Sunday, March 04, 2007

Red Light Cameras & Unintended Consequences

Houston has installed red light cameras at 30 intersections, and government vehicles (including school buses) have incurred 'more than 100' of the 34,000 violations registered since the fall:

Houston's new red-light cameras nabbed more than 100 government and school vehicles since the enforcement program began last fall, resulting in about $8,000 in fines, police records show.

Metro and school buses, police cruisers and public works trucks were among the vehicles caught running red lights, according to data released under the Texas Public Information Act.

The citations represent a tiny fraction of the 34,000 violators cited since September, but they are unwelcome to the agencies involved and have resulted in disciplinary action against some drivers.

I don't see an exact number in the article, but if we say there were merely 100 violations, that would constitute just about .3 percent. While that's a very low number, I'd be curious what percentage of vehicle miles traveled in Houston are by government vehicle.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

How can a police car incur a violation by running a red light?

It's part of the job.