Tuscaloosa, AL Mobility & Curb Rules: Red-Light Cameras (2026)

Adopted under Alabama Act No. 2010-711, Sec. 17-206 empowers the city's department of infrastructure and public services to operate an automated photographic traffic signal enforcement system to detect and record vehicles that enter an intersection on a steady red light, and to prosecute the recorded events as civil violations rather than criminal traffic offenses. Sec. 17-207 caps the civil fine at $100, adds a $10 fee that the city forwards to the Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center, and layers on a $25-per-month late fee for up to three months if the fine goes unpaid.

Sec. 17-208 requires the city to mail a notice of violation to the registered owner within 30 days of the recorded violation, describing the violation, showing the recorded images, stating the fine and due date, and explaining the right to contest the citation at an administrative hearing. Notice is presumed received on the tenth day after mailing, and the owner then has fifteen days to request a hearing before the Tuscaloosa Municipal Court, which decides liability by a preponderance of the evidence under Sec. 17-209. Listed defenses include a malfunctioning or obscured signal, yielding to an emergency vehicle, a stolen vehicle or plate, and hazardous road conditions.

A person found liable can appeal to the Circuit Court of Tuscaloosa County within fourteen days for a trial de novo, and filing the appeal automatically stays collection of the fine. Because the violation is civil, Sec. 17-211 bars any arrest or jail time for nonpayment, and the citation cannot appear on a criminal or driving record or be used to raise insurance rates.