Keeping our families safe on the road is a very important task that we undertake as parents. We drive carefully, keep our cars in tip-top shape, and make sure everyone is buckled in safely on each and every trip. Unfortunately, we can’t control what other drivers on the road are doing. We must rely on the police and essential safety equipment, such as red light safety cameras, to help keep us safe.
A recent study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) found that 113,000 people were injured and 676 were killed in crashes that involved red-light running in 2009 – two-thirds of the victims were pedestrians, bicyclists and occupants of vehicles hit by the red-light runners.
The study also showed that red-light safety cameras helped save more than 150 lives in 14 of the biggest U.S. cities from 2004 to 2008. Had the cameras been operating in all 99 U.S. cities with populations more than 200,000, more than 800 lives could have been saved.
Each time we enter an intersection, our families are at risk of becoming the victim of an accident – whether on foot or in a vehicle. Red light safety cameras help to change driver behavior and reduce the risk to our loved ones, however many people are unaware just how valuable these cameras are to those on the road.
The National Coalition for Safer Roads has created a powerful video, showing just how tragic the consequences of running a red light can be.
You can find the National Coalition for Safer Roads on their website, Twitter and Facebook pages, for more information about this important initiative.
Join the Coalition in spreading this important message. You may save the life of a loved one or spare a family the heartbreak of losing a life to a tragic intersection accident.
Ricky says
I think having cameras on red lights would act as a good deterrent for those that ignore them. I nearly got wiped out the other because some ignorant driver tried to slip through a red light. So selfish, putting other people in danger.
admin says
Ricky, I live in an area where people do all kinds of risky things behind the wheel..but I haven’t seen that, unless they are blowing a red because they didn’t expect the yellow to change. They regularly do take stop signs and pull out when there’s not enough room…and this is in a very suburban area. It’s all about “getting there” over being safe, and I wonder, how much time do they even save? (None at all if they in an accident or get a ticket!)
Ricky says
I think having cameras on red lights would act as a good deterrent for those that ignore them. I nearly got wiped out the other because some ignorant driver tried to slip through a red light. So selfish, putting other people in danger.
admin says
Ricky, I live in an area where people do all kinds of risky things behind the wheel..but I haven’t seen that, unless they are blowing a red because they didn’t expect the yellow to change. They regularly do take stop signs and pull out when there’s not enough room…and this is in a very suburban area. It’s all about “getting there” over being safe, and I wonder, how much time do they even save? (None at all if they in an accident or get a ticket!)
Henry says
The Natl. Coalition for Safer Roads is a front group for ATS, the red light camera company. It says so, right on the NCSR site. And ATS has just been exposed as hidden behind a lot of the pro-camera comments posted online. The expose caused the suspension of an ATS VP, three weeks ago. If you go to the website of the Everett (WA) Daily Herald (heraldnet.com) and put Kroske into the search box, the articles about the scandal will come up.
But don’t stop there. Kroske was just one of ATS’ spokesmen. There’s at least one other, and he is potentially much more dangerous. He is Mark Rosenker, former chair of the NTSB. Having retired from the NTSB he now is Senior Advisor to the NCSR. Taking advantage of his (’til now) top notch credentials, Rosenker has been granted numerous pro-camera “guest columns” in newspapers around the country in which he mentioned his current position as Senior Advisor to the National Coalition for Safer Roads but never disclosed that the NCSR is supported by ATS. A little more history about Rosenker. Early in his career he did electronic monitoring for CRP, the campaign to re-elect Pres. Nixon. CRP (now known colloquially as CReeP), did the Watergate break-in, after which many of the conspirators were sent to prison, and Nixon resigned.
ATS is also behind many of the “citizen supported” pro-camera websites you’ll find in towns where the company is entrenched. The best article about the concocted sites is at bancams dot com. To find the article, put “stupid” in their search box.
Now that you know the kind of people who are behind this, are you comfortable with it, or do you feel exploited? Did they pay you to put this stuff on your site?
Henry says
The Natl. Coalition for Safer Roads is a front group for ATS, the red light camera company. It says so, right on the NCSR site. And ATS has just been exposed as hidden behind a lot of the pro-camera comments posted online. The expose caused the suspension of an ATS VP, three weeks ago. If you go to the website of the Everett (WA) Daily Herald (heraldnet.com) and put Kroske into the search box, the articles about the scandal will come up.
But don’t stop there. Kroske was just one of ATS’ spokesmen. There’s at least one other, and he is potentially much more dangerous. He is Mark Rosenker, former chair of the NTSB. Having retired from the NTSB he now is Senior Advisor to the NCSR. Taking advantage of his (’til now) top notch credentials, Rosenker has been granted numerous pro-camera “guest columns” in newspapers around the country in which he mentioned his current position as Senior Advisor to the National Coalition for Safer Roads but never disclosed that the NCSR is supported by ATS. A little more history about Rosenker. Early in his career he did electronic monitoring for CRP, the campaign to re-elect Pres. Nixon. CRP (now known colloquially as CReeP), did the Watergate break-in, after which many of the conspirators were sent to prison, and Nixon resigned.
ATS is also behind many of the “citizen supported” pro-camera websites you’ll find in towns where the company is entrenched. The best article about the concocted sites is at bancams dot com. To find the article, put “stupid” in their search box.
Now that you know the kind of people who are behind this, are you comfortable with it, or do you feel exploited? Did they pay you to put this stuff on your site?
jill says
Thanks for the information on red light runners. I have always been taught to expect that someone is going to run the red light every time I’m at the intersection, so by expecting it and looking for it, I can hopefully avoid having one of them crash into me and my kids.
Have a great and a safe day and keep up the good work!
admin says
Hi Jill! Wow, I never expect that, but thanks for sharing. I have seen people blow stop signs, and go through a red if they are about an inch over the line while waiting on a yellow light, which is bad enough!
jill says
Thanks for the information on red light runners. I have always been taught to expect that someone is going to run the red light every time I’m at the intersection, so by expecting it and looking for it, I can hopefully avoid having one of them crash into me and my kids.
Have a great and a safe day and keep up the good work!
admin says
Hi Jill! Wow, I never expect that, but thanks for sharing. I have seen people blow stop signs, and go through a red if they are about an inch over the line while waiting on a yellow light, which is bad enough!