Skip to main content

Texas awaits one signature to put a statewide stop to red light cameras

When Texas Governor Greg Abbott signs state House Bill 1631 into law, he will bring a halt to red light cameras in the state. Because Abbott campaigned against the technology when he ran for office, Texans assume his signature on the bill is a done deal, according to the Dallas News.

The state Senate approved Texas House Bill 1631 prohibiting photographic traffic signal enforcement systems. The deciding vote on the law was 23 to 8.

The central issue in the bill’s passage is the technology’s presumption of guilt. According to Texas Senator Bob Hall, the bill’s sponsor, “Red light cameras violate the right to due process by creating a presumption that the registered owner of the car committed a violation.”

Red light camera (RLC) sensors detect cars that run or speed through red lights. The cameras capture photos of offending vehicle license plates and the system levies fines automatically. The traffic cams detect, decide, and sentence without human intervention. When vehicle owners receive the fines in the mail, that’s often the first notice they have that a crime was committed — whether or not they were driving at the time.

But what about public safety, the original reason for installing RLCs? Do photographic enforcement systems make streets safer?

A 2017 study of traffic cam safety benefits at the Northwestern University Transportation Center reported mixed results. The study found that with red light camera systems in place, the number of angle crashes dropped 19%, but the incidence of rear-end crashes increased by 14%. The net result isn’t a 5% difference. Rear-end collisions without traffic cams were less frequent than T-bone type accidents. So there are fewer accidents with fewer injuries and lower financial damage with red light cameras.

Damage and injuries from rear-end crashes are less severe than with angle crashes. The Northwestern study concluded, “Quantitative studies conducted in this project demonstrate significant safety benefits of the current RLC program.”

And then there’s the whole issue of money. Controversy about the revenues from red light camera systems assuming greater importance than safety has raged for years. From 2007 to 2010, Texas cities reaped more than $100 million from RLC fines. In 2018, Dallas — a city that famously supports RLCs — took in $5.8 million from the penalties, the Dallas News reports. Dallas splits the proceeds 50-50 between the city and Texas hospital trauma centers.

Even if, or more likely when, Governor Abbott signs House Bill 1631, however, that doesn’t mean red light cameras will disappear from Texas cities overnight, or even within a year. An amendment passed with the bill allows municipalities to continue to use photographic traffic enforcement systems until contracts signed as of May 5, 2019, expire. In 2017, Dallas extended its RLC contract until 2024, Texas TV NBC-DFW reports.

Editors' Recommendations

Bruce Brown
Digital Trends Contributing Editor Bruce Brown is a member of the Smart Homes and Commerce teams. Bruce uses smart devices…
The Apple Car was reportedly dubbed ‘the Bread Loaf’
A man checks his phone in an Apple retail store in Grand Central Terminal.

A 2020 prototype of the so-called "Apple Car" was dubbed "the Bread Loaf" for its looks, according to a Bloomberg report on Wednesday.

In a deep dive into the costly project, which Apple canceled last month, the report described the vehicle as “a white minivan with rounded sides, an all-glass roof, sliding doors, and whitewall tires [that] was designed to comfortably seat four people and inspired by the classic flower-power Volkswagen microbus.”

Read more
The Rivian R2 SUV is up for preorder for only $45,000
Rivian R2

You can now get a Rivian without spending more than $70,000. After months of rumors and leaks, Rivian has finally taken the wraps off of the Rivian R2, its newest SUV, and the first to be built on the new Rivian R2 platform. The R2 is built to be Rivian's "Model 3 moment," or its attempt to build a car that's more accessible to the general public and thus could be sold at a much higher volume than the R1S or R1T ever were.

The R2 certainly cuts some corners to achieve the lower price point, but it actually still has a lot going for it -- especially as an electric SUV in this price range. It goes up against the likes of the Tesla Model Y, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Mustang Mach-E, and Kia EV6, but it's much more of an SUV than a crossover-sized car and should appeal to those who want something larger and with Rivian's design sensibility.

Read more
The R3 is Rivian’s surprise electric crossover
Rivian R3

Rivian didn't just announce the R2 platform at its latest launch event -- in a surprise twist, it also announced the R3 crossover. The R3 is Rivian's smallest car yet, offering a size much closer to the likes of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 than the SUVs that came before it.

Of course, not only is the Rivian R3 smaller, but presumably, it's also cheaper. Rivian didn't reveal actual pricing for the car, but it did say that it would be less than the R2's $45,000 price. Also, it may be some time before we start seeing the R3 on the road -- the car will follow the R2, which isn't set to be available until the first half of 2026.

Read more