Two Very Different Kinds of Red Light Violations

If you've run a red light in Ontario, the type of ticket you receive determines almost everything about the consequences you face. A red light camera ticket and an officer-issued red light ticket look similar on the surface but are fundamentally different in what they can do to your driving record and insurance.

Red Light Camera Tickets

Red light cameras capture photographs and video of vehicles that enter an intersection after the light turns red. The ticket is issued to the registered owner of the vehicle — not necessarily the driver.

Penalty: $325 set fine

Demerit points: None — because the ticket is issued to the owner, not the driver, demerit points cannot be assigned

Insurance impact: None — owner liability offences do not appear as driving convictions on your abstract

Criminal record: None

Red light camera tickets hurt your wallet but not your driving record or insurance. They are still worth disputing if you believe there was a technical error in the camera's evidence, but the urgency is lower than for officer-issued tickets.

Officer-Issued Red Light Tickets

When a police officer observes you running a red light and issues a ticket directly, the consequence profile changes dramatically:

Penalty: $325 set fine (same fine amount)

Demerit points: 3

Insurance impact: Yes — appears as a moving violation conviction on your driving abstract

Three demerit points from a red light violation, combined with any prior minor conviction, can trigger insurance surcharges of 25–50% at renewal. For new drivers (G1/G2), who face licence suspension at 9 demerit points, a 3-point conviction is especially serious.

Defending an Officer-Issued Red Light Ticket

These tickets are absolutely worth disputing. Possible defences include:

• Yellow light entered: The officer's position relative to the intersection affects their ability to accurately determine whether the light was yellow or red when you entered. This is one of the most common and successful red light defences.
• Necessity or emergency: If you entered on red to avoid a rear-end collision or other emergency, this is a valid legal defence.
• Signal malfunction: If the traffic signal was malfunctioning, this can be raised as a defence.
• Identification error: Was the officer certain it was your vehicle and not an adjacent one?

Defending a Red Light Camera Ticket

Camera ticket defences are technical. You'd need to request the camera's certification records and examine the photographic evidence. If the camera wasn't properly certified, or the photographs don't clearly show your vehicle's plate, a challenge is viable.

Bottom Line

If you received an officer-issued red light ticket, dispute it. The demerit points and insurance consequences make it worth fighting. Contact us for a free consultation: 289-275-3513. We appear at courts across the GTA and Durham Region.

Two Very Different Kinds of Red Light Violations

If you've run a red light in Ontario, the type of ticket you receive determines almost everything about the consequences you face. A red light camera ticket and an officer-issued red light ticket look similar on the surface but are fundamentally different in what they can do to your driving record and insurance.

Red Light Camera Tickets

Red light cameras capture photographs and video of vehicles that enter an intersection after the light turns red. The ticket is issued to the registered owner of the vehicle — not necessarily the driver.

Penalty: $325 set fine

Demerit points: None — because the ticket is issued to the owner, not the driver, demerit points cannot be assigned

Insurance impact: None — owner liability offences do not appear as driving convictions on your abstract

Criminal record: None

Red light camera tickets hurt your wallet but not your driving record or insurance. They are still worth disputing if you believe there was a technical error in the camera's evidence