There's a game I like to play. I never run a red light on purpose, but sometimes the yellow comes on when I'm too close to stop, so I go on through. The game is to look in the mirror and count how many cars follow through. My record is four, but two and three are not uncommon. If I came within a second of legally running the light, then the cars behind me actually entered the intersection after the red came on. The odd part is that I have never seen a collision in my mirror. Oh, I've heard tires squall a few times, but no real accidents. It's a good idea to avoid looking in the mirror too long. You might hit the car in front of you. I almost did that once.
As you have guessed, I live in a town where people ignore traffic laws. I rarely see anyone stop for a shop sign, and I've nearly been hit when I did. They just don't expect you to come to a complete stop.
Howard