Accidents caused by drivers who burned red lights killed 939 people in 2017. The most recent accident data for the most recent year were recorded, an increase of 28% over 2012, according to the report. # 39; AAA.
Nearly half of the people killed in the crashes were passengers or drivers of other cars hit by a red light runner. According to the report, just over a third of the victims were the driver who turned on the light.
Ken Kolosh, head of statistics at the National Safety Council, said that while the increase in fatalities was alarming, collisions at signaling intersections were commonplace.
"It's frustrating because it's obviously avoidable," he said.
People know that driving at a red light is illegal. About 85% of drivers admitted that it was dangerous, but one in three drivers said they had done it in the last 30 days, even though it could have stopped in any event. security, reported AAA in June.
While some red-light collisions are caused by distractions or distractions, many result from the intentional driving of speeding and offending people, Kolosh said.
So why take the risk? Perhaps because 2 out of 5 drivers do not think the police will stop them for dangerous driving.
According to Kolosh, this is a problem that can be solved with red-light cameras, which has reduced the number of red light offenses by 40% in a study from the Insurance Institute for Road Safety. The cameras shoot vehicles at a red light, which the police can examine to decide to force them.
The road fatalities decrease slightly
After years of worrying difficulties, road deaths in the United States are finally stabilizing.
About 40,000 people were killed in car accidents in 2018, the National Security Council announced. This is a modest 1% decrease from the previous year, which had recorded an additional 231 deaths.
Alcohol, speeding and distracted driving remain the leading causes of fatalities, the CNS said. Fortunately and somewhat surprisingly, phone use is down among drivers.
However, speeding is still the most common cause of car deaths caused by improper driving.
