Aug 6, 2007 9:17 am US/Eastern
Police Crackdown On Red Light Runners This Week
jm
(CBS4)
Law enforcement agencies across the state will be cracking down on 'red light runners' this week.
As part of National Stop the Red Week, which runs until August 11th, the agencies along with the state's Department of Transportation are joining forces to raise awareness of the dangers of running red lights.
"Unfortunately, Florida ranks near the top of the list of states for intersection crashes and a third of those are caused by running red lights," said the FDOT's Randall Smith.
According to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, in 2005, the last year for which statistics are available, there were 96 fatalities and 6300 injuries in Florida as a result of people running red lights.
"There are all kinds of excuses, such as 'the light was still yellow' or 'I couldn't stop the car in time.' But there is no excuse for running a red light," said Smith.
The FDOT also reminds motorists of several important rules to remember when approaching intersections:
*Slow down and prepare to stop when a light turns yellow.
*Yield to pedestrians. They have the right of way regardless of whether the intersection is marked or unmarked.
*Proceed through intersections with caution even after the light turns green.
*Come to a complete stop before turning right on red.
*Yield to vehicles making a u-turn when turning right on red.
"It doesn't matter where you live," said Smith. "You could be in danger of being hit by someone running a red light. In urban areas, you're more likely to be injured in a crash involving a red light runner than any other type of crash."
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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