Red light offences are 'absolute' I think it's called such that there is no excuse permitted.
Where "senior" members of the site understand that the legal position is X, but are not absolutely certain, it can be helpful to consider alternative opinions, and the reasoning behind them. It can also be helpful to consider how much credence to give to such opinions. Is it a genuinely arguable legal point, well thought through, and supported by some kind of authority, or is it merely a vox pop from someone whose purpose in life is to demonstrate that the internet's democratisation of dissemination of information has a downside? To that extent, your post is very helpful.
An absolute offence is one to which there is no defence, that is to say that once the elements of the offence have been proven, that is the end of the matter. There are very few absolute offences, because absolute offences preclude the otherwise overarching defences of duress and duress of circumstances. I'm pretty certain that strict liability offences cannot be absolute offences, but that's getting even further off topic.
This is very different to the far more common strict liability offences, where liability is not absolute, merely strict - that is to say that the commission of the offence solely requires the
actus reus (the guilty action) and not the
mens rea (guilty intent). For 'proper' crimes, there needs to be an intent, whether that is specific, or even just recklessness, depending on the offence in question. Almost all motoring offences are strict liability.