Ban the Cams! Latest News

Posted in: Speed Camera News  | Add a Comment(0)

CameraFraud comment:

After 6 years, Australia still can't figure out how to make a speed camera work on a bridge. "Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe said police were forced to act because the cameras were inaccurate... 'My understanding is there was issue with the weight of traffic on the bridge and the vibrations were causing the cameras not to function accurately.'" How many other situations produce bogus readings?

http://hobsons-bay-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/story/broken-speed-cameras-off-on-west-gate-bridge/

Broken speed cameras on West Gate
Local News8 May 12 @ 10:48am by Andrew Jefferson
 SPEED cameras on the West Gate Bridge are still not working more than five years after they were secretly switched off.

The two banks of speed cameras were set up in 2005 but were switched off in September 2006 due to concerns over their accuracy.

Victoria Police said a redevelopment of the bridge could allow working speed cameras to be installed in 2009.

But the cameras are still not working despite thousands of bridge commuters under the impression they are operational.

Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe said police were forced to act because the cameras were inaccurate and he was unsure when they would return.

“They are still switched off as there is some more testing to be done,” he said.

Read more: Broken speed cameras on West Gate

Posted in: Red Light Camera News  | Add a Comment(0)

Las Cruces Blinks over shutting off utilities over scamera tickets.

http://www.lcsun-news.com/ci_20568844?fb_comment_id=fbc_10150794706238716_22346481_10150800727803716

Las Cruces red-light "scofflaws' granted reprieve

By Steve Ramirez

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Posted:   05/07/2012 05:49:10 PM MDT

LAS CRUCES — If you're a a red-light "scofflaw," you're off the hook ... for now.

City officials said if you've racked up 10 or more tickets, you have a reprieve of sorts, as does anyone else who has received a citation for either running or speeding through one of the three city intersections where the cameras are in operation. No more letters threatening to turn off city utilities — such as water, wastewater, or natural gas — will be mailed out for at least the next seven weeks.

Mayor Ken Miyagishima said the Las Cruces City Council will conduct a work session at 1 p.m. June 25, at City Hall, to discuss possible options for enforcing Las Cruces' red-light camera ordinance. The work session comes after two weeks of public outcry against the city's efforts to enforce the Safe Traffic Operations Program ordinance that allows the city to shut off utilities if it is owed money.

"Glad to hear they're finally starting to wise up a little bit," said Ray Lujan, a Las Cruces delivery driver. "But why didn't they consider doing that from the very start. It's already set a bad precedent that's really hacked off a lot of people. But they kind of deserved it; anytime you threaten to shut off somebody's utilities that's going to bother a lot of people."

Miyagishima said the upcoming work session was directed at "scofflaws." The dictionary defines a scofflaw as "a person who flouts the law, especially by failing to comply with a law that is difficult to enforce effectively."

"Unfortunately, we didn't have the opportunity to deal with the scofflaws," Miyagishima said. "...The best thing to do is schedule a work session to discuss other options."

(Ban the Cams note: 

HOW ABOUT LETTING THE CITIZENS VOTE ON EVEN IF THEY

WANT THE SCAM!!!!)

Read more: Las Cruces Blinks over shutting off utilities over scamera tickets.

Posted in: Blogs  | Add a Comment(0)

How Widespread is the Scamera Vendors involvement in Scamera  "reports"???

I was recently doing a post on the SCAMERAS  and wanted to share with everyone here 3 Examples of likely involvement by the Scamera vendors in "reports".

1.  http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/37/3703.asp 

Quote:  "Red light camera vendor American Traffic Solutions (ATS) is furious that police in Kansas City, Missouri released a report last week evaluating photo enforcement intersections without giving the company a chance to modify the data. In many cities, ATS plays a key role in authoring such studies"

(Note the police have been ORDERED to "collaborate" with ATS too:  http://www.banthecams.org/Red-Light-Camera-News/kc-police-told-to-qcollaborate-or-at-least-consult-with-ats-before-releasing-more-info-on-rlc.html  or http://www.kansascity.com/2012/01/24/3389558/kc-police-officials-request-more.html#storylink=cpy )
 

2.  http://blog.al.com/archiblog/2012/05/forget_public_safety_traffic_c.html 

Quote: (mayor) Henderson points to a study conducted on the Center Point Parkway last year that proved there was a "tremendous problem" with speeders, red light runners and other traffic violators.

"Who conducted the study?

"Redflex had a company do it," he said."

