​Majority of the time, the person liable for the red light auto accident falls under the driver who has entered or has crossed into the intersection of the red light. Typically,  this occurs when the at fault car enters on a red traffic light when the opposing car, already lawfully in the intersection, turns left blocking the path of the car that entered the intersection on a red light, resulting in a devastating two-car collision impact.

Furthermore, there are also times when a driver enters the intersection of a green but is still at fault, including when the first driver, already lawfully in the intersection and waiting for traffic to clear before turning left, then completes the left-turn right after the light turns red, when the second vehicle, entering on a green light in a perpendicular direction “jumps the green light” and enters the intersection before the intersection clears and collides with the lawfully left turning motor.

The California Vehicle Code Section 21453 addresses the California red light rules implements the following:

• “A driver facing a steady circular red signal alone shall stop at a marked limit line, but if none, before entering the crosswalk on the near side of the intersection or, if none, then before entering the intersection, and shall remain stopped until an indication to proceed is shown, except as provided in subdivision (b).”
• “Except when a sign is in place prohibiting a turn, a driver, after stopping as required by subdivision (a), facing a steady circular red signal, may turn right, or turn left from a one-way street onto a one-way street. A driver making that turn shall yield the right-of-way to pedestrians lawfully within an adjacent crosswalk and to any vehicle that has approached or is approaching so closely as to constitute an immediate hazard to the driver, and shall continue to yield the right-of-way to that vehicle until the driver can proceed with reasonable safety.”
• “A driver facing a steady red arrow signal shall not enter the intersection to make the movement indicated by the arrow and, unless entering the intersection to make a movement permitted by another signal, shall stop at a clearly marked limit line, but if none, before entering the crosswalk on the near side of the intersection, or if none, then before entering the intersection, and shall remain stopped until an indication permitting movement is shown.”
• “Unless otherwise directed by a pedestrian control signal as provided in Section 21456, a pedestrian facing a steady circular red or red arrow signal shall not enter the roadway.”