Darwen red light runners at main road junction condemned

Now he wants other people to follow his example and report drivers ignoring traffic lights to the police's Operation Snap portal for video footage and photographs.

The resident - known as Fred - caught the red light jumpers on his dashcam at the signal-controlled junction between the A666 Blackburn Road, Hollins Grove Street and Earnsdale Road.

He has been joined in his condemnation of 'running' red lights by Lancashire Police, Blackburn with Darwen Council leader Cllr Phil Riley, and Darwen West ward's Cllr Dave Smith.

Fred said: "I have caught yet another red light runner on the A666 on dashcam.

"This is the seventh person caught in the last six months doing this.

The Earnsdale Road junction is a hotspot for red light running

"It is dangerous and if caught can lead to points on your licence, a hefty fine, and increased insurance premiums.

"People keep blatantly running the red lights at the bottom of Earnsdale Road and Hollins Grove.

"To be absolutely clear these are not 'last second it has changed to amber' runs, but people clearly going through their red while the A666 lights have been on green along the main road.

"Something must be done before someone gets seriously hurt or killed.

"People can be reported to Operation Snap and they should be."

Cllr Smith said: "Red light runners are a problem at this and other junctions.

"I would urge the public to report incidents to the police together with the registration plates of the offender's vehicle if possible."

Cllr Riley added: "Traffic lights are there for an obvious reason and that is to ensure the safety of all road users including pedestrians.

"Drivers who think they are clever by ignoring traffic rules will get away with it for so long until they eventually do serious damage to either themselves or, much worse, to other innocent road users.

"They are not clever or smart. They are anti-social and dangerous."

A spokesperson for Lancashire Police said: "The force is continuing to tackle anti-social driving offences through Operation Snap, which is a streamlined and secure online portal where members of the public can upload digital footage of suspected traffic offences.

"More than 1,400 submissions have been made by the county’s road users.

"Using that footage, Lancashire Police have been able to take positive action in 58 per cent of cases.

"Potential evidence of dangerous driving, driving without due care and attention, careless driving, using a mobile phone when driving, not wearing a seatbelt, going through red lights and crossing solid white lines in the road, are just some of the instances recorded.

"This is utilising the eyes and ears of the public and we have seen a significant increase in reports from the public via Operation Snap."