In Arizona, if your vehicle has passed the crosswalk you still are not technically inside the intersection, which means that a red light camera will trigger if you are trying to beat it, resulting in a citation.

All of this may change, however, following an Arizona Senate Appropriations Committee vote of 8-4 Tuesday to redefine the boundaries of every intersection, essentially expanding them. Arizona HB 2557 also redefines it in the state’s traffic code. If the bill passes a full vote it would require all red light camera pavement sensors be moved farthing away from the what is now the center of the intersection.

As approved, HB 2557 says the intersection starts at any painted “stop’ line or at the first crosswalk line a vehicle would encounter going into an intersection, whichever comes first.”

Effectively, it would mean drivers will be less likely to trigger the camera if they were trying to beat the light change.

This good news for drivers who like to press their luck at intersections where the light is in the process of changing, but bad news for cities like Phoenix which have reported their red light cameras have resulted in fewer injuries and deaths related to crashes at intersections. Senate Majority Leader Andy Biggs said it didn’t matter what results had been for the city of Phoenix, he was only concerned with testimony from traffic safety experts, none of whom have commented one way or the other.

Arizona Sen. Frank Antenori, R-Tucson, authored HB 2557, and has been a vocal opponent of photo enforcement of traffic violations for years. He said if passed the new law would bring Arizona in line with 38 states which also use red light cameras.