3.  http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_19580844 

Quote:  To say that ACS has a direct financial stake in demonstrating that photo radar enhances public safety should be self-evident. How could such a study possibly be accepted as a dispassionate portrayal of the facts when so much is on the line for those who are conducting it?"

So realize that the vendors are "involved' in one way or another in many of these "reports".  

Posted in: Taking on the Government  | Add a Comment(0)

Food for thought from "Four Citizens" Against RLC.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Citizens-of-Florida-Against-Red-Light-Cameras/112812865397569#!/pages/Four-Citizens-Against-Red-Light-Cameras/223394401005932

While this article is all about the FBI investigating the District Attorney's office regarding OWI cases, here is an interesting quote:
 
"At a time when auto crashes and fatalities were generally declining from 2007 to 2011, 58 percent of Lafayette Parish's 148 fatal highway accidents were related to alcohol, according to the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission. The national rate is about 39 percent."
 
This is why we should have policemen working traffic. Traffic duty is no less important than the other duties of the police department and cameras can NOT replace them.

http://www.theadvertiser.com/article/20120506/NEWS01/205060330/Openness-lacking-OWI-cases?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE

Openness lacking in OWI cases

Posted in: Taking on the Government  | Add a Comment(0)

http://alerts.motorists.org/nma-national-alert-black-box-data-at-stakeact

NMA National Alert: Black Box Data at Stake—Act Now to Protect Your Privacy Rights
Your privacy rights are under attack.
 
If Washington has its way, all new cars will be equipped with an Event Data Recorder (EDR) that keeps a record of your driving behavior in case of an accident. (Senate Bill 1813 http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/s1813).
 
Since EDRs (or black boxes http://www.motorists.org/black-boxes/) have become so widespread, the real issue is who owns the data they collect. As the vehicle owner, you should. But unless you send a signal to Washington, that outcome may be in jeopardy. That’s why we need to gather at least 25,000 signatures on this petition https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions/%21/petition/provide-motorists-adequate-vehicle-black-box-consumer-protection/qnSX9lCW?utm_source=wh.gov&utm_medium=shorturl&utm_campaign=shorturl by May 22.
 
You should also be able to do whatever you want to with your black box data. That includes sharing it with others or deleting it altogether. But it’s not that simple. Only 13 states http://www.harristechnical.com/cdr7.htm have laws governing the use of your driving data. That means the police, the courts and the insurance companies can get it if they want to.
Controlling access to your driving data is crucial to protecting yourself from the black box privacy threat. That’s our view as well as the view of Thomas M. Kowalick. He leads the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE http://www.ieee.org/index.html?WT.mc_id=hpf_logo) global standards development for Motor Vehicle Event Data Recorders (MVEDRs) pertaining to EDR consumer protection of the federal regulation (U.S. CFR Title 49 Part  563 http://cfr.regstoday.com/49CFR563.aspx#49_CFR_563p1).
 
He's concerned about the privacy challenges black boxes pose for drivers, and he’s in a unique position to do something about it.
 
Kowalick’s solution is to require the use of a lockable cover to block access to a vehicle’s EDR data port, preventing unauthorized access and making the vehicle owner the gatekeeper of the data. Kowalick is spearheading a high-profile petition effort to urge policymakers to adopt this requirement.
 
“I’m still concerned that what we have to fear about EDRs is not their capabilities but how these devices could be used in the future,” he said in a recent article http://spectrum.ieee.org/computing/embedded-systems/the-automotive-black-box-data-dilemma/0. Kowalick’s strong, pro-privacy stance is welcome news to motorists. Without controls, black boxes have the potential to increase surveillance of motorists, enhance automated law enforcement and enable real-time collection of user fees/taxes.
 
All NMA members need to go to The White House website https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions/%21/petition/provide-motorists-adequate-vehicle-black-box-consumer-protection/qnSX9lCW?utm_source=wh.gov&utm_medium=shorturl&utm_campaign=shorturl now and sign this petition https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions/%21/petition/provide-motorists-adequate-vehicle-black-box-consumer-protection/qnSX9lCW?utm_source=wh.gov&utm_medium=shorturl&utm_campaign=shorturl. Then pass the link on to friends. If every member gets four friends to sign, the petition goal will be met. The transportation bill has passed the Senate and is in the House right now. The clock is ticking so you need to act at once.
 
Left unchecked, abuse of black box data is inevitable. Maintaining control of your driving data is critical in combating further infringement on motorists’ privacy rights. Sign the petition and tell policymakers in the White House, Congress and NHTSA that you take your privacy rights seriously.