Despite the state legislature outlawing the use of red light cameras in Texas back in 2019, a provision in the law allowed Amarillo’s red light camera program to continue, at least until yesterday.
When House Bill 1631 was passed in 2019, it contained a provision allowing municipal governments with existing contracts for red light camera operations to continue in those contracts until the end of the contract term. While Amarillo’s contract with American Traffic Solutions included an option to terminate the contract in the case of the state banning the cameras, the city government interpreted the provision in the law allowing the city to continue in the contract as meaning that the option to terminate for that reason was not available.
That contract, however, expired yesterday. The cameras have been shut off and will be taken down over the next few months, according to the city.
While the cameras had been in operation during the time between the state banning the technology and the contract expiring, the law banning the cameras also removed most potential avenues for enforcement of tickets issued through the program.
In February of 2019, just ahead of the looming passage of the bill banning the cameras, the city took the controversial move of expanding their contract to add new cameras. This came shortly after a citizen petition committee attempting to ban the cameras within the city fell just short of meeting the city’s petition requirements.
While the city maintains that the program has made intersections using the technology safer, wider studies on the issue seem to have mixed results, with some studies even suggesting that red light cameras cause an increase in accidents, especially among rear end collisions.