HOUSTON -- Some Houstonians might be in for a real shock the next time they try to renew their car registrations. The Houston City Council Wednesday put nearly 100,000 people on a list of drivers who won't be able to get them.

They're taking the action because the drivers' cars were caught red-handed by red light cameras -- and they haven't paid their $75 fines.

They’ve tried to write, they’ve tried to call – but Houston Police say despite their efforts to contact them, 98,000 Houston-area car owners have not responded to repeated requests to pay the piper.

“What you don’t have is an option to just ignore the citation," said Mayor Bill White.

Until Wednesday, the car owners were the ones who had the upper hand: besides the hassle of being tracked by a collection agency, there is no penalty for not paying the fine.

Now, the Houston City Council has passed an ordinance that authorizes TxDOT to place a “hold” on registration renewals for those car owners. Harris County manages the registrations and must still sign on to the plan before it takes effect. If approved, drivers would be unable to renew their vehicle registrations before they pay their red-light camera fines.

Houston Police statistics show that 29 percent of people who receive red-light tickets either do not pay the fine, or do not appeal it, within 90 days. At that point, the fine is sent to a collection agency – and even then, the collection rate is only 18 percent.

The unpaid fines total $9.5 million.

Houston Police say the registration hold won’t actually happen until the car owner has received three warning letters over three months, and hasn’t paid or appealed the citation. It means Houston, Harris County, and TXDOT will have to share databases. Some say that will lead to trouble.

Houston officials said TXDOT will withhold your vehicle registration, even if you live in another county -- as long as your car ran a light in Houston.