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j Eugene Police Departrnertit <br /> <br /> ~I i <br /> ~ City of Eugene <br /> 777 Pearl Street <br /> Eugene, Oregon 97401 <br /> (541) 984-8395 FAX <br /> EWS RE EASE <br /> June 7, 199 <br /> F r further informa ion, contact: <br /> Brian S. T rrett, Eugene Police Public Affairs Manager, 682-5124 <br /> Eric Jones, Public Works Public Information Coordinator, 682-5523 <br /> i <br /> JUNE PROGRAM HOPES TO REDUCE RED LIGHT RUNNERS <br /> Working si e by side, the Police and Public Works Departments hope that a combination education and <br /> e forcement camp ign during the month of June will reduce the number of people running red lights in Eugene. <br /> Drivers thr ughout Eugene have noticed an increase in the numbers of cars that go through an <br /> in ersection after th light has turned red. Calls to the City of Eugene's Public Service Officer and the Eugene <br /> P lice complaining bout drivers running red lights have also been increasing over the past several years. <br /> In respons to these complaints, the Interdepartmental Cooperative Action Team (ICAT) talked about <br /> w ys to reduce the number of red light runners earlier this year. A t~vo-prong approach to the problem, public <br /> e ucation backed y focused enforcement, was proposed to help reduce the problem. <br /> The public ducation portion of the two-part program is designed to remind drivers that running a red light <br /> isjdangerous and c uld cost the driver more time and money than would be saved by running the light. It will also <br /> r~mind drivers that unning a red light is against the law. The public education component will be backed up by a <br /> f used effort by th Eugene Police to stop and ticket drivers who are running red lights. <br /> The enforc ment effort will be conducted by the Traffic Enforcement Team, as well as regular patrol <br /> o icers. A number f intersections have been identified as problem areas, but the enforcement effort will be <br /> conducted city-wid . <br /> i Before beg nning the program, a count of people entering an intersection after the light turned red was <br /> c 'nducted four maj r intersections during a fifteen day period in May. The count revealed that over 2,200 people <br /> ra through these i tersections on a red light. At one intersection alone, 200 people ran the light between 8:00 <br /> a. .and 9:00 a.m. <br /> Each one o these violations represents a potential fatal traffic accident. The goal of the education and <br /> e forcement effort ill be to reduce these numbers and make the intersections safer for drivers and pedestrians. <br /> C mpleted by: on June 7, 1999, hrs. <br /> Fax Used: Yes <br /> Distribution: Re rds Communications <br /> Op rations Analysis Watch Commander <br /> Inv stigations Admin. PIO <br /> Poli Services Admin. <br /> Chi f of Police <br /> <br />