One would hope that all drivers here in New York City would pay close attention to traffic signals and take great care to obey such signals. Unfortunately though, a recent study points to there being something of an epidemic of running red lights in the city.
In the study, college students conducted observations, during daytime hours, of various intersections in New York City to see how often drivers ran red lights. These observations were conducted between early April and mid May. Reportedly, over 4,300 drivers were observed during the course of the study.
Based on these observations, the study found that disobeying a stop light is something that nearly 10 percent of drivers in New York City do. The rate was even higher for some specific types of vehicles. For example, the rate was found to be around 15 percent among taxi drivers.
Even more worrisome, some think that these estimates may actually be on the conservative side.
Running red lights is a driving behavior that has the potential to cause massive amounts of harm. Such conduct can lead to t-bone accidents and other serious intersection accidents. These accidents can leave major injuries and deaths in their wake.
Why do you think failure to obey red lights is so common here in New York City? What sort of effect do you think the prevalence of red-light-running is having on car accident rates in the city? What do you think could be done to help reduce the occurrence of red-light-running in the city?
When a person is injured by a driver who disobeyed a red light, they may want to consider speaking with an attorney to get a clear picture of what their legal options and rights are.
Source: CBS New York, “Study: Nearly 10 Percent Of NYC Drivers, 15 Percent Of Cabs Run Red Lights,” June 3, 2015
