FORT WORTH — National Stop on Red Week is August 3-9, 2008. The Federal Highway Administration created the campaign in 1995 to educate the public and promote safe driving habits.
The top 10 reasons for Stopping on Red:
· In 2006, almost 900 people were killed and an estimated 144,000 were injured in crashes that involved red-light running.
· About half of those killed in red-light running crashes are pedestrians and occupants in other vehicles hit by the red-light runners.
· The T-bone intersection crashes caused by red-light runners create the most severe injuries.
· A 2005 review of red-light camera studies around the world concluded that cameras reduce red-light violations by 40-50 percent and reduce injury crashes by 25-30 percent.
· Motorists are more likely to be injured in urban crashes involving red-light running than in other types of urban crashes.
· An analysis of red-light violation data from 19 intersections in four states found that 1,775 violations occurred over 554 hours, for a violation rate of 3.2 per hour.
· Red-light runners are more than three times as likely to have multiple speeding convictions on their driver records.
· Occupant injuries occurred in 45 percent of red-light running crashes, compared with 30 percent of other crash types.
· Of 13 crash types identified, running traffic controls accounted for 22 percent of all crashes.
· Red-light running is dangerous.
The City of Fort Worth launched a red-light camera program in November 2007. Eight intersections currently have cameras and over 20,000 notices of violations have been issued.
Red-light cameras operate 24 hours a day and capture still photographs and video of every vehicle that runs a red light at the intersection. A Notice of Violation is sent to the vehicle’s owner. Violators may view a 12-second video clip on the Web site – www.ViolationInfo.com. Photo enforcement warning signs, alerting drivers to the red-light cameras, are installed at the intersections.
