Mayor holds out hope for red light cameras

11:52 AM CDT on Tuesday, May 3, 2005

By Jeremy Desel / 11 News

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If you're in a rush or think you can slide by or plead color blindness when you run a red light in Houston, think again.

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Mayor White would like to see cameras used to catch red light runners in some Houston intersections.

"We need to have more tickets written for people who run red lights. Not to raise money, but to stop people from running red lights," says Mayor Bill White.

The Mayor points to a list of 10 intersections where there have been 189 accidents in just the last three months, for an average of two per day.

Officers writing tickets are one thing, but the mayor is depending on red light cameras to do more, snapping a shot at every violation.

Although legislative action in Austin has stalled the plan, a bill that would kill the city's ability to operate cameras is still alive.

Mayor White places the blame for the stall squarely on one strong lobby. "There are some of the criminal defense attorneys that would prefer to wait for the witness not to show up. They don't want hard photographic evidence," he says.

Attorney Paul Kubosh would beg to differ. "It surprises me a little bit because, to be honest with you, I didn't realize we had that much stroke," he says.

Kubosh says if safety were the city's real motivator, it could do better by re-timing lights and extending the yellow cycle. He's fighting the cameras for one simple reason. "The intersections can be set up to trap motorists. It is just a money grab," he says.

"If people stop running red lights, there won't be revenue. And I'd be the happiest person around," says Mayor White.

The bill to keep cities from using red light cameras has passed the House and is currently in a Senate committee. The vote there will be close.

Even if the legislative fight goes Houston's way, don't expect it to end.

Kubosh vows a lawsuit challenging the cameras the day they start snapping pictures.