Owasso Police Department Cracks Down On Driver Running Red Lights

The Owasso Police Department is cracking down on drivers running red lights and stop signs. The department said that it's because officers have received more complaints about the issue lately.

While OPD is working to make the roads as safe as possible, officers said that it can be difficult if drivers aren't careful at intersections.

Deputy Chief of Police, Jason Woodruff wants to emphasize that Owasso ordinance and state law states that you cannot be in the intersection by the time a light turns from yellow to red. It's a violation OPD is going to be out looking for even more moving forward, whether by having more officers out patrolling or by letting people know about the law on social media.

"Our main goal is to get the problem improved, it's not to issue a bunch of citations. So we would rather let people know about it in advance and tell them 'hey, we're really paying attention to this, please make sure that you're aware of the rules and that you are driving like you're supposed to be,'" Woodruff said.

OPD said that this is in response to an increase in accidents because of drivers running red lights, but Woodruff said that drivers who don't clear an intersection by the time a light turns red can cause accidents or backups into the intersection.

"Basically, they'll go through the intersection and get stopped halfway through and block [the intersection]. When the light turns, if they're stuck in the middle of the intersection, cars coming from the opposite direction can't get through because they're sitting there," Woodruff said.

Woodruff said that drivers receiving a citation from running a red light could be pretty significant, costing around a couple hundred dollars.