National Campaign to Stop Red Light Running Honors Sen. John McCain On World Health Day

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Campaign to Stop Red Light Running commemorated World Health Day 2004 by presenting an award to Arizona Senator John McCain on Capitol Hill for his support of traffic safety and the Red Means Stop Coalition in Arizona.

The World Health Organization established April 7th as World Health Day 2004. This year's global health issue is road safety, and the Red Means Stop Coalition has worked with the National Campaign to Stop Red Light Running to call attention to the problem of red light running.

Frank Hinds, one of the founding members of the Red Means Stop Coalition, presented the award to McCain. Mr. Hinds lost his 17-year-old daughter Jennifer in 1997 when a motorist ran a red light near her school and hit the vehicle in which she was traveling. Mr. Hinds has been a strong advocate for red light safety in Arizona. Phoenix ranks first among American cities in red light running fatalities and Arizona led the nation in fatal red light collisions, a total of 42 people were killed and over 6,000 injured in 2002 alone.

“In addition to his long-standing support for traffic safety, Senator McCain actively supported the Campaign’s effort during 2003 National Stop on Red Week in Phoenix with traffic safety officials and the Arizona Diamondbacks,” said Leslie Blakey, executive director of the Campaign. “It was fitting that we honor the Senator on the World Health Day dedicated to road safety.”

Each year, red light running results in as many as 218,000 crashes, over 900 deaths and 181,000 injuries at a societal cost of $14 billion.

The National Campaign to Stop Red Light Running is a national advocacy group guided by an independent National Advisory Board that includes leaders from the fields of traffic safety, law enforcement, transportation, engineering, health care and emergency medicine, as well as crash victims. More information on the Campaign can be found at www.stopredlightrunning.com.