SAN ANTONIO — Hundreds of KENS 5 viewers have taken to social media to express frustration with a new, and very successful, initiative that puts the spotlight on bad drivers in Leon Valley along Bandera Road.
New data released by the city revealed that, over the last 10 months, the city has netted almost $1 million in fines from its new system of red light cameras—traffic lights that take photos of vehicles that enter intersections despite the light being red.
Leon Valley Police Chief Joe Salvaggio said while half of the funds were passed on to the state, half were retained locally and used to provide more police officers for patrol, as well as better traffic infrastructure controls.
Still, many drivers who spend hours navigating the crowded passage said they believe the system is flawed.
In an interview Wednesday, Salvaggio addressed some of those concerns directly, answering questions about points of confusion and misinformation floating around the internet about the camera system so many people love to hate.
"So Brandi, Annabell, Tom, Daniel and many others have said the Texas Supreme Court has ruled them unconstitutional, that you don't have to pay them. It's civil, not criminal, and they can't prove who is behind the wheel. Well, the truth is the State of Texas has not proved them unconstitutional. Yes, it's not a criminal offense; it's a civil offense of $75. If it was a criminal offense it would be $350," Salvaggio said, directly addressing comments made to the KENS 5 Facebook page. "As far as can't prove who is behind the wheel, we don't care who is behind the wheel. That's not what the state law says. It's the owner of the vehicle that's responsible. So if the owner of the vehicle wants to come in and say. 'It wasn't me, it was Johnny that I loaned my car to,’ fill out an affidavit. Give it to us. We'll go after Johnny.
"But to say you don't have to pay it, you won't be able to get your vehicle registered when you go to the State of Texas, any of those locations to pay your registration. They won't register it as long as you have outstanding citations, so it's in your best interest to pay the violation or even better, not to commit the crime."
Salvaggio answered many more questions about exactly how the program works. For those on mobile devices, click here to watch the interview.