Will running a red light with temporary license plates result in penalty points?
2 Answers
Yes, penalty points will be incurred. According to the "Road Traffic Safety Law," drivers who violate traffic signals will be given a warning or fined between 20 and 200 yuan, along with 6 penalty points. Temporary license plates are paper-based vehicle plate numbers that allow temporary road use. Traffic violation penalties are not related to whether the vehicle has temporary or permanent plates; they are primarily imposed for the act of violating traffic rules. Determining a red light violation requires at least three pieces of photographic evidence: the vehicle not having left the stop line when the red light was on; the vehicle passing through the intersection while the red light was on; and the vehicle having crossed the line and continued moving forward while the red light was on. Article 26 of the "Road Traffic Safety Law": Traffic signals consist of red, green, and yellow lights. A red light indicates prohibition of passage, a green light indicates permission to pass, and a yellow light serves as a warning. Article 44: Motor vehicles passing through intersections must follow the instructions of traffic signals, traffic signs, road markings, or traffic police. Ways to avoid running a red light: When arrow signals are present, follow the arrow lights; otherwise, follow the circular lights. When the red light is on, the front of the vehicle must not cross the stop line. When the yellow light is on, the front of the vehicle must not cross the stop line. When the green light just starts flashing, if you are close and moving fast, you should proceed, as braking may not stop you in time, causing you to cross the stop line. If you are far away, moving slowly, or the intersection is congested, you should stop. When driving in the city, develop the habit of looking for traffic lights whenever you see a crosswalk or stop line at an intersection.
My cousin encountered an issue with running a red light using temporary license plates when he bought a car two years ago. He thought temporary plates were immune to traffic cameras, so he ran a red light just three days after picking up the car. A week later, he received a violation notice via text message. When he went to the traffic police station to handle it, he was told he would be penalized with 6 points deducted and a fine of 200 yuan. It turns out that every temporary plate is registered with the vehicle management office, with the chassis number, engine number, and owner's information clearly recorded. Nowadays, traffic cameras are high-definition and can accurately capture the alphanumeric combination on temporary plates. What made it worse was that he was still in his probationary period at the time, and nearly had to retake his driving test after losing all his points. So, temporary doesn’t mean exempt—stopping when you should is the safest approach.
