Is red-light running a big problem?
A. Red-light running is one of the major causes of crashes, deaths and injuries at signalized intersections. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that nearly 1,000 Americans are killed and 176,000 are injured annually due to red-light running crashes, with an annual monetary impact estimated at $14 billion. A nationwide U.S. Department of Transportation study of fatal crashes at traffic signals in 1999 and 2000 estimated that 20 percent of the drivers involved failed to obey the signals. About half of the deaths in red-light running crashes are pedestrians and occupants in other vehicles who are hit by the red-light runners. Motorists are more likely to be injured in urban crashes involving red-light running than in other types of crashes. Researchers with the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety studied police reports of crashes on public roads in four urban areas during 1990-91. Occupant injuries occurred in 45 percent of red-light running crashes, compared wit
