Hopefully you haven't already paid the fine on this ticket. I've been in this situation before, and I don't think asking guilt-inducing questions, like the above post, is a constructive thing to do.
There are many examples nowadays, especially in communities that use red-light cameras, of lights which have short yellow times to increase the number of tickets they can give out for red-light runners. As far as "experienced drivers knowing to slow down in an intersection," I have enough experience driving, including defensive driving classes and taking Skip Barber classes to know to know that that's a crock. While you shouldn't increase your speed (unless you're going below the speed of the flow of traffic), you shouldn't decrease your speed going through an intersection when the light is green, unless there are reasons to do so, like you see pedestrians getting ready to cross, or cars inching up to turn right on a red into your lane.
From what you were saying, there was no traffic late at night so there was no reason to slow down. It seems unlikely that you'd have to worry about a child playing out in the street at 1055pm. I'm all for giving people tickets that have obviously flaunted the law, such as people who slow down and look like they are about to stop as a light turns yellow, and at the last second gun it to go through when it's already turned red; or for people who drive recklessly during the middle of the day, when there is a far higher risk for collateral damage. However, based on your description, the officer should have just given you a warning. At that time of night, you were really no danger to anyone. Giving you a warning would have served the same purpose; giving you the actual ticket is an obvious attempt at money-making by extorting money from someone who is not a real law-breaker. The community would be better served if he was out looking for actual crimes going on.
As for your questions, there are easy ways to beat traffic tickets. I've beaten all the ones I've had except one, and that one I didn't try because I felt I was actually at fault. DO NOT pay the fine. Declare "not guilty" (look on the back of the ticket for details), which you may be able to do by mail or may have to appear in person to do. Depending on your state, you may be able to do a Trial by Declaration (google this--it wouldn't let me post a link) and not even have to appear in court. This is good, since it can be stressful to have to get up in front of an entire courtroom filled with odd people, in front of a judge and the officer and argue your case. In any event, you should do whatever you can to postpone your court date as long as possible. In my experience, despite the fact that they get paid a bunch of overtime to appear, most officers don't even appear for the first court date, let alone if you can postpone it 3-6 months. At that time, even if they do appear, they won't be able to remember significant facts about the date.
As soon as possible, if you haven't done it already, you should write down all the pertinent details about the stop, such as time, date, speed you were traveling, intersections, etc. Ideally, you should go out there with a good camera and take pictures of the various points (i.e. prior to and at the intersection, where he lit you up, etc). Take pictures from several vantage points, and set them up as if you were actually there. If it comes time to actually argue it in court, it'll help you a lot. In the case of a speeding ticket, there are lots of ways to argue that you were not speeding (based on whether he used a speed measurement device or not and how he used it etc). In the case of running a red light, the copy only has to have seen you actually in the intersection when the light turned red. However, if it gets this far, you can question whether he was able to see you from his vantage point. Look at your ticket and see if it says where he was when he saw you. If it does, take pictures from there. If it doesn't, this is something you can use to create doubt at your trial. If he doesn't remember exactly where he was, you can spin it however you want. If he was behind you, depending on the curvature of the road and the obstructions, he may not have been able to see whether you were in or out of the intersection; if he was on the intersecting street, then he has to have either seen his light turn green while you were still in the intersection, or he has to have been close enough to see your light turn red.
I hope this starts you off well and that you haven't already paid the fine. Use google for additional resources (google "beat tickets," "traffic tickets," etc. and include your state--i.e. "beat tickets CA" or "traffic tickets NY" etc). If you have already paid it, there may be "traffic school" in your jurisdiction that should get you out of the insurance points.
Good luck, bro!
