By Lacey Williams
Managing Director
Caribbean Transportation Consultancy Services
(CARITRANS) Company Limited

Red light running has been a problem for many decades; as far back as 1923, when the first modern traffic signals were used in Ohio to control the movement of vehicles and ironically, to lower the accident frequency in Cleveland. Since then, departments of transportation (DOTs) in the US and their equivalent agencies around the world have been implementing diverse methods, including improvements in signal timing and implementation of Red-Light Running Cameras (RLRCs), in order to reduce red light violations. However, the most appropriate remedial action to correct violation at intersections has not necessarily been implemented due to a lack of understanding of the factors that affect Red Light running, as well as a certain inherent potential for red light running. That is, all intersections will have some background level of red light violation depending on its design. This background level is referred to as the Red Light Violation Index (RLVI). Understanding the RlVI for an intersections is implemented, given the significant cost involved with the implementation of any type of treatment.