How Long Do Traffic Cameras Keep Footage in Texas?

You saw the camera at the intersection. Now you need the video. How long do traffic cameras keep footage in Texas? There isn't one deadline, and the camera you saw might not have recorded your accident at all.

TxDOT uses cameras across Texas to monitor traffic in real time, but those feeds are not recorded. City-owned systems have their own policies, and video from businesses near the crash may be erased or overwritten on a different schedule.

Finding out who owns the camera and whether it saves footage should happen quickly. Pierce Skrabanek investigates Texas car accidents and works to secure evidence before it is lost. Call (832) 690-7000 or contact us online for a free case review.

That Traffic Camera Might Not Have Recorded Your Accident

TxDOT operates live traffic cameras across the state to monitor congestion, crashes, weather, stalled vehicles, and roadway conditions. TxDOT says its live traffic-camera feeds are not recorded.

Austin Transportation & Public Works has a similar policy. Its traffic-management cameras provide live video, but the city says the daily footage is not recorded or retained.

A camera pointed directly at your accident may have nothing to provide afterward. Police systems, toll-road equipment, businesses, apartment complexes, parking garages, doorbell cameras, and passing vehicles with dashcams are other potential sources.

Is That a Traffic Camera or a Red-Light Camera?

Seeing a camera attached to a traffic signal often leads drivers to assume it recorded someone running the light. Texas law prohibits local authorities from implementing or operating photographic traffic-signal enforcement systems. That prohibition took effect in 2019, subject to provisions addressing certain existing contracts.

Equipment mounted at an intersection may instead monitor traffic flow or detect vehicles for the signal system. After a crash, you need to find out whether that specific camera saved video from the date and time of the collision.

How Long Do Cities Keep Traffic Camera Footage in Texas?

How long a city keeps traffic camera footage varies by the camera system. 

Austin's traffic-management cameras provide live feeds without saving the daily video. Round Rock Police Department generally keeps its CCTV and traffic-camera recordings for 30 days before they are erased or overwritten. Recordings connected to an investigation, potential claim against the city, or another approved purpose may be retained longer.

That 30-day period applies specifically to Round Rock Police Department cameras. Other Texas cities may follow different retention schedules, and private surveillance systems have their own storage and overwrite settings.

The sooner you identify the camera and who controls it, the better chance you have of finding footage before it is gone.

Could Traffic Camera Footage Prove Who Caused the Crash?

Consider an intersection collision where both drivers insist they had the green light. With no independent eyewitness, a recording that captures the traffic signal and vehicles entering the intersection may show whether a driver ran a red light.

Traffic or surveillance video may also show:

• Where each vehicle was traveling
• A sudden lane change or turn
• Traffic before the collision
• The point of impact
• What the vehicles did after the crash
• Potential witnesses nearby

Video is not always conclusive. A tree may block the view, the camera may face the wrong direction, or the image may be too distant to show the traffic signal clearly. A good recording can resolve factual disputes that might otherwise come down to competing accounts.

How Long Is Traffic Camera Footage Stored in Texas Once It Is Recorded?

People searching how long is traffic camera footage stored in Texas are usually looking for a deadline: seven days, 30 days, 90 days. There isn't one number you can safely rely on.

The retention period comes from whoever controls the recording. A surveillance system might automatically overwrite old files, while a government agency may follow an established records-retention schedule.

If you saw a camera near your crash, write down:

• The exact location
• The date and approximate time
• The direction each vehicle was traveling
• Where you saw the camera
• Nearby businesses with exterior cameras

Check photographs from the scene too. A picture of vehicle damage may have captured a camera in the background.

Saw a camera near your crash? Call Pierce Skrabanek at (832) 690-7000 for a free consultation. Our attorneys can determine who controls the camera and request that available footage be preserved.

Can You Request Traffic Camera Footage in Texas?

Texas residents can request existing government records through the Texas Public Information Act. A request for video should identify the date, approximate time, location, direction of travel, and camera location if known.

You also need to identify who controls the camera. Equipment along a state highway may belong to TxDOT. City cameras could be operated by a transportation department, police department, transit agency, or another local entity.

A public-information request cannot recover footage that was never recorded or has already been erased. Sending a request to TxDOT for archived footage from one of its live traffic cameras, for example, will not produce video that TxDOT never saved.

A Preservation Letter Could Stop Video From Being Overwritten

A gas station, restaurant, hotel, shopping center, apartment complex, or parking garage near the accident may have a security camera facing the roadway.

You can ask a nearby business to preserve video from the date and time of your accident. Private businesses are not subject to the Texas Public Information Act simply because their cameras captured a public street, so obtaining the recording works differently from requesting government records.

A preservation letter asks the recipient to retain footage connected to a potential legal claim rather than allow it to be erased or overwritten. It should identify the crash date, time, location, and period of video that needs to be saved. Footage from before the impact could show a vehicle speeding, weaving through traffic, or approaching the intersection.

What if the Video Has Already Been Deleted?

Losing the most obvious recording does not necessarily mean the accident went uncaptured. Your attorney can look for video from nearby businesses, homes, dashcams, or people who stopped at the scene.

Other sources can also establish what happened:

• Police crash reports
• Witness statements
• Vehicle damage
• Skid marks and roadway evidence
• Vehicle event data
• Cell phone records when relevant and legally obtainable
• Accident reconstruction in serious cases

A camera farther down the road might show a vehicle moments before impact, and a nearby doorbell or parking lot camera may have captured the collision from another direction.

Don't Wait Until You Need the Video to Start Looking for It

The worst time to learn a camera's retention policy is after the footage has disappeared. For how long do traffic cameras keep footage in Texas, TxDOT gives one clear answer for its system: live traffic-camera footage is not recorded. Austin also says its daily traffic video is not retained, while Round Rock Police Department generally keeps CCTV and traffic-camera recordings for 30 days.

Because each system handles recordings differently, video should be investigated soon after a serious collision. An early request gives you a better chance of preserving footage that exists.

Pierce Skrabanek Can Investigate Video From Your Texas Car Accident

Pierce Skrabanek investigates serious car accidents throughout Texas. Our attorneys examine video, witness accounts, vehicle information, photographs, police records, and physical evidence to determine how a collision occurred.

With more than 30 years of combined legal experience, we have recovered more than $500 million in settlements and verdicts for injured clients across Texas and the U.S. We offer representation in English and Spanish.

Call Pierce Skrabanek at (832) 690-7000 or contact us for a free case review. Tell us about your accident and we'll talk through your next steps.