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Red-Light Runners, Prepare to Dig Deep

By Ron Shaffer (Dr. Gridlock)
Washington Post
Monday, November 13, 2000

A driver running a red light in our area risks a fine of about $50 to $75--less than some parking-ticket fines. Yet this moving offense continues to be ranked the single most dangerous driving practice on the roads today, at least by readers of this column. Now comes a legislator who wants to do something about it:

      Dear Dr. Gridlock:

        Red-light running in the metro area is at epidemic proportions
        and represents a clear and present danger to other drivers,
        bicyclists and pedestrians.

      As chair of the Montgomery County Council's Public Safety
      Committee, I will work with our legislators in Annapolis to raise
      the fine for running a red light. The current fine of $75 is not
      enough.

      For some drivers, that's just the cost of doing business.

      We should hike that considerably, up to the $250 fine for
      red-light runners in Los Angeles.

      Philip Andrews (D-Rockville)
      Montgomery County Council

Mr. Andrews has already gained some ground with fellow lawmakers on this issue: On Thursday, Mr. Andrews and six other members of the Montgomery County Council issued a letter encouraging the General Assembly to increase the fine to $250.

Meanwhile, the District is trying to double parking fines for rush-hour violations to a more meaningful $100.

Virginia's legislature recently raised the fines for multiple HOV violations to hundreds of dollars.

This is what it may take to bring some semblance of order to our crowded roads.

Dr. Gridlock would like to see a driving culture in which, when a motorist sees a yellow light ahead, the instinct would be to slow down, rather than speed up. Stiffer penalties may help create that.

What do you folks think?

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