Aug. 30, 2019—Deaths from cars running red lights reached a 10-year high in 2017, according to a new study from AAA, per a report from USA Today.
2017 was the last year full numbers were available.
The number of people killed when someone ran a red light reached 939 in 2017 and that was up by 31 percent from a low of 715 in 2009. The study tracks anyone who was killed, including the driver, passengers, people in another vehicle or people outside the vehicle.
According to the study, some contributors include the fact that Americans are driving more and that there is more distracted driving. The rise of the smartphone has taken place since 2007 and distracting in-vehicle infotainment systems can contribute to the increase in collisions.
