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Letters: Red-light runners cause destruction
www.knoxnews.com
Published 08/10/10
Another of my co-workers has been victimized by a red-light runner in Knoxville. She missed several days of work that she will not be compensated for, and her car was totaled.
Red-light runners are motorists who believe stopping at red lights is something other people do. That stopping at red lights is required by law means nothing to them. Neither does the damage they cause. They kill hundreds of people yearly, injure and maim thousands, and damage millions of dollars worth of property. Although a young woman in her early 20s, this red-light runner already has a bad traffic history with numerous violations on her record, according to police, which is consistent with national statistics. She insisted she had the green light despite two independent witnesses telling police she ran the red.
Red-light running is so rampant in this country that police cannot keep up with the constant widespread violations. That’s why more than 450 cities and counties from coast to coast have installed cameras to catch and ticket these public-safety menaces. Unfortunately for us citizens who want to be safe on our streets and highways, our politicians are more willing to side with traffic violators than with their victims.
They’re holding hearings, talking about oppressive governments, complaining about where the money goes, and on and on. So what if people are injured or killed and lives and property are destroyed by red-light runners? They don’t want cameras used for making our intersections safer.
Every victim of red-light runners that I know supports red-light cameras and wants more, not fewer. Law-abiding citizens who want to travel safely on our streets and highways must make themselves heard because our politicians will continue siding with the wrong group otherwise.
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