Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Cities big and small across America are looking into a ban on right turns at red lights in light of more pedestrians and bicyclists being hit by cars. But is that conversation happening in Western New York?
"I haven't heard much about it from Western New York personally," says AAA's Elizabeth Carey. But she says the conversation has been happening in other parts of the country. While New York has always banned it, Washington, D.C.’s City Council last year approved a right-on-red ban that takes effect in 2025. New Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s transition plan called for “restricting right turns on red,” but his administration hasn’t provided specifics. The college town of Ann Arbor, Michigan, now prohibits right turns at red lights in the downtown area.
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Carey says pedestrian fatalities have increased up to 7,500 this year, prompting some to look at such a ban. "A lot of it revolves around both bicycles, and pedestrians, and people being distracted and being in a hurry these days," says Carey.
Cheektowaga Police say there's been no talk in that town of a right on red ban. They note two percent of accidents reported last year were the result of disregarding a traffic signal, and right on red was not specified.
Carey admits it would be really hard for a lot of people to adjust to an all-out ban on right turns on red. "It's a big undertaking for a city to take, and there'll be a lot of discussion and a lot of back and forth and a lot of different sides involved before something like this could be enacted," believes Carey.
Carey notes there's no specific study that looks at how many people have been hurt or killed by people turning right on red. "Maybe something that will come up in the future is a specific study where people are looking at how many of these fatalities are related to right on red. If something like that was to show that 'Oh my goodness, look at all these people who are being struck because people are making right on red,' then maybe something like that research would support this law could be changed in several more areas," adds Carey.