“Why do some folks find it so hard not to run red lights...?
Just curious.”
Near Dulles Airport, the cops sit there by a traffic light with one of those remote control buttons. When a vehicle comes that has committed to going through the light..
Bam! Yellow for one second than red... aaannnd the traffic police are right there to issue the citation.
Many of these lights are rigged to stay green for a shorter duration than normal on high traffic roads, setting people up to want to get through on the next signal change. But then there is a mere one second yellow, then red, so if you were trying to get through you are stuck having to finish. Even very cautious drivers can easily get caught going through one.