Vigilance Is Key to Putting Brakes on Red-Light Cheaters

Dear Street Smart:

I see an incredibly high number of people each and every day running red lights--not yellows turning to red, but RED lights.

Recently, on my 17-mile drive to my office on major surface streets, I counted more than a dozen violators. Most of these people ran red lights at major intersections at a very high rate of speed.

I have seen accidents resulting from these violations. Is there anything the public can do to get law enforcement on the streets when they’re needed? I have yet to see anyone ticketed.

Rebecca A. Williams, Laguna Hills

I put your question to both a traffic engineer and a law enforcement officer. They agree on several suggested approaches to the red-light violator problem, especially one: Drive defensively.

“Just because the light turns green, you never step on it and go off because there’s always the potential that the guy down the road will see how close he can cut it,” said Steve Libring, Irvine’s senior traffic engineer.

Drivers should wait a beat after a light turns green before moving through the intersection, Libring advised. Take a look around to see whether anything is coming. It’s an extra second that could save your life.

“If you see someone who’s maintaining a constant speed or accelerating, you have to believe they’re going to run the light,” Libring said.

To better ensure safety, many cities use an all-red phase during signal changes. This means that after a signal goes to red, there is generally a delay of half a second to 1 1/2 seconds before the other side of the intersection will get a green.

If motorists find an intersection particularly prone to red-light violations, they should call traffic or planning departments to report the problem, Libring suggested. An all-red phase may then be added or lengthened.

Likewise, the public should call their local law enforcement agency about such intersections. If officers investigate and find it to be a chronic problem, they will probably begin specific enforcement to educate and deter violators, Sheriff’s Lt. Richard J. Olson said.

“A lot of times, there are things that are happening that no one tells us about,” Olson said.

As the police are not all-knowing, public reports can help quickly direct them to correct enforcement problems. Otherwise, the situation may come to their attention only when the accident rate for the area rises.

Finally, some words to would-be runners of red lights: don’t, it’s not worth it. Safety concerns aside, if you are going to hit a red light, speeding through it will generally mean that you’ll just hit a succession of them on coordinated roads, Libring said.

“Our suggestion is to stop and don’t run the light, and you’ll be the first one in the next” group of cars, Libring said.

The wait is unlikely to be longer than a minute and a half. “To me, that’s not worth losing your life for,” Libring said.

Dear Street Smart:

I would like to know whether police ticket people for not stopping at stop signs on private properties, such as malls and shopping centers.

Also, are security guards at such private properties authorized to issue any kind of tickets for Motor Vehicle Code violations, such as violators in handicap-only parking spaces?

Sid Walkman, Westminster

No, police cannot ticket drivers who run stop signs or drive over the speed limit on private properties. The three moving violations they can ticket for on private property are drunk driving, hit and run and reckless driving, Costa Mesa Police Sgt. Tom Winter said. And police can ticket for all parking violations.

Security guards are not police officers and so cannot ticket for moving or parking violations. At South Coast Plaza, security officers will stop drivers to advise them of the danger of disobeying the posted regulatory signs and issue warnings for parking violations, according to Capt. Mike Weber of mall security. But the warnings do not carry the force of law.

“If we see someone, we do advise it could be seen as reckless driving,” Weber said of people who run stop signs at the mall.

Failing to stop is a problem generally confined to early mornings, he said, adding that most people obey the signs.

As you might imagine, Weber did not sound particularly pleased with the idea of people discovering that such signs on private property have no force of law. Nor does Street Smart wish to encourage drivers to thumb their noses at signs posted for with reasons.

So here’s today’s public service pitch: Everyone ought to obey those signs as if they had the force of law. They are unlikely to delay anyone’s shopping day and can certainly prevent accidents.

From a South Coast Air Quality Management District brochure entitled “25 Ways You Can Clean the Air,” here are tips motorists might wish to take to heart--and lung:

* Ride-share. Car-pooling or van-pooling reduces pollution and freeway congestion. The Orange County Transit District has information and can be reached at (714) 636-RIDE.

* Public transportation--Cut pollution and stress by taking the bus or train. For information, contact OCTD at the number above.

* Ride a bike or take a walk--There are pollution-free ways to take care of short trips while exercising.

* Combine errands--Rather than making many individual trips when you need something, combine your errands into one trip, and cluster them in one area. And while running errands, avoid drive-through windows at banks, cleaners or fast-food outlets. Idling vehicles produce pollution.

* Fix your car air conditioner--Leaking air conditioners are the single greatest source of chlorofluorocarbons, a “greenhouse” gas. Make sure your conditioner is not leaking. If it needs to be recharged, ask whether the CFC refrigerant can be recycled.

* Don’t top off gasoline--Topping off the gas tank allows pollutants such as benzene to escape into the atmosphere.

* Tune your car--Bad engine performance increases emissions that contribute smog problems.

* Use radial tires--Radials lose less air-damaging material per mile than bias-ply tires do, and when properly inflated they can yield a 10% saving in fuel use.

* Smog-checks--The state program is designed to reduce emissions, so removing smog-control equipment defeats the cleaner-air goal. It is also illegal.