Recently the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, released a report regarding red light fatalities, and Arizona topped the list. The study examined rate of red light fatalities per 100,000 residents. According to the study Arizona was at the top with 7.1 deaths per 100,000. Phoenix was higher than the State average at 10.8, Tucson and Mesa were close behind at 8.0 and 7.8 respectively. This tracks with a 2013 study by the IIHS, which found that Arizona ranked in the top ten with 1.43 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (which was up from the year previous). In an attempt to reduce this number, several cities including Phoenix, Scottsdale,Mesa, Tempe and Tucson have installed and continue to install red light cameras .
Obviously not every red light related accident will result in a fatality, but they will often result in serious injuries. Nationwide, in 2012, 133,000 individuals were injured in red light accidents. Keep in mind, the easiest way to avoid red light accidents is not to try and “beat” the light or to speed up when that light turns yellow. In the end it the trade off of arriving a few seconds earlier is not worth the risk.
