Texas Driver Safety and Training

Running a red light is a universally bad idea. In Texas, (and most anywhere else) motorists should pay attention to traffic lights. These traffic lights are one of the basic things to know about driving: the green light means go, the red light means stop, and the yellow light means that the light will turn either green or red.

Following that rule should be simple, right? Here are a few things to know about the traffic lights in Texas:

Traffic Cameras

In most cities in Texas, there are traffic cameras installed where there are traffic lights. At first, one might conjure up images of “Big Brother” watching each and every vehicle passing the road, but the reality is: these traffic cameras are only triggered when a vehicle runs a red light. They usually have a grace period of half a second, enough time for a vehicle to notice the red light and stop at the appropriate time.

Red lights

When a vehicle runs a red light, the high-speed traffic cameras capture the plate number and the model of the car, and that image is further examined by professional traffic enforcers to determine if there was an offense or not. When it is confirmed that a vehicle caught on camera did indeed ignore the traffic light, they will be mailed a citation using the information from their plate number. The Texas traffic light offender will then choose to either pay the fine, or appear in court. After that, there is also a possibility of being ordered to attend a defensive driving or driving education course that specializes in traffic lights and signs. Fines are usually between $75 to $100, plus other fees.

Traffic signal out

Surprisingly, there is a law that was only enacted in 2003: when a traffic light is out, all intersections turn into four-way stop. No exceptions. A traffic light can be considered “out” when none of the signals are flashing, or when the lights are behaving erratically.

In Texas, these laws are put into practice to keep Texas a safer place to drive!

Complete a Texas Defensive Driving Course to reduce points on your driving record or for an auto insurance discount.

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