Editorial — Driving in the Fast Lane by Running Red Lights

By Dr. Daniel S. Turner

Red light running in Alabama is common, too common. It is also dangerous, too dangerous.

The Federal Highway Administration estimates that red light running causes 200,000 crashes per year and 1,100 deaths. Unfortunately, Alabama is among the national leaders in these statistics.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reviewed crash data for a six year period in the late 1990s, and determined that Alabama had the fifth worst red-light-running fatality rate in the United States. In the same study, Birmingham had the sixth worst fatality rate in the nation from red light running.

A study recently conducted by the University Transportation Center for Alabama found similar statistics. Between 1993 and 2001, there were 47,501 traffic crashes caused by red light running in Alabama (about 5,500 per year). There were about 16,500 injuries and 194 fatalities in these accidents. These horrible statistics were consistent through the entire period, varying up or down each year by less than 5 percent. In other words, the situation is not getting any better.

All of us have seen people run red lights, usually at a busy intersection when they try to get through the signal before it turns red, rather than sit and wait for the green to come around again. We are disgusted by the careless, calloused nature of those who disregard the signal, because they disregard the safety of others as well. Unfortunately, these risk takers cause “T-bone” accidents, which are very severe because most automobiles offer little protection when hit from the side. That is why red-light running accidents have a higher percentage of people killed and injured than normal accidents.

Red light running is not socially acceptable. More than 16,000 families were devastated in Alabama during nine years because their loved ones were killed or injured in these wrecks. This is a problem that needs to be stopped.

Now is the time for stronger legislation for violators, for additional enforcement efforts, and perhaps for automated enforcement (cameras), which has been shown to be very effective in many cities in the United States in reducing red light running and the crashes they cause.

Yes, it is time to seriously consider cameras for enforcement. They are legal and quite effective in curtailing red-light running, and in reducing crashes. The cities of Tuscaloosa, Mobile and Montgomery have all expressed interest in using cameras to help reduce red light running. If cameras had been in place, surely the 16,500 people injured or killed in such crashes in our state would have saved a lot of pain and suffering.

Dr. Daniel S. Turner is a professor of civil and environmental engineering at The University of Alabama and his research focuses on traffic safety and transportation management. Turner also is the director of the University Transportation Center for Alabama (UTCA), which conducts transportation education, research and technology transfer activities using faculty members and students from The University of Alabama, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, and The University of Alabama in Huntsville.