August 1, 2014 - Knoxville Police Chief David Rausch announced the City of Knoxville will observe National Stop on Red Week, which runs August 3 - 9, by reminding residents that red light safety cameras are part of a comprehensive effort to improve traffic safety in our community for all motorists, residents, families and children.

Sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration, the National Stop on Red Week is dedicated to educating Americans about the dangers of running red lights and to reducing the number and severity of traffic citations and crashes. Intersection safety is an important topic as the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports that motorists are more likely to be injured in urban crashes involving red-light running than in other types of urban crashes.

The Knoxville Police Department would like to remind drivers how to safely approach an intersection. Drivers should always slow down and prepare to make a complete stop when a light turns yellow. Yellow lights provide drivers instruction to prepare for a change in traffic flow. Always yield to pedestrians as they have the right of way and always come to a full and complete stop before turning right on red. It's the law. Make sure the roadway is clear before proceeding and work with us to improve traffic safety in our community.

Cameras operate 24-hours a day and capture images of every vehicle entering an intersection after the traffic signal is already red. The program vendor, American Traffic Solutions (ATS), then sends the images and video of each potential violation to the department where officers review the potential violations and decides if a citation should be mailed to the vehicle owner. Safety is the responsibility of every driver, not just during Stop on Red Week, but every day and every time someone gets behind the wheel of a vehicle. Intersection safety is an important aspect of safety in our community for all motorists.

Chief Rausch said, "Our goal is to make Knoxville roadways safer as drivers modify their driving habits and realize they can no longer run red lights."

"The steady decline in crashes and citations shows our road safety program is succeeding and creating safer roads. This program is totally funded from violators, not taxpayers and benefits the community at large by increasing intersection safety for our residents, families and children," Chief Rausch concluded.