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Texas Will Soon Ban Red-light Cameras: Do You Support the Measure?

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News that Governor Greg Abbott has recently signed a bill into law which bans red-light cameras in Texas has drawn feedback from both critics and supporters. Those in favor of them believe they work to make our streets safer while also generating funds for budgetary concerns. Those opposed to the cameras suggest that they contribute to accidents and are unconstitutional. After signing the ban, Abbott took to Twitter on Saturday, June 1, 2019, stating it would take effect on September 1, 2019.

Texas Will Soon Ban Red-light Cameras: Do You Support the Measure?

Photo: Public Domain Pictures

Texas cities that have red-light cameras will be able to keep them in place until their contracts expire, according to an amendment in the legislation. However, it’s been cited by local media that some of them have been in the process of negotiating to terminate their agreements in advance of their existing end date. Those with unpaid tickets resulting from a red-light camera picture will also be happy to hear this law will also prevent counties and state officials from declining a vehicle registration. “Traditionally that’s been the enforcement mechanism that cities have had, through the county, to hold up someone’s registration,” Fort Worth traffic attorney Andrew Hawkins recently told WFAA. “That enforcement mechanism is now gone.”

Texas Will Soon Ban Red-light Cameras: Do You Support the Measure?

Photo: Wikipedia

A fine in the range of $75 presently results when a driver enters an intersection when the red light is lit. The red-light cameras work to capture an image of the vehicle’s plate in that instance. House Bill 1361 was authored by state representative Jonathan Stickland to prohibit the use of “photographic traffic signal enforcement systems.” He recently told a FOX news station that the drafting of this bill was motivated by the rationale that “the right to due process matters…You have the right to face your accuser in court,” among other reasons. Red-light cameras first came into practice in the state of Texas in 2007. According to the Star-Telegram, legislators have introduced a number of actions to have them turned off ever since, all of which have been unsuccessful until now.