What is the public opinion of enforcing Texas speed and traffic light laws here in Montgomery County? So far, the Texas legislature has outlawed the use of cameras to enforce the speed limit. In the coming session of 2009, I expect that we will have a strong collaborated proposal to reverse this law and enable selected areas of the state to begin using the cameras for speed control in addition to the traffic signals. As you are probably aware, Montgomery County has been the leading county of Texas in utilizing the cameras for traffic light enforcement. Also, the county will greatly expand the use of cameras at traffic signals to penalize those who run the lights county-wide as deployment gets into full swing this year.
This blog will run a three month reader poll, seeking input for opinion and perceived barriers in this area. I would appreciate your comments, both negative and positive on this subject. I submit the pros and cons as I know them below.
Negative opinions
- Invasion of privacy. A camera taking a photograph inside an automobile presents information that should not be acquired for others to view.
- Traffic enforcement is a job for people, not technology. It takes human judgment to ascertain if a law is being violated. Minor traffic offenses are often cause to and means to discover more serious crime.
- Traffic enforcement by fines is not effective. The fines are not harsh enough to affect a change of behavior.
- This is just another means of taking money from the public to line pocket books with cash.
- There is no need to emphasize traffic law enforcement. Not a threat to public safety.
Positive opinions
- Not an invasion of privacy. Photographs taken only at a reasonable level above the speed limit (10 MPH or more) and is the equivalent of being stopped by a police officer without being stopped. Photographs not available to the public, only the processing staff and the violator.
- Technology is now enabling the automation of traffic law enforcement. The technology is accurate, always present, and reliable. Integrated camera technology offers tax payer savings equivalent to other useful modern technologies.
- The statistics prove that the technology is effective here in South Montgomery County. Behaviors at key intersections have changed to the good since we started issuing fines at these traffic lights.
- Speed is excessive on our streets. Existing cameras have collected a significant amount of data showing that excessive speed is common and is a threat to the safety of our residents. On I45, the average speed is sometimes over 80 MPH. On Woodlands Parkway, the average speed is sometimes over 60 during the day and over 70 at night
- Mobility of traffic is affected by traffic law enforcement. Every time an automobile is pulled over for a traffic violation, traffic is slowed by curious drivers. Enforcement by camera keeps the traffic moving.
- People running lights will hold up perpendicular traffic at key intersections, causing a backup of automobiles at traffic lights. This practice has essentially been stopped at the key intersections such as Panther Creek and Woodlands Parkway where the cameras have been installed, improving the flow of traffic on Woodlands Parkway and proving the technology is doing its job.
- Statistics reveal a higher risk of major accidents at locations where an automobile has been stopped by a law enforcement agency. There are no interruptions of traffic nor gazers slowing down the traffic when using the cameras. Data collected show that traffic movement is not negatively impacted by the cameras.
- Financially, the county and The Woodlands will save money on law enforcement officers. In The Woodlands, we are more likely to utilize the existing officers more for crime than routine traffic enforcement. For every deputy enforcing routine traffic enforcement, it costs us about $84,000 a year, a state trooper $104,000. There is no gain nor loss financially for the county using the automated systems except for the efficiency of utilizing its deputies.
- The primary reason for hiring additional deputies in The Woodlands was to enforce traffic laws. We had many young people being killed on our streets. As our population has grown, we have begun to experience more crime. We can expect crime to increase in the years to come. There is a need to shift the focus of traffic enforcement towards the ad hoc crimes that are on the increase, to make our neighborhoods safer without having to add more deputies.
Related articles
- Montgomery County Commissioner Ed Chance
- Woodlands Traffic Signals
- Traffic Control System in Montgomery County
Addressing the first two reader's comments to clarify:
- The commissioner assured me that there would be no photo taken except for 5-10 MPH over the limit. He actually said 10 MPH when he was addressing the freeway issues. The idea is the same as it is for red lights. Those making minor mistakes are not the target. The target offenders are those who deliberately break the law. Slight infractions go undocumented.
- There is a delay built into the traffic signals where the photos are taken after the light turns red, not yellow. You don't get a photo for a light turning red while you are in the intersection unless you are sitting in the intersection with the traffic stopped or nearly stopped. In that case, I don't know what happens.
- Good point by Citizen 1001001. Every car owner in the state of Texas is responsible for what happens with that car. For example, if you permit someone to drive your car without a driver's license, you will be cited as well if that person is caught driving without a license (not sure if that happens if you are not in the car though). Since these would be essentially the same as parking tickets, the owner of the car would be responsible for the speeding and running the red light regardless who was driving.