Don Gammill, Traffic Talk
Red light violation creates danger in Norman
By Don Gammill
Comments 
12
Published: November 9, 2009
How many of you have seen similar situations?
There is a problem that is getting completely out of control in the metropolitan area: running traffic lights. I drive down Northwest Expressway every morning, and I usually see at least seven or eight people who run the red light.
Drivers on the Broadway Extension now have to deal with another stoplight at the new intersection of Broadway and Comfort Drive in Oklahoma City, OK, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009. By Paul Hellstern
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I work in Norman, and it is the same problem there. It is as if "red” means nothing to drivers any more.
One day in Norman, there were three cars that entered the intersection just as the light was changing red. But after they cleared the intersection, four more cars entered the intersection, a full second or two after the light had turned red.
If something isn’t done, people will be killed when they pull into the intersection at a green light ... rammed by some careless driver who is more concerned about saving a few minutes than about people’s lives.
Dave, Oklahoma City
Running a red light is: (1) dangerous, and (2) against the law. But these points don’t seem to deter some people — probably more people than you think.
This is not saying there are drivers out there who intentionally run the reds all the time, but rather too often people get in a hurry, or aren’t prepared to stop in time and take a chance.
It’s a risk you’re better off avoiding.
Year after year, statistics show that most accidents occur at intersections. Whether it be because someone pushed the accelerator rather than the brake to get through ahead of someone else, or they thought they had plenty of time, or they just weren’t paying attention, crashes are more frequent at these locations than anywhere else.
Heavy-volume traffic increases that danger many times over and factors such as speed or distraction multiply the risk even more.
We live in a hurry-up world, often with a need for speed to get here or there. But traffic laws — and lights — are made to be obeyed for the safety of all. It’s too risky not to do so.
By the way ...
There are many things that can happen at an intersection that can lead to disaster, in addition to running a red light.
Two of them cited often in traffic accident analyses are failure to signal and improper lane changes.
And a yellow light doesn’t mean "keep going, but hurry up.”
Enjoy your week and drive safely.
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And yes that light at N. I-35 & Robinson is one of them, just like S. I-35 & Main used to be. Give drivers a reasonable chance to navigate heavy traffic and they will do the right thing.
If you'd like an example of the great job Norman City traffic engineers do, they fed the left lane of traffic on South bound HWY 77 into a left turn only lane, without marking it anywhere, all less than 24 hours before the OU-K State. You should have seen the mess that game day traffic created at Porter/Classen & Alameda. None of those drivers had adequate warning to signal or change lanes.
Five hundred bucks for a blatant violation sounds good to me.