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Next week is National Stop Red Light Running Week to promote the Stop Red Light Running Program.
To go along with this week, Ann Sweet, founder of the local traffic safety advocacy group, Focus on Safety, is hoping to raise awareness of the problem of motorists running red lights.
According to information provided by Sweet, in 1995 the Federal Highway Administration created the Stop Red Light Running Program because failure to comply with red lights was the cause of approximately 22 percent of all urban crashes.
The program exists to reduce the number and severity of traffic citations and crashes by increasing awareness of the hazards of running red lights.
In 1998 DaimlerChrysler and the American Trauma Society joined the FHWA to bring the program nationwide. The goal of National Stop Red Light Running Week is to re-establish respect for traffic signals and enhance the safety of rivers and pedestrians in communities.
Assistant principal of Warsaw Community High School, Dr. Jennifer Brumfield, will make students aware of National Stop Red Light Running Week. An announcement will be made Monday morning and pamphlets will be passed out in every second period class.
"We're just trying to encourage our students to make sure the intersections are clear before crossing," said Brumfield. "If we can save one life by doing this, it's worth it."
Sweet included some key messages to remember during National Stop Red Light Running Week:
• Red light running is a dangerous and costly national problem.
• Research by the ATS and FHWA shows that one of three Americans has been injured, or knows someone injured or killed, in a red light running crash.
• A crash caused by a driver who runs a red light can have the same result as a crash caused by a drunk driver - serious injury or death.
• Red light running is often a result of aggressive driving, and therefore completely preventable.
• Safety is a shared responsibility.
