Purpose

Red-light confirmation lights enhance safety at signalized intersections by helping Police enforce red light compliance. This results in a reduction of red light running violations. The confirmation lights are auxiliary lights connected to a traffic-control signal to help law enforcement officers more efficiently and safely issue citations for drivers who violate the red light of the traffic signal.

According to the US Department of Transportation's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 869 people were killed in crashes that involved red-light running in 2006, and the National Campaign to Stop Red-Light Running estimates that another 143,000 were injured.

Operation

A confirmation light is a small, blue light mounted to the top, bottom or rear of a traffic signal head and will come on simultaneously with the red light of the traffic signal. The confirmation light will allow law enforcement agencies to safely observe vehicles that illegally enter the intersection on the red light of the traffic signal and pursue the violators. The combination of confirmation lights and enforcement efforts has been show to reduce the number of red light violators and helps to increase the efficiency of enforcing red lights. Red-light confirmation lights do not use automated photography.