Driving can by a dangerous activity on the roads of Houston, but there are many ways that we as a driving society have worked to help make our roads safe. With the increase in the ways that we understand how proper signage and appropriate speed limits can reduce crashes, it is easy to see how new technology is making lives safer out on the road everyday.
Red light traffic cameras are one way of discouraging drivers from accelerating through yellow and red lights. The added penalty of a ticket that my carry a monetary fine or possibly jail time can dissuade unsafe and impudent driving behavior, if implemented in a precise and informed manner.
However, this is not so much the case in Houston where Texas traffic accidents have increased as a result of the red light citation cameras. The way that red light traffic cameras work is by taking a photo that will record the offending driver’s license plate and then a city contractor will examine the photo and write a ticket to the registered owner of the vehicle.
Each ticket amounts to a $75 fine that generated close to $21 million of revenue for the city. What studies were finding in the Houston area was that traffic accidents actually increased since the time the red light traffic cameras were introduced to Houston intersections, which produced the opposed outcome that city officials were looking to create.
More and more studies are showing that red light cameras do not actually decrease the total number of accidents that happen, but affect the percentage value of fatal crashes within the total number of accidents. In an effort to make the traffic cameras seem as if they were actually decreasing the number of accidents, Houston city officials allegedly tried to omit certain data points such as accidents that happened 100 feet from an intersection.
If you have been injured in a Houston auto accident as a result of a red light infraction, you could be entitled to compensation. Contact Houston auto accident attorney Steve Lee at 713-921-4171 or 1-800-232-3711 for answers to your questions and advice regarding your Houston red light accident case.
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Steven M. Lee, PC
5823 Gulf Freeway
Suite 300
Houston, TX 77023
Phone: 713-921-4171
Toll Free: 800-232-3711