Running a red light and causing an accident penalty

It is typically assumed that the driver who ran the red or orange light is at fault for any collisions that occur as a result. For example, a red light is quite different from an orange light, where it may be legal to go through.

But, naturally, there are always exceptions to this rule where circumstances dictate.

If you have been involved in an accident that involved allegations of running a red or amber light, and a resultant car accident you believe was not your fault, contact TP Claims. We can help.

What’s the law on running orange and red lights?

Orange lights are designed to give a little breathing room for stopping safely. The rule is that if you can’t stop safely at an amber light, then you should go through within the speed limit. You are otherwise supposed to stop at an amber light.

You may get angry drivers directing their wrath at you if you stop at every orange light as soon as it turns orange, so general driving etiquette dictates that most people still go through orange lights to make the most of the lights – even though this is illegal! You can be fined if caught, with some states stricter on this than others.

It happens to every driver: the decision to either continue on through a green-to-orange light or to stop. These split-second decisions are part of driving. Some people may even speed up to get through the lights, which isn’t recommended and may result in attracting the attention of police or cameras.

Sometimes the orange light will turn red when you’re halfway through the intersection which means you’ve done the wrong thing. The amber light means stop. An amber light is more like the start of the red light than an extension of the green.

Traffic lights are on timers, and the amber light is three seconds long across Australia as a standard. Once a light turns red, there are three seconds before another light will turn green.

Red means to stop – you cannot go through a red light unless you are in an ambulance or another emergency vehicle. You can’t go through a green or orange light if you are going to block the intersection.

Melbourne’s hook turns – what’s the law?

Anyone new to driving in Melbourne would have felt the terror at approaching a hook turn for the first time. Other drivers will look on bemused as you get it wrong the first few times, blocking traffic and annoying everyone.

But are you supposed to go on the orange light or the red light? Or when the other direction turns green?

There is a common misconception that if you’re doing a hook turn, that you should go when your light turns red. Wrong! You should go when the direction you intend to travel in turns green.

Inside the hook turn bay, you are essentially now part of the traffic going in the other direction, not part of the traffic flow where you came from. Thus, you must only turn when the light in the direction of your travel turns green.

There are three seconds between light changes, giving people behind you, including bicycles, time to get past you. Imagine if someone is going through an orange light, which turns red as they are halfway through the intersection, then you turn – right into them. It may ultimately prove that you, who turned too early, was at fault because you were supposed to wait for the green light, not the red light.

Read more on the VicRoads turning information page.

If the traffic lights are flashing orange

In this situation, where the traffic lights are not working, you must follow give-way rules as if you were at an intersection that has as stop sign or a give-way sign.

It isn’t always clear who should go first if all roads seem equally placed – most stop signs or give-way signs are smaller roads entering a larger road, so the larger road gets preference. At many city intersections, each road is the same size. This can cause a lot of confusion amongst drivers.

See VicRoads for more information on Victorian traffic rules or Road and Maritime Services (RMS) in New South Wales.

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