Drivers Caught Jumping Red Lights are Being Sent on Courses

Drivers caught jumping red traffic lights in London are being sent on courses run by the London Safety Camera Partnership.

Attending the course allows them to avoid paying a £60 fine and getting three points on their licence.

More than 350 people have already been on the course during a trial period. Officials estimate that within its first year, about 1, 200 will choose to pay the £95 fee and attend lessons in Islington, Bromley or Ealing.

If successful, the scheme will go nationwide. New figures show that each week, two people are killed or seriously injured on London’s roads after motorist run traffic lights.

The red-light courses will be offered to drivers at the discretion of the police, depending on the margin by which they overshot the lights.

More serious offenders will not be offered a place and drivers can only attend once in three years.

There are 242 red light cameras in London. Their installation has led to a 53 per cent reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured at their location.

Simon Bush of Britannia Driving School said: “London roads are getting safer, but the 129 deaths and serious injuries in 2006 caused by red – light jumping demonstrate there is much more to be done.”

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