A new report by the National Safety Council shows that fatal crashes at intersections with traffic lights decreased by 17 percent and fatal crashes at intersections involving red-light running decreased by 27 percent from 2005 through 2009.
The study analyzed fatal crash data in all 50 states plus Washington D.C., using statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The study does not provide percentage reductions by state, but lists fatal crashes in red-light controlled intersections per 100,000 population and as a percentage of all fatal crashes.
In Washington, the ratio per 100,000 people decreased by 1 percent from 2005 to 2009, from 4 percent to 3 percent. The rate of red-light intersection fatal crashes as a percentage of all fatal accidents in 2009 was the same as in 2005, 4 percent.
The study doesn’t list a reason for the nationwide reduction except to say that the change is proportional to overall motor vehicle crash trends.
The report may be found at http://www.nsc.org/Documents/Intersection%20Report%20Short%20Final.pdf.
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