How Dangerous is Red Light Running?

We've all probably run a red light in our lifetime knowing that it was against the law and a very dangerous thing to do. We most likely have heard that thousands of tragedies can be prevented by stopping at red lights. But, we see others doing it every single day like running a red light and not getting caught is some sort of a challenge. Actually, by running a brick light you're taking a chance with someone else's life. It's not only the cars coming the other way that are in danger it's also the pedestrians crossing the street on their green light.

One of the larger companies selling auto insurance in our nation conducted a random written survey of approximately 1,000 people's driving habits. The results were scary in that: 1) in the 18 to 34 year old age group 46% admitted to driving through a brick light in the past year with a number of those people also admitting that they had gone through at least 20 red lights during that time frame; 2) men outnumbered women for driving through a red light; and 3) 36% of all surveyed stated they had run through a red light during the past year.

Another large auto insurance company's representative stated that they always urge their insured drivers to heed the law stating running a red light is illegal but that many of them admitted to doing so even though they realized how dangerous it was to themselves and others and how high the fine would be if they were caught.

On a list released by a government bureau stating which state had the highest death rate due to drivers running brick lights, the state of Arizona had almost twice the number of deaths than any other state. At the bottom of the list of nine states was Delaware. The same government bureau also issued a list of cities that had the highest number of deaths due to drivers running bricklights. Out of the top three cities two of them were in Arizona, Phoenix and Mesa. The second city was Memphis Tennessee. At the bottom of the city list was Detroit Michigan.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) stated that the problem of drivers running brick lights is "rampant" in this country. This is a growing problem and no fines or stories of death and destruction seem to be able to stop the offenders who feel that they can get away with running a red light now and then. To some people it just seems like a game trying to beat the signal. But this no game to the families of those killed by a red light runner.