:

A red light means ‘stop before the stop line’. Read the Highway Code again

RED means ‘Stop’. Wait behind the stop line on the carriageway

You read the highway code again, Amber means stop, unless it's not safe to do so. Are you an Amber gambler?

[Pica-Pica]

RSstuff said:

Pica-Pica said:

A red light means ‘stop before the stop line’. Read the Highway Code again

RED means ‘Stop’. Wait behind the stop line on the carriageway

You read the highway code again, Amber means stop, unless it's not safe to do so. Are you an Amber gambler?

You weren’t asking about amber though, were you?

[RSstuff]

Pica-Pica said:

You weren’t asking about amber though, were you?

I asked about a pedestrian crossing, and you didn't answer that either.

[jamei303]

The Highway Code is useless - read the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016.

There are two types of traffic signal, primary and secondary. The primary ones are associated with a stop line, and the secondary ones, often on the opposite side of the junction, are not. If you're past the stop line and the primary signals, you should not attempt to comply with secondary signals.

[RSstuff]

jamei303 said:

The Highway Code is useless - read the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016.

There are two types of traffic signal, primary and secondary. The primary ones are associated with a stop line, and the secondary ones, often on the opposite side of the junction, are not. If you're past the stop line and the primary signals, you should not attempt to comply with secondary signals.

That's interesting. Though on the secondary signal I mentioned previously that doubles as a pedestrian crossing, if I see someone waiting to cross I'm always prepared to stop on red. As I presumed the pedestrian would have priority once they stepped onto the carriageway?

[Pica-Pica]

RSstuff said:

Pica-Pica said:

You weren’t asking about amber though, were you?

I asked about a pedestrian crossing, and you didn't answer that either.

That pedestrian controlled light crossing will have a stop line then.