[Guide] What do if you’ve run a red light in the UK in 2019
Many of us will have ran a red light at some point in our lives. It can be because of a momentary lapse in attention or road rage causing us to act impatient. No matter the reason, running a red light is a road traffic offence and it’s important to take it seriously if you receive a letter in the post accusing you of committing an offence.
This short guide will cover everything you need to know about dealing with a red light offence in 2019. We’ll cover things like the penalties involved and the potential diversion measures in the law.
If you run a red light in the uk how long does it take to get the ticket?
If you’ve been caught breaking a red light, you’ll receive a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) within 14 days of the offence being committed. You then have 28 days from the date of receiving the NIP to reply to it. You can admit your guilt and pay the fine or deny the offence (this will result in the offence going to court).
What’s the penalty for running a red light?
The standard penalty for failing to stop for a red light is an £100 fine and 3 points on your licence. You will carry these points on your licence for a period of 4 years.
This can increase drastically if you fail to reply to the NIP, as this is an offence in and of itself. Failing to reply to a NIP could result in prosecution, six penalty points and a maximum fine of £1000.
Red light awareness courses – What are they?
For a first red light offence, most UK regions offer red light offence courses that allow you to avoid the fine and points on your licence. However, the courses cost money to participate in, so you really only get to avoid having the penalty points (which is worth it as penalty points will increase your car insurance premium).
Driver awareness courses are operated by the National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme (NDORS). For red-light offences, they offer the What’s Driving Us? (WDU?) courses. This class lasts 4 hours and is classroom based. The costs of these courses vary depending on location, hovering around the £90 mark.
Red light offence course eligibility – Who can take it?
The red light offence courses are only available for those who are first time offenders, or who haven’t committed a similar offence (and attended a diversion course) within the last 3 years. If you commit a second red light offence within 3 years of the first once, you will not be offered a diversion course as a way to avoid getting points on your license.
Many of us will have ran a red light at some point in our lives. It can be because of a momentary lapse in attention or road rage causing us to act impatient. No matter the reason, running a red light is a road traffic offence and it’s important to take it seriously if you receive a letter in the post accusing you of committing an offence.
This short guide will cover everything you need to know about dealing with a red light offence in 2019. We’ll cover things like the penalties involved and the potential diversion measures in the law.
If you run a red light in the uk how long does it take to get the ticket?
If you’ve been caught breaking a red light, you’ll receive a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) within 14 days of the offence being committed. You then have 28 days from the date of receiving the NIP to reply to it. You can admit your guilt and pay the fine or deny the offence (this will result in the offence going to court).
What’s the penalty for running a red light?
The standard penalty for failing to stop for a red light is an £100 fine and 3 points on your licence. You will carry these points on your licence for a period of 4 years.
This can increase drastically if you fail to reply to the NIP, as this is an offence in and of itself. Failing to reply to a NIP could result in prosecution, six penalty points and a maximum fine of £1000.
Red light awareness courses – What are they?
For a first red light offence, most UK regions offer red light offence courses that allow you to avoid the fine and points on your licence. However, the courses cost money to participate in, so you really only get to avoid having the penalty points (which is worth it as penalty points will increase your car insurance premium).
Driver awareness courses are operated by the National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme (NDORS). For red-light offences, they offer the What’s Driving Us? (WDU?) courses. This class lasts 4 hours and is classroom based. The costs of these courses vary depending on location, hovering around the £90 mark.
Red light offence course eligibility – Who can take it?
The red light offence courses are only available for those who are first time offenders, or who haven’t committed a similar offence (and attended a diversion course) within the last 3 years. If you commit a second red light offence within 3 years of the first once, you will not be offered a diversion course as a way to avoid getting points on your license.