Truck Accident News

Red Light Cameras Catch Violators

Intersection safety is a serious problem in the United States, and it is one of the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) top priorities. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that about 6.4 million crashes occurred on the Nation's roadways in 2000. Approximately 40 percent of all crashes are intersection-related. Redlight- running (RLR) causes more than 180,000 crashes every year, resulting in approximately 1,000 deaths and 90,000 injuries a year. The number of fatal motor vehicle crashes at traffic signals is rising faster than any other type of fatal crash nationwide.

RLR occurs when a driver enters an intersection after the traffic signal has turned red. The traditional way of enforcing this violation is to station a patrol vehicle near an intersection. This method is dangerous for the officer, expensive to localities, and drains valuable police resources.

Red light cameras detect a motor vehicle that passes over sensors in the pavement after a traffic signal has turned red. The sensors are connected to computers in high-speed cameras, which take two photographs of the violation. The first photo is taken of the front of the vehicle when it enters the intersection, and the second is taken when the vehicle is in the intersection.

Law enforcement officials review the photograph, and in many localities, a citation is mailed to the registered owner of the vehicle. The owner can challenge the citation if he or she was not the driver at the time of the violation.

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	Did You Know?
	Swerving or Avoiding (due to wind, slippery surface, vehicle, object, non-motorist in roadway, etc.) is defined Defensive driver action to defend against an apparent danger in, on, or due to the condition of the roadway or the presence of a motor vehicle or object or non-motorist in the roadway in order to avoid a crash.