Roadscapes Wednesday: National Stop On Red Week

By Nathan Young on August 7, 2014

This week is National Stop On Red Week. What does this mean? It means you stop at a red light at a traffic light, and not be one of those idiot drivers who runs the red light. More and more cities are putting up red light cameras at certain intersections, and even though some say the cameras are a money grab for cities because they shorten the yellow light to catch more violators, I think red light cameras are a great thing! Because I have seen my share of drivers running red lights, some drivers are a few seconds into the red light but still run them.

So here are some disturbing facts about red light running.

More than 8,700 people were killed in one year by intersection or intersection-related traffic accidents, according to the most recent statistics available from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Red-light running is the leading cause of urban crashes, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
More than 3.5 million drivers received a red-light violation in across the 20 states studied.
Drivers most frequently run red lights in the afternoon, with 30.07 percent (1,070,572) of all red-light running violations in 2013 occurring from 1 p.m – 5 p.m.
7.3 Million red-light violations in 2012 involved distracted driving.
In 2012, Alabama experienced a total of 865 fatal crashes on its roadways. The number of intersection or intersection related fatal crashes in Alabama totaled over 138. Of these fatal crashes, 46 involved a traffic signal.

In some cities in Alabama like Tuscaloosa, red light cameras have been placed to stop the problem of people running red lights. And in cities with red light cameras, here is something surprising! Nationwide, 89 percent of drivers who received a ticket issued by a red-light safety camera in 2013 have not received another. In short, the cameras are not only penalizing red-light runners for their reckless behavior, but keeping them from committing the same dangerous acts again. The National Coalition For Safer Roads believes roads would be safer, if people did not drive distracted and stopped at a red light. In a video that I did when the power was out at a traffic light, many drivers just ignored it, including the police!

According to the FHWA, over 9,000 people have been killed because someone ran a red light. And nearly 93% of drivers believe running a red light is unacceptable, yet 1 in 3 drivers reported doing so in the past 30 days. So, many drivers can say they have run a red light, whether they will say it or not, it is unacceptable! It will not kill you to stop at a red light and be a few minutes late. Learn more about Stop On Red Week at: http://ncsrsafety.org/stop-on-red/

And the Alabama State Troopers are doing a program called the TACT Program where one state trooper is riding in a commercial truck, and radios another state trooper to pull over a vehicle who is doing something wrong. Some people are calling this an entrapment, and for those people. If you were not speeding or driving the wrong way, you would not have to worry about being pulled over! Some people have nothing better to do than complain!