SafeLight System
The SafeLight Program using red light cameras started in Dallas on 11 Dec 2006. Red light cameras watch high-risk intersections with a history of traffic accidents and photograph cars running red lights. The owners are then tracked down through the license plate numbers and fined through the mail.
For the first thirty days, the City of Dallas issued warning citations to red light runners caught on the cameras. Up to sixty intersections in Dallas will be monitored by the cameras.
Current Status
How the SafeLight Program Works
From the official press release:
The system will operate as follows:
- Radar detection equipment monitors traffic. When the signal turns red, the camera system is activated by any vehicle illegally running a red-light.
- Two pictures are taken by the cameras. The first picture shows that the front of the vehicle is not yet into the intersection while the light has already turned red. The second picture then shows the vehicle continuing through the intersection and includes the license plate.
- The camera records the date, time of day and time elapsed since the beginning of the red signal.
- Those who enter the intersection prior to the light turning red, but who, for whatever reason, are trapped in the intersection when the light changes, do not trigger the camera and will not receive a citation.
Background
Several cities in Texas have already set up red light camera systems. Denton claims a decrease in traffic accidents at those red lights with cameras installed.