Texas Personal Injury Lawyer & Attorney : Allen Rogers Law Firm : Austin, Fort Worth

Red-light cameras are very controversial.  If you're not familiar with them, they are cameras mounted at the corners of certain intersections to photograph vehicles running red lights.  The cameras are electronically triggered when a vehicle enters the intersection after the light has turned red. The local police department then mails the offending driver a ticket with the photo of his car running the red light.  Find the red light cameras in your Texas city here.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 20% of drivers involved in fatal crashes in 1999 and 2000 had run red lights.  The IIHS also contends that use of red-light cameras reduce the number incidents of red-light violations.  There are known ways to decrease red-light violations, such as increasing the length of the yellow-light sequence.  A longer yellow-light gives drivers more opportunity to stop.

An injury lawyer handling a car wreck case in which one driver is alleged to have run a red-light, may wish to submit ran open records request to the city for data about that red-light camera and the light sequencing data to verify the length of the yellow light sequence is at least 4 seconds--especially if there is a re-light camera at the intersection. There may be a potential cause of action against the city  if the yellow light is less that 4 seconds.  The cause of action would be further supported by evidence that the yellow light was shortened after installation of a red-light camera.

In Houston, critics are alleging HPD misrepresented the results of a study suggesting red-light cameras may actually  increase in the number of crashes.  A recent investigation uncovered the fact the city of San Diego actually shortened the yellow-light sequence in order to increase red-light violations.  When the Arizona cities of Phoenix and Mesa increased the length of the yellow light sequence at certain intersections, the number of violations decreased.  That caused a major upset with the red-light camera vendor, Lockheed-Martin, which gets a portion of the fine paid by violators. It turns out Lockheed-Martin is paid up to $73 per ticket!  See the news story below.

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An unspeakable tragedy struck the small northeast  Texas community of Simms, Texas last week.  A teenager was killed  when her car crashed into the rear of a school bus.  Jessica Conner, a 16 year-old student at  James Bowie High School in Simms, Texas, was driving a Honda Prelude eastbound on U.S. Highway 67 around 3:30 p.m.   Jessica's vehicle came to rest beneath the school bus.  She was pronounced dead at the scene.  Our prayers and sincerest condolences go to Jessica's family.

The wreck happened about two miles east of the school.  It has been reported that the school bus was stopped at the time of the crash. Troopers said Conner's car swerved around two stopped cars and she lost control and wound up underneath the bus. 

It's not clear what caused her vehicle to go out of control.  It is not clear at this point why the school bus was stopped in the right lane of the highway. It is also not clear whether the bus's flashing lights were working properly. No students on the bus were injured.
 

Fatalities involving children and school buses occur every year.  Those cases usually involve a child exiting the school bus and then being struck by a driver who failed to see or ignored the bus's flashing lights.  Texas law (Tex. Transp. Code s545.066) is very clear that a vehicle approaching a school bus from any direction must stop and remain stopped while the bus is loading or unloading passengers.  It is time the Texas Legislature took additional steps to protect Texas children, by enacting legislation to enhance the visibility of stopped school buses with additional lighting.  The installation of a piercing audio device, such as an air horn, for warnings to approaching vehicles would further enhance safety features.

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