Red-Light Running and Sensible Countermeasures: Summary of Research Findings

Deliberate running of red lights is a common and serious violation that contributes substantially to the more than 1 million motor vehicle collisions that occur at traffic signals each year. Urban-based highway safety research has examined various aspects of the red-light running problem, including the contribution of red-light violations to motor vehicle crashes, the frequency of red-light running, characteristics of red-light runners, and the influence of signal timing on red-light running behavior. A brief summary of recent research efforts to examine the problem of red-light running is provided, and the use of countermeasures, including red-light cameras, to reduce the problem is discussed.