Red light means stop

April 28th, 2008 at 10:35am Wally Haas

Well, we know there are quite a few people who blow through red lights as if they weren’t there. That’s one of the reasons that we supported the cameras the city of Rockford hopes to use to crack down on those who run the red.

The Tribune this morning had an editorial supporting Chicago’s cameras. Chicago has 75 cameras and hopes to have as many as 129 by the end of the year.

The editorial says a recent Federal Highway Administration report found that the seven cities that used the cameras saw a 25 percent decline in right-angle crashes and a 15 percent increase in rear-end crashes.

But in Chicago, the numbers are better. Total crashes declined 30 percent, angle crashes declined 40 percent and rear-end crashes declined 28 percent.

In Rockford, hardly a day goes by that I don’t see someone blatantly run the red. It’s bad when I’m driving a car, but even worse if I’m riding a bike. Some folks think it’s OK to run the light if there are no cars around and either fail to see bicyclists or ignore us.

If those drivers thought they were being caught on camera, perhaps they’d be a bit more careful.

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