Iowa DOT supports National Stop on Red Week, Aug. 2-8
AMES, Iowa – July 31, 2009 – Driver distraction and carelessness pose great risks to Iowans. The seventh annual National Stop on Red Week (Aug. 2-8), sponsored by the National Campaign to Stop Red Light Running, hopes to increase awareness of these dangers, especially at traffic signal lights.
Statistics from the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) show that, from 2004 to 2008, more than 10,000 crashes occurred due to drivers running red lights. In those crashes, 28 people died and more than 5,600 were reported to have been mildly or severely injured.
|
2004-2008 Reportable Crash History Ran traffic signal-related crashes | |||
|
Year |
Crashes |
Fatalities |
Injuries |
|
2004 |
2,233 |
9 |
1,358 |
|
2005 |
2,127 |
5 |
1,197 |
|
2006 |
1,844 |
6 |
988 |
|
2007 |
2,036 |
4 |
1,146 |
|
2008 |
1,916 |
4 |
983 |
|
Totals |
10,156 |
28 |
5,672 |
In Iowa from 2001 to 2006, red light running crashes accounted for 21 percent of total crashes at signalized intersections, and 35 percent of fatal and major injury crashes at signalized intersections.
Across the country, crashes associated with running red lights cost the American public more than $14 billion annually, according to the National Campaign to Stop Red Light Running. More than half the deaths in red light running crashes are other motorists and pedestrians.
The campaign also warns the public of the risks associated with drivers who attempt to “beat the light” by accelerating through the yellow light. Those risks include increased crash severity.
A yellow light means vehicular traffic shall no longer proceed into the intersection and shall stop. If the stop cannot be made safely, a vehicle may continue cautiously through the intersection.
For more information about the problem of red light running and the national campaign, go to www.stopredlightrunning.com
For information about Iowa highway traffic safety issues, contact State Transportation Traffic Engineer Tom Welch at 515-239-1267 or [email protected].
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The National Campaign to Stop Red Light Running, headquartered in Washington, D.C., is dedicated to reducing the incidences of red light running in the United States and the fatalities and injuries it causes. The organization’s safety focus and educational efforts are supported by a coalition of individuals from the fields of law enforcement, transportation engineering, health care, emergency medicine, bicycling and walking advocacy, highway safety, and insurance, as well as other interested citizens.