Don't let a red light be the last thing you see.

• Position: Your Life - Brief article

"Innocent lives are lost every day when drivers recklessly or inadvertently run red lights. Most of the time these incidents happen because drivers are in a hurry to get to their destination, but it's important that all drivers remember that being late is infinitely better than losing their life or injuring others due to a careless decision," says Rhonda Craft, director of the California Office of Traffic Safety, Elk Grove.

Nationwide, half of the people killed as a result of running red lights or stop signs are not the violators, but innocent parties, including passengers, other motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Arlington, Va., offers the following red-light statistics:

* Occupant injuries occur in about 45% of red light-running crashes, compared with 30% of other types.

* Red-light runners are more than three times as likely as other drivers to have multiple speeding convictions on their driver records.

* The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration...