Skip to main content

ATS study claims distracted red-light running is on the rise

Analysis released during National Distracted Driving Awareness Month by American Traffic Solutions (ATS), Distracted on Red, showcases the dangers of distracted driving behaviour and impact on red-light running. ATS sampled data from 67 intersections with red-light safety cameras across the United States over a three-month period. Distractions were coded into several categories, including cell phone use, looking away, eyes closed, smoking, eating/drinking, reading and applying make-up. ATS data showed distr
April 22, 2016 Read time: 2 mins

Analysis released during National Distracted Driving Awareness Month by 17 American Traffic Solutions (ATS), Distracted on Red, showcases the dangers of distracted driving behaviour and impact on red-light running.

ATS sampled data from 67 intersections with red-light safety cameras across the United States over a three-month period.

Distractions were coded into several categories, including cell phone use, looking away, eyes closed, smoking, eating/drinking, reading and applying make-up. ATS data showed distracted red-light running increased by 58 per cent from 2012 to 2015.

"Today, we live in a fast-paced world filled with all sorts of distractions. For drivers, distractions come in many forms ranging from cell phones to eating and drinking, to simply taking your eyes off the road to chat with a passenger," said ATS spokesperson Charles Territo. "Red-light running is an incredibly risky behaviour on its own, but when you add a distraction, the result can be deadly."

In 2014 alone, 3,129 were killed and 431,000 were injured in distracted driving crashes according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Red-light running is still the leading cause of urban crashes, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • TfL under pressure as motorcycle deaths rise
    March 8, 2016
    According to a recent report by the London Assembly Transport Committee report into motorcycle safety, Easy Rider: Improving motorcycle safety on London roads, around 17 per cent of those injured on London’s roads and 24 per cent of serious casualties are motorcyclists, despite this mode accounting for one percent of traffic. After a period of decline it appears the number of motorcyclist casualties in London is growing again. In 2010, 4,337 motorcyclists were injured on London’s roads. By 2014, this had gr
  • Innovia & The Ray feel the pulse
    March 15, 2022
    Getting drivers to slow down and space themselves safely on the road is a problem – but a collaboration between Innovia Technology and The Ray may have found a new way to do it
  • Fleet performance technology ‘could cut van accidents’
    January 22, 2016
    According to GreenRoad Technologies, fleet performance solutions could help to reduce the alarming number of road accidents involving vans, which have risen by 11 per cent in the last year. The organisation says new data has revealed that the number of crashes involving vans across the UK rose by 11 per cent in a year to 14,043 during 2014. And across Europe, the cost of accidents is reckoned to be US$157 billion per year. David Rodriguez of GreenRoad Technologies said: “This latest data shows that accident
  • DSRC? ‘It’s become a faith-based thing’
    March 2, 2021
    The US FCC’s decision on 5.9GHz led to Applied Information offering DSRC buybacks to DoTs. Bryan Mulligan tells Adam Hill that we now just need to get on and roll out CV technology...