One, Two, Three, Red Light

 Posted on December 05, 2012 in Personal Injury

A red light means stop. That's one of the first lessons potential drivers learn from the driver's education manual. Yet many drivers tend to ignore a red light, instead speeding up in order to get through the intersection before the traffic which actually has the green light moves through. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) Traffic Safety Facts 2008 Report, there were more than 2.3 million reported intersection-related crashes, resulting in more than 7,770 fatalities and approximately 733,000 injury crashes in 2008. An estimated 165,000 people are injured annually by red-light runners. In Illinois, three moving violations can cost a motorist his license. But under Illinois law, if the infraction was caught and recorded by red light cameras and not by a law enforcement officer, it is not considered moving violation because the state has no way of verifying who was actually driving the car. As long as the tickets are paid, they have no effect on a motorist's driving privileges. An investigation by NBC Chicago has revealed how this loophole is allowing dozens of Chicago cab drivers to keep driving, despite racking up numerous red light tickets. A sampling of what the news team found included multiple drivers with more than a dozen red light violations, with many running the same lights multiple times. One driver had run a light twice in eleven minutes. These statistics came from just the outstanding ticket list and didn't include violations that have already been paid. One driver, who had received 27 red light violations finally had his license revoked. If you are injured in an accident caused by someone running a red light, or any other motor vehicle infraction, contact an experienced personal injury attorney to find out what compensation you may be entitled to for pain and loss.