Red Means Stop
A Fountain Valley man is facing up to 13 years in prison for his reckless decision to run a red light which caused a devastating car crash Jan. 25, 2008 and killed Richard Lauvao of Santa Ana.
The force of the crash was so strong that Lauvao was nearly decapitated by his seat belt. Kenny Minh Phan, the driver who ran a red light, took off and abandoned his damaged Honda Accord instead of helping the victim.
Phan was later arrested after he was identified by the DNA he left on his car. He is currently on trial and is facing charges of felony hit-and-run causing great bodily injury and misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter.
Running a red light is the most common traffic violation associated with traffic control signals and devices. In California, it is mandated that the driver of any vehicle, the person in charge of any animal, any pedestrian, and the motorman of any streetcar shall obey the instructions of any official traffic signal unless otherwise directed by a police or traffic officer or when it is necessary for the purpose of avoiding a collision or in case of other emergency.
Anybody can easily become a red light violator, it often happens when drivers try to beat the yellow light and end up running through the red light. Inattentive and distracted drivers may fail to observe the traffic signals and inadvertently run through a red light.
Running through a red light or a stop sign may seem like an insignificant and as others may choose to believe, forgivable offense. It’s easy to use that excuses that you’re in a hurry or that everybody does it anyway but in truth, the consequences of violating this traffic rule can be criminally fatal.
In 2007, almost 900 people were killed and an estimated 153,000 were injured in crashes that involved red light running. More than half of the fatalities of running the red light are other motorists and pedestrians.
Also, in case of a car accident, any person who is caught running on a red light or in violation of a traffic signal is presumed to be the negligent party.
It may seem harmless to run a red light. But the risk you take in every second of speeding is hardly worth the number of lives you could destroy when you fail to follow the traffic signals. You could hit other people who are legally running their vehicles because you choose not to stop.
The red in traffic signals is a warning to stop. And whether running the red light was an inadvertent mistake or a reckless and conscious decision, drivers would have to face the consequences of their actions which in the case of running a red light, is often tragic.
Tags: car accident
