A 60-year-old man is dead because a driver ran a red light at the intersection of 96th & Giles streets on Thursday morning, renewing the urgency for drivers to stop committing red-light violations.
The Omaha Police Department officials report six people were killed last year because of someone running a red light, and that it was the cause of about 13 percent of all 2016 crashes in the metro. Seven people have died in 2017 for the same reason, according to OPD officials.
Authorities say blowing through a red light becomes a habit for people, and that split-second decision could have very serious consequences.
Drivers like Timothy Bradley are concerned.
"Stresses us out, makes us more likely to make mistakes, puts us in danger," he said. "I mean, it seems like every day, here's your daily five accidents. I would think if people were a little more careful, there won't be daily accidents."
Omaha Public Works is updating 1,000 traffic lights in Omaha to make drivers more aware of the changing signals.
City officials say they do what they can to prevent red-light running, but that they can't correct human error.
