It’s Causing 800 Deaths A Year In the U.S. – Stop!

It's the cause of 800 needless deaths each year.  I'm on the way to work this morning when it happens. A car crosses over into the right hand lane in front of me before reaching the intersection. The light turns red, the car  accelerates and zooms into the intersection and through the red light. In my best estimate, the driver was at least 75 feet from the intersection when the light turned red. Clearly, it was a red-light violation and I am hoping the camera affixed above the signal was in good working order, and the driver receives his traffic ticket and fine.

According to a study of government figures, drivers who try to beat a red light are responsible for some 800 deaths and 200, 000 injuries each year- all for the sake of saving just a few seconds of time. About half of those deaths are pedestrians and occupants of other vehicles who are hit by red light runners.

The use of red-light cameras has been implemented world ride in an effort to deter drivers from disregarding stop signals. These cameras, using rather sophisticated technology, typically will take two photos when the light turns red - one of the vehicle just before reaching the intersection, and the second photo when the vehicle is in the intersection. Depending on the technology, law enforcement officials can determine the speed of the vehicle and make a judgement on whether or not there was adequate time for the vehicle stop. There have been studies that show 39% of violations occur within 0.25 second of the light turning red, while 79% occur within one second. What I witnessed today had to be at least a two second violation. C'mon man!

The rule is simple.A violation occurs when a car is behind the stop line when the light is red, then crosses the line into the intersection while the light is red. Vehicles already in the intersection when the light turns from yellow to red WILL NOT receive a citation. And here's another benefit to stopping. Drivers who stop at red lights are far less likely to suffer death or injury.

Check out these red-light runners - and don't be one of them.