Traffic jam (illustrative)
Traffic jam (illustrative)iStock

The Traffic Department has noted an increase of over 21% in the number of tickets handed to drivers for failure to respect red lights during the first third of the year, Israel Hayom reported.

"Traffic accidents cost a heavy price in lives," Israel Police said. "We will continue targeted enforcement actions in order to raise the chance of catching those committing the crimes."

Between January and April 24, 2020, 105 people were killed in traffic accidents, but during the same period this year, 136 people were killed in traffic accidents.

Failure to stop at a red light is considered a serious and dangerous crime, and the chance that a deadly accident will occur as a result of that failure is high, Israel Hayom noted.

The city with the highest number of drivers who run red lights is Jerusalem, where 1,828 tickets for the offense have been handed out this year, compared to 1,024 last year, data accessed by Israel Hayom showed.

Police have increased the enforcement of traffic laws, and 11,896 tickets were been handed out nationwide between January and the end of April, up over 21% from the 9,761 tickets handed out during the same period last year. The enforcement is conducted both by police officers and via traffic cameras.