Her reference to a survey by the RAC Foundation is actually a press release she read; here's
the details.
Not before
00.01am
June 20 2003
Red Mist
The RAC Foundation today (20) called on the Government and police to target more financial resources
on traffic light cameras and physical enforcement rather than concentrating solely on speed cameras.
The Foundation's demand was prompted by new evidence suggesting that both motorists and cyclists
have a growing disregard for red traffic lights.
According to the Foundation, police should also start to actively enforce laws designed to improve
the safety of cyclists, including careless and dangerous cycling - which can carry a fine of up to
£2,500. This could arise from a biker ignoring a red traffic light and endangering other road users.
A snapshot survey of driver behaviour in London and Glasgow* found that a surprising number of
motorists and cyclists failed to stop at red traffic signals completely or attempted to scramble
through on amber. One in ten car drivers risked a serious accident or injury to themselves, other
road users and pedestrians by driving through a traffic light when it had clearly been red for over
three seconds while a further two in ten took a chance on a last minute amber signal.
Bus drivers too were observed to frequently disobey traffic lights. In London, as many as one in
five bus drivers were found to ride through traffic signals - making them worse offenders than car
drivers and putting their passengers at risk of serious injury.
Cyclists were found to have the least regard for traffic lights, most notably in central London. In
Glasgow up to one in four cyclists seemed to have no regard for the existence of traffic lights. In
central London this figure rose to as high as fifty per cent of all people on a bike.
Government accident statistics do not break down their records for road traffic accidents to include
people killed or injured by disobeying traffic signals. A regional break down for the West Midlands
region**, however, shows that as many as 131 people were killed or seriously injured in 2001 in
crashes resulting from failure to comply with a traffic signal.
The RAC Foundation has today written to the Secretary of State encouraging him to review the
emphasis on remote enforcement - away from increasing the speed cameras and focusing instead on red
light cameras. Local safety camera partnerships have been established throughout the UK, allowing
some of the revenue from tickets to be re-invested in future camera activity.
Kevin Delaney, Traffic and Road Safety Manager for the RAC Foundation, said: "This growing disregard
for red lights by a growing minority of road users is alarming.
"Growing congestion is frustrating for all road users. It makes them late, often so late that their
journey is wasted and they don't get to their destination.
This may increase the temptation to ignore red traffic lights, but it is dangerous and a foolish way
to beat the clock. However, it seems that an increasing number of drivers and cyclists are putting
their safety and that of other road users, especially pedestrians, in jeopardy by risking it at
traffic lights.
"We hope that Government and the Police will give greater priority to tackling the red mist which
descends over this anti-social minority by putting the same level of effort into detecting red light
running and prosecuting offenders, be they motorists or cyclists, as they presently do for speeding.
Conrad King, the RAC Foundation's consultant psychologist, said: "Both motorists and cyclists have
their own flexible moral code when it comes to traffic lights. If they are in a hurry, it might be
ok to go through a light which has just turned red. If they are not, then they may well still go
through a light on amber.
"Sneaking through a light gives someone an illusion of power and freedom, albeit for a brief few
seconds. In congestion rife modern cities even that illusion is hard to come by when you are stuck
behind the wheel.
"The lack of any adequate policing of cyclists has meant that some of them see themselves as beyond
the law. If they can get away with it, they will do it. This may include running through red lights
and pedestrian crossings as well as riding on the pavement."
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
*Researchers for the RAC Foundation took recordings between 9.30am and noon and between 4pm and 6pm
at three separate sites last week in both Central London and Glasgow for a snapshot survey.
** West Midlands Road Accident Review 2001.
The RAC Foundation for Motoring is an independent body established to protect and promote the
interests of UK motorists. Motoring organisation RAC supports its six million customers with
breakdown cover and a wide range of other motoring solutions. The views of each organisation should
not be attributed to the other
Personally, I think everyone in London has a disregard for red lights. When i'm passing through as a
pedestrian i take it as red (sorry) that at least three vehicles will shunt through on a red. Any
cyclist that does the same is a nutter - i should know, i went through a red on the way home from a
pub when i was 17 and ran into a mini. Still got the scar to prove it.