Nine days later, League City resident Richard Gregory got a ticket in the mail, with photos of the car passing through the intersection with the red light above it.

The problem is, Gregory has never owned an Acura. He doesn't own a black car. He wasn't in Dallas at 7:15 a.m. that Monday— he was at his South Shore Harbour home.

Houston has 10 red-light cameras throughout the city and plans to install 40 more. The closest camera to Galveston is at Bay Area Boulevard and El Camino Real.

Supporters tout the cameras as a means of enforcement without the expense of officers on the street. They're also a way to cut down on traffic collisions caused by red-light runners.

In Gregory's case, the ticket was issued to him because his license plates seemed to match the photos, even though the black Acura clearly didn't match the white Chrysler the plates were registered to.

Police officers review all the photos for Dallas tickets, too, city spokeswoman Zaida Basora said. She said she didn't know what process officers used to match up photos with registration.

Garland, which has the longest-running red-light camera program in Texas, has seen violations drop each year since the program's inception four years ago, according to a report from the Texas House of Representatives.

Quinn pointed to a Virginia Department of Transportation study that found accidents increased in camera-monitored intersections because drivers were more likely to slam on their brakes and get rear-ended.

Attorney Michael Kubosh, who purposely ran a red light at a camera-monitored intersection so that he could challenge the system, said he thinks the system isn't about protecting motorists.

On April 5, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled the cameras unconstitutional because tickets from the cameras weren't equal to tickets from an officer, even though it's the same infraction, The Associated Press reported.

That means the punishment isn't uniformly applied. Violators pulled over by an officer get a stiffer fine and a ticket on their record. The maximum fine for a camera-captured violation is $75.

The debate about the legality of red-light cameras could be decided soon. Earlier this month, the Texas Senate passed two bills that would grant specific permission for red-light cameras. The Texas House of Representatives will decide whether to pass the bills. If approved, the bills require revenues be split between the city and the state.

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