New Bill Could Ban Red Light Cameras in Texas

Running a red light is an annoyance to all us. Plus, it's just flat out dangerous. Over the last decade or so, some cities have added cameras at problem intersections to catch those that do run them.

But are they reducing red light runners?

Randall Kallinen, an attorney who is against the red light cameras, told KHOU, "Jurisdictions across the United States, including in Texas where it’s been put up for a vote of the people, 95% of the time the people vote them out."

He also believes that the cameras impose on citizens rights to a trial by jury and are an invasion of privacy.

Representatives with the Sugar Land Police Department were at a hearing in Austin last week to show how the cameras have helped fight red light runners.

They showed that accidents at intersections with red light cameras decreased 33 percent last year. Sugar Land Police Chief Doug Brinkley told KHOU, “About 89 percent of people who have a violation from a red light camera never receive a second violation, so that’s a testament to that if you receive the first one. You’re changing your thought process and you’ll be more careful as you approach those intersections.”