National Coalition for Safer Roads (NCSR) has undertaken a popular campaign, Stop On Red week ( Aug 5-11, 2018) to protect our children, our families and our communities from the callous and dangerous behavior of red-light runners.
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has established through its study that red-light running is the No.1 cause of urban crashes in the United States.
Here are some more telling facts from leading sources :
Nationwide, 90% of drivers who received a ticket issued by a red-light safety camera in 2016 have not received another (ATS).
Texas Transportation Institute, in its 2012 study, found that cameras provide “a positive safety effect” at intersections. They reduced red-light running right angle crashes by almost 40%. Red-light safety cameras help improve driver behavior and reduce red-light running. They improve intersection safety for drivers. Azuga consistently places a strong emphasis on improving Driver Behavior, both through driver incentives as well as new coaching methods.
National Safety Council has implicated device usage in 26% of all vehicular crashes. The importance of the Stop On Red campaign of the NCSR can be properly appreciated when we realize that device usage is much higher among drivers temporarily at rest, as at a red light.
Red-light running is frequently associated with distracted driving. A texting driver at a red light may fail to respond quickly to rapid changes in road conditions because their 'situational awareness’ is lower. For instance, an ambulance could be passing through. They could make driving errors even after putting their device down. In particular, texting could be more detrimental than a phone conversation because it not only places a cognitive demand, it places other constraints on the driver.
Fleet Managers need to formulate cell phone usage policies
National Coalition for Safer Roads along with FocusDriven have shared their study findings—nearly 12% of red light violations are caused by distracted driving. As per the National Safety Council, drivers talking on cell phones—hand-held or hands-free—are four times more likely to be involved in a car crash. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety corroborates that drivers operating a cell phone are four times more likely to crash (2009).
Communities that have strict laws against cell phone use show fewer red-light violations (<10%) that involved distracted driving whereas in communities without such laws, over 16% such violations were attributable to distracted driving. Thus, strict cell phone bans bring down the risk of distracted driving by nearly 7%.
Stop On Red is a priority message
More than 3.8 million drivers ran red lights in 2017. In 2017, more people ran red lights in October than any other month.
In 2016, 808 people were killed and an estimated 137,000 were injured in crashes involving red-light running. On average, two people died each day in red-light running crashes in the United States in 2016.
When we look at the information from across a decade, between 2004-2015, an estimated 10,111 people were killed in red-light running related crashes. Between 2011-2015, 719 people died each year in red-light running crashes.
More than half of the deaths in red-light running crashes are pedestrians and bicyclists, apart from occupants in vehicles other than vehicle running the red light. Red-light safety cameras save pedestrians and bicyclists as well.
Azuga has participated in support of the NCSR Stop On Red campaign : https://twitter.com/Azuga_GPS/status/1027603382343585792.
Let’s support each other to make it a year-round effort to educate drivers, cyclists and pedestrians about the danger of red-light running, explain the benefits of red-light safety cameras and other fleet safety tips. And encourage communities to launch their own local outreach efforts.