Roseville police to put brakes on red-light runners
ROSEVILLE — Over the next few weeks, traffic enforcement officers with the Roseville Police Department will pay extra attention to red-light runners, concentrating efforts on selected intersections throughout the city where red-light running has been noted.
Red-light running happens when motorists drive too aggressively and speed up for the yellow caution signal, rather than preparing to stop. Red-light running is also one of the most dangerous traffic violations, according to a department release, often causing serious injuries and major damage.
“We’ve investigated a total of 66 collisions in the first seven months of 2009 that were attributed to red light running,” said Dee Dee Gunther, an analyst and public information officer with the Roseville Police Department. It was unclear whether that figure included collisions that were still under investigation. Gunther added that 22 of those collisions did involve some degree of injury.
Because red-light running has a high potential for causing injury, red light citations are among the most expensive for violators, costing $440 or more and adding a point to the violator’s driver’s license. It’s also one of the more prolific citations in Roseville. Through July, Roseville police have issued 280 citations to red light violators. The department issued 547 citations last year.
Gunther said the new campaign is the latest example of the department’s “zero tolerance” patrols Roseville police conduct every month. Most patrols target speeding, Gunther said, because it is the most likely cause of traffic collisions.
Through July, Roseville police have investigated 961 traffic collisions, 261 involving injuries and two of which resulted in fatalities.
“We recently had a serious injury collision that is still under investigation, but most likely was caused by red-light running,” Gunther said.
Rather than risk a citation or collision by trying to beat a red light, the department release advised drivers to approach at a reasonable speed and use the yellow caution signal as a warning to stop.
