‘It's selfishness': Deadly consequences of red light running being felt more in Philly

With a few weeks left in 2023, deadly crashes in Philadelphia involving a driver running a red light have more than tripled from last year.

"It's just Philly, but it's kind of like the wild, wild West sometimes," one pedestrian said.

It's all part of a disturbing trend in the city, where running red lights has become far too common.

"It's something in the air, it seems like, in general, people are a little angrier, people are a little more impatient," one man said of the deadly trend.

At least one city leader would like to see more red light cameras at the most dangerous intersections, but he said that hold-ups on the state level in Harrisburg don't make it easy.

Deadly red light crashes in Philly triple in just 1 year

The data shows it’s been a horrible year to drive, bike and walk around Philadelphia.

Hit-and-runs are near all-time highs and pedestrians are dying at record rates.

And, you probably have seen another deadly trend – people running reds without care -- leading to the dramatic increase in deadly crashes. Running red feels as common as hitting a pothole in Philly these days.

Philadelphia police data shows a spike in deadly red light crashes: nine killed so far this year, up from three last year.

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Crossing an intersection can be 'terrifying'

"It’s terrifying, no one stops at a red light," one woman said as she waited to cross Kelly Drive near the Philadelphia Museum of Art. "We have the light... but no one cares."

Other rough intersections where red light running can be seen regularly includes Girard Avenue near the Philadelphia Zoo.

And, in the Kensington neighborhood, police said a speeding driver ran a red on East Lehigh Avenue, killing a pedestrian before driving off. The dead man was knocked out of his shoes.

Might technology cause drivers to stop?

Red light running is on the mind of at least one city council person who is proposing hearings.

“The boldness you’re seeing now is someone will have a solid red light and they will just treat that red light like a stop sign,” Democratic Philadelphia City Councilmember-at-Large Isaiah Thomas said. "There’s a lot of bold things we’re seeing.”

"We wanna see some type of consequences," for red light running, Thomas said.

Low police staffing and concerns over traffic stop bias don't make it as easy. However, Thomas believes more red light cameras would help.

“12% of our roads produce over 80% of our car accidents," Thomas said. “Technology is the best way we’ve found to try and address some of this stuff.”

Right now, the city has about 34 red light cameras – including outside busy City Hall and several along Roosevelt Boulevard in Northeast Philadelphia -- but as it stands, not every road or street is allowed to have cameras. The cameras must be approved by Harrisburg before being installed -- as has been the case on state highways.

Thomas said that the Boulevard is a prime example of the cameras working.

"I've been in Philadelphia my entire life," Thomas said. "I do think Roosevelt Boulevard is an example of how technology has changed behavior."

What other challenges exist?

Philadelphia police wouldn't reveal how often they pull over red light runners.

The fact that some drivers openly drive with fake or missing plates won't make it easy to stop the dangerous behavior.

"Maybe it's selfishness," one woman said.