Seeing Red Spokane Police Crack Down - Again - With $77 Tickets For Drivers Running Red Lights

Tue., April 21, 1998

By Adam Lynn adaml@spokesman.com

Stop.

In the name of love, the law, your bank account, whatever.

But when you see a red light, stop. Otherwise, you’ll be seeing a blue light flashing in your rearview mirror.

So says the Spokane Police Department, which launched on Monday yet another emphasis patrol aimed at curbing rampant red-light running in the Lilac City.

Through the end of May, Spokane police will be staking out crossroads throughout the city, watching for motorists who barrel through intersections when the light’s red, Sgt. Anthony Giannetto said.

Those drivers will get $77 reminders that such actions are illegal and dangerous.

Patrol officers also will hand out citations for so-called “secondary offenses” such as failing to wear a seat belt or driving without a valid license.

The goal is to reduce collisions, police spokesman Dick Cottam said. Last year, more than 330 wrecks in the city resulted from someone running a red light.

Just last week, a driver ran the light at Mission and Division and caused a five-vehicle accident that sent one car crashing into the gas pumps at a nearby service station, Giannetto said.

This, despite a two-year campaign to educate Spokane drivers that red means stop. In 1995, Spokane was one of 32 cities in the United States that received federal money to design programs to fight red-light running.

Local officials spent the $15,500 on posters, placards and radio and TV spots, and authorities vigorously enforced red-light rules.

“It worked,” said Peggy Hodges, traffic safety coordinator for Spokane County.

Collisions attributed to red-light running dropped from 545 in 1995 to 462 in 1996 in the county, Hodges said. Countywide figures for 1997 aren’t yet available.

But a recent flurry of complaints about red-light running prompted the Spokane police traffic unit to initiate another crackdown, Giannetto said.

“You have to remind the public every so often that it’s still a problem,” he said.

Spokane police delivered that message - in the form of citations - to more than 20 red-light runners across the city Monday morning.

ACCIDENTS Last year, more than 330 wrecks in the city resulted from someone running a red light.

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