The War on Red-Light Cameras

Late last month, after a drawn-out battle dating back to November, Houston finally turned off its 70 red-light cameras. City residents voted them down in a referendum during the midterm elections, then a federal judge deemed the ballot illegal and the cameras clicked back on — only to go off again this summer, at the order of Mayor Annise Parker.

The situation that unfolded in Houston was certainly unique, but the city isn't alone in its disapproval of red-light cameras. Earlier this summer, Los Angeles pulled the plug from cameras above its intersections, largely because city officials failed to enforce the tickets that were issued. In 2007, the Minnesota Supreme Court determined that red-light cameras in Minneapolis violated a car owner's "presumption of innocence." A number of states have banned the technology entirely.