Countless motor vehicle crashes result from negligent drivers who are in a hurry. A typical “time-saving strategy” involves running red lights, which far too often results in severe injuries to other vehicles on the road.
Red light cameras are installed throughout the country to discourage not only risky but also criminal behavior. The moment that a driver enters the intersection at any time when the light turns red is the moment that they are breaking the law.
According to the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS), cameras have played a role in reducing accidents by 21 percent and fatal intersection collisions by 14 percent. Overall, proper signal timing leads to safer settings, particularly when it comes to adequately timed yellow lights.
Troubling trends
In 2020, 928 people lost their lives in crashes involving red light running. Fifty percent were drivers of other vehicles, bicyclists, and pedestrians. Nearly 116,000 suffered injuries in collisions. Demographically, drivers running red lights are more likely to be younger men with prior accidents, those convicted of drunk driving, and less likely to carry a valid driver’s license.
The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety conducted a telephone survey. More than 85 percent of drivers asserted that running a light that just turned red when they could have stopped was extremely dangerous. Twenty-six percent confessed to committing the traffic infraction within the last 30 days.
While detractors claim that cameras violate privacy, driving is considered a regulated activity where having a valid license comes with adherence to specific rules. Like traditional enforcement, red lights help to hold drivers tempted to speed through accountable.
Statistics aside, red-light runners operate their motor vehicles negligently, putting others at risk of serious injury. Criminal consequences are often the result. Pursuing a personal injury lawsuit provides another level of justice.