Intersections where highest number of cars run red lights

Nathan Bomey

USA TODAY

Published 4:29 AM EDT Sep 11, 2019

At some intersections, drivers apparently think a red light is just a suggestion to stop.

But that attitude has increasingly deadly consequences. The number of people killed when someone plowed through a light rose 31% to 939 in 2017, a 10-year high, according to a recent study from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

Growing awareness of those dangers is casting a spotlight on intersections in America where the number of cars and trucks running lights is highest.

Three intersections in Florida, two in Texas and two in Tennessee are among the 10 tracked by red-light cameras where the highest number of vehicles blow through the light.

The data comes from Verra Mobility, the parent company of American Traffic Solutions, which collects data from 2,000 red-light cameras for municipalities throughout the country. The cameras capture images and video of vehicles proceeding through intersections once the light has turned red. The company also tracks crashes using speed cameras and school bus cameras.

AAA study: Deaths from cars running red lights hit a 10-year high

The intersection with the most incidents tracked by red-light cameras? That’s in New Orleans.

Here are the 10 intersections of 2,000 tracked by Verra Mobility:

1. New Orleans, Louisiana

Intersection: South Carrollton Avenue and Palmetto Street

This intersection is near ramps to Interstate 10 and the campus of Xavier University of Louisiana.

2. Boulder, Colorado

Intersection: Eastbound Baseline Road at 27th Way

This intersection is near ramps to U.S. Route 36, known as the Denver-Boulder Turnpike.

3. North Miami Beach, Florida

Intersection: Westbound North Miami Beach Boulevard (Northeast 167th Street) at Northeast 10th Avenue

Drivers barreling through this intersection may be on their way to a major junction with Interstate 95 a little more than a mile west.

4. Laurel, Maryland

Intersection: Eastbound Gorman Avenue at Southbound U.S. 1

This intersection, located near strip malls, directs drivers through a tangled web of roads including Second Street and Fort Meade Road.

5. Tampa, Florida

Intersection: Eastbound East Hillsborough Avenue at North 22nd Street

This intersection is located along a major commercial strip near a campus of Erwin Technical College.

6. Fort Worth, Texas

Intersection: Westbound West Freeway Service Road at Ashland Avenue

This intersection is located north of Arlington Heights High School across U.S. 30.

7. Knoxville, Tennessee

Intersection: Eastbound Western Avenue (SR 62) at the I-640/I-75 Southbound offramp

This major interchange is several lanes wide on each side.

8. New Port Richey, Florida

Intersection: Northbound U.S. 19 (FL 55) at Trouble Creek Road

This massive intersection is located along a major commercial strip.

9. Knoxville, Tennessee

Intersection: Westbound Chapman Highway (U.S. 441) at Stone Road

This intersection is located about two and a half miles south of the Tennessee River.

10. Fort Worth, Texas

Intersection: Southbound South Hulen Street at the Southwest Loop 820 west offramp

This intersection is located alongside U.S. 20, or Ronald Reagan Memorial Highway.

Follow USA TODAY reporter Nathan Bomey on Twitter @NathanBomey.

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