Cameras for running a red light?

Question

Dallas TX is installing cameras to catch people who run red lights. How does this work? I went to How Stuff Works.com and they say there is a grid in the concrete of the intersection that can tell if a car is running a red light. However, since they are just now installing the cameras, I have never seen them install a grid in the intersection. How do the running a red light cameras work????

Answer 1

Here in Phoenix, they have sensors embedded in the ground and a red stripe painted just ahead of the intersection, if you are  past that red line and the camera snaps your picture, you will be getting a ticket in the mail. The cameras here also catch people speeding through intersections.

Answer 2

In NYC, what they do, is have the Department of Transportation install the camera on a pole approxiamtely 30-40 feet before the actual intersection. The camera (actually a box) is connected via cable to the traffic control box on the corner and there is an electronic sensor placed in the lights themselves.

When the light turns red, the traffic control box sends an electronic signal to the camera that the light is red and the camera goes into stand-by mode.

If a car begins to cross the line outermost line of the crosswalk (the line closest to the intersection), the sensor sends a signal to the traffic light control box, which sends a signal to the camera.

The camera then takes 2 photos, 1 of the light in the red phase and 1 with the license plate # of the car going through the red light. This information gets sent to DMV which issues a computer generated ticket to the registered owner of the vehicle. The ticket includes the 2 photos, so there is no contesting or denying.

The only difference between a camera red light ticket and a written red light ticket, are the points (3) and the amount of the fine.

Answer 3

You run the light and they snap a picture of you doing it and then you get a ticket in the mail.  Then you go to court and pay because they have the evidence on you cold and hard.

Answer 4

Also (FYI).

November 27, 2007

The municipality shall install signs along each roadway that leads to an intersection at which a photographic traffic monitoring system is in active use.

The signs must be at least 100 feet from the intersection or located according to standards established in the manual adopted by the Texas Transportation Commission under Section 544.001, be easily readable to any operator approaching the intersection, and clearly indicate the presence of a photographic monitoring system that records violations that may result in the issuance of a notice of violation and the imposition of a monetary penalty.

A municipality that fails to comply may not impose or attempt to impose a civil or administrative penalty against a person, including the owner of a motor vehicle or an operator, for a failure to comply with the instructions of a traffic-control signal located at the applicable intersection.

Answer 5

there is a sensor in the pavement and as the light turns red the sensor activates and as a car crosses over it it snaps a picture

Answer 6

there is a little man in there take picture of you.! is that right

Answer 7

our cameras in Albuquerque have sensors in the street that tell if you run a light then take pic. they also take pic if you make a right on red without making a complete stop first. they can also take a pic if you are speeding. we pay a civil fine to a out of state company that works with city(they get the pic,we get the ticket). the cameras were to decrease the amount of accicdents at busy intersections.  It has not, there is more now.

Answer 8

There is usually some sort of optical sensor that trips if a car enters the intersection from the wrong direction.  Basically, break the beam, and you set off the camera.  Usually a police officer looks at the pictures to determine if a violation has in fact occurs, and then issues the ticket based on the picture.