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Blue lights will be a problem for motorists running red lights in Burnsville.

Police started using a new set of lights Thursday at two intersections to nab red-light runners. Burnsville is the first city in the state to use the technology.

"It's a great resource," Police Chief Bob Hawkins said.

Here's how it works: A blue light is linked to go off at the same time as a red traffic light while positioned at a 90-degree angle from the red light. In busy intersections with multiple turn lanes and medians, police can watch the blue light to catch drivers running red lights on the crossing street.

In most cases, just one officer can then patrol such an intersection.

"It's a tool for the police," said Jerry Kotzenmacher, a traffic systems specialist for the Minnesota Department of Transportation. Florida was the first state to use the now three-year-old enforcement light. It's also used in Clark County, Nevada.

Running a red light can cost up to $127 and stay on the driver's record for three years.

With the new technology, the ticket is more likely to be upheld in court because the blue light is wired to the red light. Judges sometimes drop the fine if police don't see the red light, as they might not when patrolling from the opposite direction, Hawkins said.

The lights are along Minnesota 13 -- a busy roadway with commercial truck traffic -- at county roads 5 and 11. Traffic experts ranked Minnesota 13 and County Road 5 the second-busiest intersection for traffic volume in the metro area, with 70,000 vehicles a day.

There were two fatalities in the past year at Minnesota 13 and County Road 11.

Burnsville officials want the enforcement lights to help reduce accidents -- especially right-angle crashes at intersections with stoplights. Those crashes accounted for nearly 20 percent of the city's 360 intersection crashes between 2002 and 2006.

Burnsville scored the enforcement tool with an $8,000 grant from the Minnesota Local Road Research Board. The group also awarded Bloomington the grant, but that city has yet to install the light system, Kotzenmacher said.

MnDOT officials plan to install a third blue light within the next month at Nicollet Avenue and Burnsville Parkway, said Burnsville officials. The lights cost $250 to install and can be attached to various parts of a traffic light or on a separate pole.

Although Burnsville's lights were mounted two months ago, they were being tested to determine if white or blue lights worked better. MnDOT opted for blue because it was less distracting for drivers yet visible to police during the day.

"It's intended only for the police to use," Kotzenmacher said.

MnDOT officials plan to consider other intersections for the blue lights.

Burnsville Mayor Elizabeth Kautz said she hopes the lights will encourage motorists to slow down when approaching a yellow light -- and not speed up to beat the red.