Are red-light cameras too prone to mistakes to be used in law enforcement?
A. Every technology can make mistakes, just as any human system is fallible. However, photo enforcement has been in use in Europe for more than 20 years and in the United States for more than 10 years and has proven extremely accurate and reliable. Photo-enforcement laws require the cameras to meet specified standards and to be well maintained. In addition, photo-enforcement cameras must only be used for the purpose of red-light enforcement under Texas law. Persons defending citations generated by photo enforcement have the same ability to test whether the state has properly used and maintained the equipment as any offender facing any other technological evidence. An offender always has the right to show the possibility of error, and it is up to the judge to determine whether that possibility is sufficient to create reasonable doubt.
