March declared awareness month for red-light running

PHOENIX — This March marks the 15th year an Arizona governor has proclaimed the month as Red-Light Running Awareness Month.

It also marks the 16th year that Frank Hinds has been honoring his daughter’s memory. When Jennifer Hinds was 17 years old, a red-light runner hit her in front of her Glendale high school. She died six days later.

One year after Jennifer’s death, Hinds convinced then-Gov. Jane Dee Hull to issue the first proclamation.

Hinds is now executive director of the Red Means Stop Traffic Safety Alliance, a non-profit he formed in 1999 with two other men who lost children to red light runners.

“We don’t want their injuries or deaths just to be cataloged somewhere as a statistic,” he said.

Group members hold events and speak to students at high schools across the Valley. Hinds said they focus on teaching responsible driving behavior and even offer driver’s education scholarships to families in need.

“Hopefully, someday we’ll have a generation of safer drivers.”