Red Light Cameras and Driver Safety in West Texas

By Haley Davis

If you have ever sped to beat a red light in the Hub City, a photo of your license plate won’t be showing up in your mailbox anytime soon.

Unlike Amarillo and New Mexico, red light cameras in Lubbock are a thing of the past. Though it may come as a comfort to drivers with a habit of rolling through right turns, the general safety on Lubbock roads could be called into question.

Up until 2008, the American Traffic Solutions financed 12 cameras throughout the city, each with a penalty of $75 for red light runners. City Council members found themselves divided over the change in legislation with a 4-3 vote, but former Mayor David Miller elected to kill the program.

“The only traffic cameras within city limits are ones placed by TxDOT on the Loop, strictly to monitor traffic flow and accidents,” said Tiffany Pelt, public information officer for the Lubbock Police Department.

Kate Gibson, the corporate communications manager for American Traffic Solutions, said red light safety cameras are a critical tool in improving driver behavior.

“An ATS analysis found that nationwide, 90 percent of drivers who received a ticket issued by a red light safety camera in 2016 did not receive another,” Gibson said. “Red light safety cameras hold drivers accountable.”

According to the National Center for Statistics and Analysis, 719 people died in the U.S. as a result of red-light running crashes from 2011 to 2015. This number increased seven percent as the number of communities with red light cameras decreased by 12 percent.

Pelt said it is important to keep in mind the various other factors that contribute to these accidents.

“Many things could impact that number such as weather conditions, time of year,” Pelt said. “For example, did we have any major snow storms? Were these people in town for Texas Tech football?”

District 4 Councilman Steve Massengale said with or without the cameras in place, distracted driving has continued to cause some of the city’s worst traffic accidents.

“We should always be reminding citizens of their responsibility to drive safety. The enforcement of the recently legislated ‘no texting while driving’ law will be interesting,” Massengale said. “It’s the distractions that cause us to be bad drivers.”

Lubbock is not the only community foregoing red light cameras. 13 states across the nation have completely banned their use.

The constitutionality of these cameras has been questioned based on the Confrontation Clause, stating that a person accused has the right to confront witnesses against him or her in a court of law. The issue arises when these incident reports are presented by a police officer who did not actually witness the driver run the light.

In May 2015, Texas attempted to pass a statewide ban as well. After breezing through the Senate, the legislation was killed by the House Transportation Committee.

Massengale said Lubbock is definitely making strides towards safety with one of the best traffic infrastructures in the state.

“The access to Marsha Sharp is being expanded to six lanes, Loop 289 is now referred to as an inter-loop because of the access to Loop 288,” Massengale said. “It makes Lubbock a very mobile community, there’s not rush hour that you would have in the Dallas metroplex.”

Listen to the full interview with Councilman Steve Massengale below.