Or Yarok: At least 1 in 10 drivers went through red light last year

In the past year-and-a-half, traffic cameras have reported 16,270 motorists crossing red lights illegally, data from Or Yarok said.

By SHARON UDASIN
Traffic jam [illustrative] 390 (photo credit: REUTERS)
Traffic jam [illustrative] 390
(photo credit: REUTERS)
More than one out of 10 drivers admitted to crossing though a red light last year, according to a survey recently commissioned by the road safety organization Or Yarok.
The study, conducted by the Geocartographia Research Institute on behalf of Or Yarok, showed 13 percent of respondents reporting that they had driven through a red light at least once in the past year. Meanwhile, about 60% of those surveyed reported seeing drivers crossing at an intersection through a red light at least once in the same time frame, the study said.
The telephone survey of 500 Israelis occurred during the third week of January 2014 and included what Or Yarok describes as “a representative national sample of the Jewish population of Israel.”
When asked to supply the reason that drivers might cross at a right light, the vast majority of respondents – about 74% – answered that “drivers pay attention to the traffic light but nevertheless try to cross on a green light before it turns red, thinking they will have enough time to pass.” Just 18% believed that drivers did not actually notice the red light at the intersection, according to Or Yarok.
The solution to the phenomenon of crossing intersections at red lights is installing traffic cameras, thought 80% of the survey respondents, the organization explained. Today in Israel, there are only about 46 cameras installed at traffic intersections monitoring drivers who cross at red lights, and in the past year-and-a-half, these cameras have reported 16,270 motorists crossing illegally, data from Or Yarok said.
All in all, Israel Police caught 18,520 drivers crossing at red lights in 2013 as of October 25, and 13,186 in 2012. In 2011, Israel Police caught 20,046 motorists, in 2010 23,676 and in 2009 29,147, the data reported.
“A condition in which one out of 10 drivers admits that he or she crosses at a red light indicates that the actual number is much larger than one in 10 vehicles,” said Shmuel Aboav, CEO of Or Yarok.
“These are frightening numbers indicating that entering an intersection has become a gamble on life. Only traffic light cameras will prevent this phenomenon.”


Related Tags
traffic accident
traffic accidents