Dallas Feels Impacts of Red-Light Camera Ban

Dallas shut off its red-light cameras last year after Governor Greg Abbott signed a law banning them in the state.

"City transportation officials said that the red-light program made roads safer. They decreased T-bone collisions, which can lead to serious injuries or death because those tend to occur at faster speeds," write Hayat Norimine and Ariana Giorgi.

Crashes overall decreased at 19 of 29 intersections in the city where the cameras were installed, according to an analysis by the city’s Transportation Department.

In addition, the city will no longer have access to the funds collected from fines — almost $6 million in 2018 alone. Half of this funding went to traffic signal upgrades, and the ban will result in a loss of $2 million to $3.5 million annually, a substantial decrease that will hamper efforts to address infrastructure needs.

"The city has fallen behind on traffic signal maintenance. [Assistant City Manager Majed] Al-Ghafry said 60% of Dallas’ traffic signals are more than 20 years old, and the city will need up to $25 million over about two decades to systematically replace some of the oldest," report Norimine and Giorgi.