Texas Shows True Intent of Red Light Cameras

Some states are starting to look closely at the use of red light cameras and are starting to ban their use. Texas is one such state. The Texas legislature has banned the use of red light cameras but has a grandfather clause exempting existing contracts. In an attempt to lock in these revenue generating cameras, two Texas towns are entering into long term contract extensions with the companies that supply the cameras. Southlake has extended their contracts by 20 years. The same thing happened in Montana. The Montana legislature passed a similar ban on red light cameras which had the same grandfather clause exempting existing contracts. Some towns in Montana entered into contract extensions and the Montana legislature responded by passing another statute eliminating the grandfather clause.

The effectiveness of red light cameras is also being questioned. While the Texas legislature was debating banning red light cameras, one Texas town reported that while the drop in accidents caused by running red lights dropped, it was almost entirely offset by the increase in rear end collisions at the same intersections. Many opponents of red light cameras believe that simply extending the yellow light time would serve the same public safety purpose and lower the number of fines issued for tickets. This also brings up the possibility of rigging the yellow light sequence at an intersection to increase the likelihood of someone running a red light. On February 6, 2009 we published a blog about one such plot uncovered in Italy.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.