Red Light Runners: Glasgow tops list of shame - Select Car Leasing
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Red Light Runners: Glasgow tops list of shame

MOTORISTS in Glasgow are the most likely to run a red light, with almost DOUBLE the number of prosecutions compared to anywhere else in the UK.

That’s according to shock new figures released by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).

Since April 2016, some 13,373 drivers in Glasgow were prosecuted for ignoring traffic lights - more than 10 per cent of all recorded offences in England, Wales and Scotland.


Second in the list of shame was another Scottish city - Edinburgh - with 8,022 prosecutions in the last four years.

By comparison, third place Nottingham registered 5,775 offences up to October 2019 - ahead of Bristol with 5,048, Cardiff with 4,942 and Sheffield with 2,925.

The figures were uncovered by UK-leading car leasing firm Select Car Leasing through a Freedom of Information request.

Director Mark Tongue said: “Traffic lights are there for a reason and jumping them when they are on red is not only an offence, it is also highly dangerous.

“Glasgow has around 50 speed and red-light cameras, a relatively high figure compared with other cities, which may explain why it is the red-light jumping capital.

“But driving habits and behaviours also play a significant part and motorists can hardly blame a camera if they get caught ploughing through traffic when they should be coming to a standstill.”

According to the latest stats from the Government’s Department for Transport, there were 160,597 casualties - of all severities - in reported road traffic accidents in 2018.

And around 75,095 of those accidents occurred at junctions, with many of them governed by traffic lights.


Mr Tongue added: “Few motorists enjoy being stuck at lights, not least at night when there is little other traffic around and you’re in a rush.

“But the law is there to be followed and not broken. By jumping a red traffic light or being a so-called ‘amber gambler’, drivers are creating a very real threat of death to other road users and pedestrians.

“If caught, they also face being handed three penalty points, which in some instances may lead to a driving ban under the totting-up procedure, and a fine.”

If they run a red light, motorists receive a ‘TS10’ notice on their licence for ‘failing to comply with traffic light signals’ and which stays on their record for four years from the date of the offence. Most fines are for £100 accompanied by a three points penalty.

But if you fail to respond to the penalty notice, or provide incorrect details for the driver, you could face six penalty points and a maximum £1,000 fine.


Those caught by a traffic signal camera may be offered a place on a Traffic Signal Course if activation of the camera was within less than three seconds of the light turning to red. In all, police prosecuted 127,721 motorists during the 42-month period.

And, overall, offences are actually dwindling - with 39,440 in 2016, 33,695 in 2017 and 33,147 in 2018.


Meanwhile, the top ten regional rundown of culprits is completed by Leicester, with 2,781 penalties, Motherwell at 2,596, Liverpool with 2,520, and south-west London, at 2,157.

However, drivers with a Lerwick postcode, in the Shetlands, jumped red lights the least, breaking the law just 20 times.


They were followed by those in the Outer Hebrides, at 34 offences, the Western Central – or WC – district of London, at 37 crimes, and London’s EC, or Eastern Central area, at 46.

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Wednesday, 27/03/2024