Tulsa Police Cracking Down On Traffic Light Violators

If you run a red light and the cops catch you, chances are you'll get a ticket, and in East Tulsa, police are writing those tickets all month long.

At 51st Street and Memorial police are targeting those drivers who blow though intersections when the light turns red. It's all part of a special enforcement through the month of May.

Officer David R. Bohrer, with TPD. said, "You always have somebody who's wanting to get there just a little quicker, or whatnot, by going through these lights or speeding, but then, that can very easily lead to a collision or possibly a fatality or serious injury on that."

That's why officers with the Tulsa Police Department are in their unmarked patrol cars catching people running yellow and red lights.

If police catch you storming through intersection east of Sheridan and south of I-244 when the light turns yellow, you could pay a $150 fine. If you run a red light in the area you could face fines between $200 and $500.

We rode along with Bohrer. Most people he caught thought they made it through the changing traffic lights without breaking the law.

Sergeant Stephen Boyes said yellow lights serve a purpose for helping traffic flow; it's not a signal for drivers to hurry up and get through the intersection.

"The yellow light is not there to speed up. The yellow light is to allow the time for the intersection to clear because the lights are getting ready to change," Boyes said.

Red light accidents happen all the time. Last August, police say a driver ran a red light hitting a beer truck at 71st Street and Yale. The driver was taken to the hospital after his car spun around and knocked the axle off the truck.

Boyes hopes his officers in the Mingo Valley Traffic Unit are sending a message to drivers as more people get on the roads with the warmer weather.

"Maybe more people will make it to their destinations, or vacation destinations, or wherever they're going this summer," Boyes said.

Thursday's special enforcement netted 32 tickets in an hour and 45 minutes. Officers wrote seven red light tickets, ten yellow light tickets and other tickets for various violations.