According to the City of Houston, in 2004 more than 900 people were killed and 168,000 injured in crashes where someone ran a red light.
But Citizens Against Red Light Cameras is petitioning to get rid of red light cameras. The group will bring the signatures to city hall this afternoon. They claim the cameras cause more accidents, violate our constitutional rights and are simply money-makers for the city.
The group has been going door to door, collecting signatures for months and once the petitions are verified by the city secretary, the issue could be placed on the November 2 ballot.
So far, 10 cities have voted on red light cameras and according to the group, all of those cities have managed to vote down the use of the cameras. If this issue is passed onto voters here, Houston would become the largest city in America to vote on red light cameras.
There is also a red light fight happening in Baytown. Next week, Baytown city council will hold a meeting about a petition that says a camera alone is not enough to issue tickets to red light runners. Signers want a police officer present to issue a ticket. There has been some back and forth on whether the proper amount of signatures are on the petition. We'll keep you posted if the issue comes to a vote in Baytown.