Citation

Porter BE, England KJ. J. Saf. Res. 2000; 31(1): 1-8.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2000, U.S. National Safety Council, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Red-light running is a frequent and highly dangerous driving act. Reducing this risky behavior depends on understanding its prevalence, as well as the drivers involved. With these aims, the present study provided 5,112 observations of drivers entering six traffic-controlled intersections in three cities. Overall, 35.2% of observed light cycles had at least one red-light runner prior to the onset of opposing traffic. This rate represented approximately 10 violators per observation hour. City differences emerged as important for predicting red-light runners. Higher red-light running rates were observed in cities with larger intersections and higher traffic volumes. Time of day, although limited to the interval from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. when observations occurred, also predicted red-light running. Red-light violators were more prevalent earlier in this period. Further, after controlling for city and time differences, two driver factors were important: safety belt use and ethnicity. Unbuckled and non-Caucasian drivers were more likely to run red lights. The importance of these findings in understanding red-light running and helping communities improve their intersection safety is discussed.