I have absolutely seen people accelerate to "catch a yellow", and then fall into the red by a substantial period of time People accelerating to catch red light

I have absolutely seen people accelerate to "catch a yellow", and then fall into the red by a substantial period of time People accelerating to catch red lights are usually within the last 100 feet before the crosswalk. At 35mph and accelerating (~50 feet per second), assuming the light turned yellow immediately at the 100 foot mark and lasted for 1 second, the driver should be able to reach the intersection within the first second of the red light. The other drivers would take about 0.5 seconds to react and then accelerate from a stop into the intersection (remember that the law says you have to wait for the intersection to clear before proceeding), so they would likely not be in danger. It would be close, but usually these aren't the situations that cause deadly accidents. When the light has been red for a few seconds or more and someone runs it, there is a much greater chance for a deadly accident.