A Little Known Glitch in the Traffic Laws

      Travelling down Front Street towards Plainfield, you approach the intersection of Terrill Road.  You are in the right lane as you prepare to turn right to head towards Route 22 to pick up some frozen yogurt.  As there is no sign at that intersection prohibiting a Right Turn on Red, you carefully look to your left and seeing no cars coming north on Terrill Road, you make the right turn at the red light.  While your tires are barely moving, you do not actually come to a full stop.  Unfortunately, you are in violation of N.J.S. 39:4-115.  You have made an illegal turn.  You face a fine and 3 points on your driving record.
       Here is where the "glitch" comes in.  Suppose you approach the same intersection but are going straight on Front Street heading into Plainfield.  You are distracted and blow through the intersection without stopping or even slowing down.  You have violated N.J.S. 39:4-81, Failure to Observe a Traffic Signal.  Depending on the circumstances, you might also be cited for another offense but maybe not.  Failing to observe or even ignoring the traffic signal, the much more dangerous of these two scenarios carries only 2 motor vehicle points.   There has been some discussion in Trenton about amending the statute regarding penalties for "Right on Red" violations but as of now, though it doesn't make much sense, this is the law.