TPD: Drivers Running Red Lights Won't Be Getting Warnings

The Riverside Division Traffic Unit is getting serious about putting the brakes on red light runners this month.

They say if you run a red, or even a yellow light, you won't be driving away with just a warning.

"You get stopped for violating a light, you're going to get a ticket," Sergeant Stephen Boyes said.

The fine for running a red light is $200, but there's a fine for running yellow lights, too.

Boyes said, "If you run a yellow light, which means you enter an intersection on a yellow, you can't get out of the intersection before the light turns red, that's a $150 preset fine."

4/4/2017 Related Story: Tulsa Police Cracking Down On Red Light Violators

It may sound like common sense, but Boyes said yellow means slow down, not speed up.

"The purpose of the yellow light is to clear the intersections," the sergeant said.

He said there's no chance of just getting a warning either.

"These wrecks generally cause very serious injuries and fatalities, which is what we're trying to prevent," Boyes said. "I know people are in a hurry, they're trying to save time, they're trying to get where they're going. The two minutes you save by running a red light is certainly not worth hurting somebody seriously or even killing somebody."

Boyes said there are certain areas of town to pay extra attention to, like 71st and Olympia near Tulsa Hills. He said anywhere close to a highway, where there's a bunch of commercial businesses, is where you're most likely to have a wreck.

On the other side of things, Boyes said if your light is turning green, make sure you're still checking left and right to make sure everyone else is stopping.