The Dallas City Council gave the first stage of go ahead Wednesday to a program to install red-light cameras at a number of Dallas intersections, joining six other North Texas cities with an automated ticketing system in place or in the works.

The bidding authorization process begins next week for cameras and the private companies to run them, with the possibility of having them installed and operational as soon as late summer.

Dallas will follow the model of having an independent private company install the cameras at certain intersections, and the company will then collect fees from the owner of any registered vehicle that runs the red light. The private company will get a portion of each $75 fine – which is a point of contention for critics of the system.

Backers of the of red light cameras point out that it is safer to monitor red light violations by camera than for police to issue tickets, since the latter usually involves a police officer following the violator through the red light.

Red light cameras appear to be effective. A 2005 Federal Highway Administration report, drawing information from more than 130 sites, found that the cameras were associated with a decrease in right-angle crashes. A 2005 Cochrane Review found that red light cameras can reduce the number of injuries from car crashes at intersections by up to 30 percent, though the article's authors also noted that most studies did not account for the spillover effect, in which the presence of cameras at intersections might cause different crash rates at those nearby.

But then there are the other issues. Is it equal protection when running a red light in front of a camera results in a $75 administrative fee, while doing it in front of a flesh and blood cop is a substantially higher penalty? What about concerns from privacy advocates who see the cameras as further proof that “Big Brother” is watching, and voice concerns that private companies have access to government databases? And some are concerned that red light cameras take the emphasis off safety and focus it more on revenue generation.

More to come as this bidding process gets under way.

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