Red-light cameras add revenue, safety

By SALLY CLAUNCH

ARLINGTON — Motorists who exit at Avenue H from northbound Texas 360 have a tough choice to make when the light turns yellow. Traffic backs up on the frontage road during rush hour, and if they don’t go for it on yellow, they could easily sit there for five minutes or more as the light goes through another cycle.

But going for it could result in a $75 ticket, because the light is monitored by a red-light camera. Many motorists are paying the price. Among the city’s eight monitored intersections, Avenue H at Texas 360 has the most red-light violations, racking up 6,753 fines since the cameras went live July 1.

In the first year of the program, Arlington has collected more than $1 million in fines from motorists who try to scoot through monitored intersections at the last second. The city installed its first cameras in June 2007; 25,536 violation notices had been issued as of May 31. The penalty is $75 for the first and second violations, and $200 for later offenses within a year Because the penalties are civil, unpaid tickets are referred for collection, but arrest warrants are not issued. City officials said they are reviewing other sites for cameras. Since the first cameras went live, accidents have declined slightly, according to the city’s study. After the first nine months of operation, accidents at monitored intersections dropped an average of about 10 percent, city officials said.