INGENIEUR
Red Light Camera on Site.
(MIROS) on red light running found that there
was a higher violation rate among motorcyclists
compared to other road users. Motorcyclists are
the most vulnerable group to all types of violations
as they are smaller in comparison, move faster
and go undetected in a crowd. Also, it is more
difficult for motorcycles moving at high speeds
to come to a stop compared to cars, particularly
within short distances at traffic lights.
Traffic and Setting related
Factors under traffic and settings are position in
traffic flow, traffic volume, approach speed, time
of day and day of week.
Time is one of many factors affecting red light
running. Drivers often beat the red light when
they are in a hurry. Green, in 2003, conducted
an extensive analysis using Australian crash data
from 1994 to 1998. A high number of red light
running related crashes was observed during
late afternoon and on the weekends suggesting
a relation to high alcohol times. Time of day was
also concluded by Retting et al. (1999) as a factor
influencing red light running. They found different
characteristics of red light running related crashes
that occurred during the night as compared
to daylight crashes. Involvement of male and
younger drivers was higher in the night time
crashes. With regards to day of week, Lum & Wong
(2002) observed a higher tendency of stopping at
junctions during weekdays.
Type of Enforcement to counter Red Light
Running
Enforcement is known to influence a driver’s
behaviour towards red light running. Since 2001,
Malaysia has been conducting annual enhanced
enforcement activities at a national level. This
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annual activity is called “OPS Bersepadu” or the
Integrated Operation, which includes various
agencies such as the Royal Malaysia Police
(RMP), Road Safety Department and Road
Transport Department. In 2012, during the Hari
Raya (2012) festive season, the name of the
operation was changed to “OPS Selamat 1”. This
was carried out for two weeks in conjunction
with the goal of reducing the number of traffic
offences during the festive season, thus
reducing the number of fatalities. Previously,
the RMP had used the advocacy approach to
educate people to behave courteously during
Hari Raya 2011, but failed to achieve their
objective when the road fatalities increased
to 16.5%. Nevertheless, the “OPS Selamat”
sees the RMP emphasising more on improving
their operations during festive seasons on six
offences - running the red light, overtaking on
double lines, cutting queues, driving on the
emergency lane, driving over the speed limit and
motorcycle-related offences.
Apart from that, a system called the Automated
Enforcement System (AES) which was changed
to the Awareness Automated Safety System
(AwAS) to solve red light running issues and was
introduced in September 2012 in locations with
high incidence of accidents. A study was then
carried out by Hawa in 2014 to measure the
effectiveness of AES in curbing red light running.
The study found out that after a year of the
AES being installed, the violation rate had been
reduced to between 1.23% and 2.20% six months
after installation, as compared to 4.29% before
installation. Motorcycles held the position as
the highest contributor of violations, followed by
cars and other types of vehicles. The study also
revealed that the installation of AES was indeed
timely and beneficial in Malaysia.
In summary, red light running is a major traffic
violation which may result in serious injuries.
Factors influencing red light running are diverse
and include engineering, human, vehicle and
traffic related. On enforcement, the best method
to solve red light running issues in Malaysia is by
the use of AES or AwAS (due to the effectiveness
of the AES compared to campaigning). As the
system can be a permanent component of the
transportation infrastructure, it also ensures a
sustainable accident reduction method.