(Source: HoustonChronicle; Click2houston.com)

How should this be viewed – A population’s unwillingness to see the safety benefits of continuing with a safety measure?Or, is it simply a matter of the city administration, driven by the economic gains, unwilling to execute the citizens’ collective decision? The issues surrounding the City of Houston’s red-light camera enforcement now got a bit more chaotic by the latest court ruling. Read on.

Houston city leaders are assessing their options after a federal judge invalidated the November referendum that turned off a red-light surveillance system and halted a stream of millions of dollars into strapped city coffers.

U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes ruled Friday that the referendum was improperly placed on the ballot last year, and the city cannot be forced to turn off the cameras.U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes said that the issue as presented on the November ballot violated Houston’s city charter covering the repeal of an ordinance.Hughes said Houston’s city charter requires that efforts to overturn ordinances by referendum must occur within 30 days of an ordinance’s passage.

Video: Houston Red Light Camera Ruling

53%  percent voted against Proposition 3 in the Nov. 2 election. The measure forced the city to stop issuing tickets for those caught by the red-light cameras.

(Source: Houston.culturemap.com)

Anti-big brother Houstonians rejoiced when a referendum passed last November to take down the city’s network of red light cameras. Nearly six months later, data collected by the camera service provider, Phoenix-based ATS, suggests that citizens’ temporarily cautious attitude towards red lights has already reversed.

ATS analyzed 10 high-traffic intersections in different parts of the city that had seen noticeably decreases in violations when the cameras were installed, but have now suffered unprecedented increases. For example, the westbound intersection of Richmond Avenue and Hillcroft Avenue dipped from 5,628 violations in 2009 to 2,532 in 2010 — only to rocket back up to 3,799 in the first few months of 2011.

Editors Note:  This is yet another study that bolsters the need for installing the enforcement devices at intersections.   Oh well, there is always a counter to this and wait till someone surfaces with a new study showing how the removal of these devices has made life a lot better for poor Houstonians.

This week is National “Stop on Red” Week, and the Federal Highway Administration has kicked off several activities that highlight how dangerous blowing through a red light can be.  The activities for the week include a special edition of the Campaign’s Safety Focus newsletter, written by 13 red light running victims, survivors and their families and friends.

It has also released a video that can make you think twice before speeding through  the yellow at an intersection.  The video is a collection of actual crashes captured by traffic cameras situated at these intersections.  In one scene, a motorcycle flies through an intersection slamming into a car. In another, a car t-bones a sport utility vehicle.

The Stop Red Light Running Program was created by the Federal Highway Administration in 1995 as a community-based safety program. This campaign raised awareness of the dangers of red light running and helped reduce fatalities in many of the participating communities. The program calls attention to the dangers of red light running each year in the Annual National Stop on Red Week, – a week dedicated to educating Americans about the dangers of running red lights.

Remember, the number of fatal crashes at traffic signals is rising faster nationwide than any other type of fatal crash.  In 2007 in the U.S., almost 900 people were killed and an estimated 153,000 were injured in crashes that involved red light running. Public costs exceed $14 billion per year, and more than half of the deaths in red light running crashes are other motorists and pedestrians.

Show your Support! Stop on Red!