meaning - Is "We are running the red lights" right?

I read the following dialogue which I think is quite weird.

• Look! Some people are running the red lights.


• We should wait although others are breaking the rule.

I don't think the sentence "Some people are running the red lights" is correct. Suppose there is a scene: There is the red light, but we still run across the road without stopping. We can't say "we are running the red light", right? So how to say it in an authentic way?

Answer

"Run a red light" is an idiomatic expression which means "to pass through an intersection while the traffic light is red without stopping."

So there is nothing "weird" in that dialogue and, as far as I can tell, using idiomatic English is pretty "authentic" as long as you correctly use it.

(Reference: "Dictionary of American Idioms" by R.A. Spears".)

The idiom is also used in British English along with "jumping a red light". Discussion in the comments revealed that "breaking a red light" is used in Ireland.