You may not give much thought to navigating Georgia’s signaled intersections until you find yourself involved in a crash there. Increasingly, motorists across Georgia and the rest of the United States are blowing through red lights, and the consequences are often quite serious.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, in 2018 alone, 846 people died in crashes resulting from motorists running red lights. About half of those who lost their lives were not the parties who ran the red lights. Instead, they were other motorists, bicyclists or pedestrians making their way through the signaled intersections. Another 139,000 or so individuals suffered serious injuries in wrecks caused by red-light runners in 2018.
Who runs red lights
Research shows that many red-light runners share similar characteristics in common. They are more likely to be male than female, for example, and they also tend to be younger. Statistics also show that red-light runners are more likely to be driving without a license than other drivers on the road. They are also more likely to have abused alcohol before getting behind the wheel.
The effectiveness of red-light cameras
Some communities across Georgia are relying on red-light cameras as a means of protecting you and others sharing the road. According to the results of one study, these cameras are quite effective at preventing drivers from running red lights. Study results show that they reduce the number of fatal crashes caused by red-light runners at signaled intersections in cities by 10%. In all areas with traffic signals, cameras reduce associated fatalities by about 14%.
