Speed Camera News

AU Safety Engineer spills the BEANS on the SPEED SCAMERA SCAM!  Over reaction to a non-problem
 

Safety by Education Not Speed Enforcement (SENSE) had this to say on the article:

 
A former Road Safety Engineer in Australia is to spill the beans today. See the similarities here in BC? BTW, Australia was the country held out by BC in the 1990s to be the model for road safety.... courtesy of... wait for it ... the photo radar manufacturers and lobbyists for more road "safety".

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/knee-jerk-reaction-to-a-non-problem-of-speed/story-e6frezz0-1226492352854

Knee-jerk reaction to a non-problem of speed

Miranda Devine
The Daily Telegraph
October 10, 201212:00AM

YOU know if 80 per cent of people are disobeying a law, it's probably the law that needs fixing rather than the people. But in these illiberal times, we ramp up the punishment.

So when a Macquarie University study this month found that 70 to 80 per cent of drivers break the 40km/h speed limit when entering school zones, the usual call went up for more speed cameras and tougher fines.
 
This is the solution to every road safety issue from the robotic RTA now uselessly rebadged as Roads and Maritime Services.
 
But tomorrow a former RTA engineer will spill the beans on the failed logic and wasted money behind the state's War on Speed which has had negligible impact on safety, and may in fact provoke a psychological backlash among motorists.
 
Lex Stewart, RTA road safety manager between 1990 and 1997, will tell the Australian Institute of Traffic and Planning conference at Luna Park that better road safety comes from "flowing with" rather than going against "innate human psychology".

He says the number of road deaths has barely budged over the past decade as ever more drastic penalties have been enforced on motorists.
 
School speed zones are an example of a kneejerk reaction to a non problem that has diverted resources from more pressing safety issues. "All this huge money spent (on school zones) has had very small benefit because there never were any significant numbers of children killed or injured near schools in the first place," he said.
 
He counters the argument that any price is worth saving a life by saying that if money is diverted from programs that could save 50 lives, "all that we have achieved is to kill 49 people".
 
Five police highway patrol officers he interviewed for his paper complained that school zones were being "forced" on them and were difficult to enforce, diverting police attention away from more pressing issues such as bike helmets.
 
Stewart advocates scrapping all 40km/h school speed zones and instead employing more school crossing supervisors trained as special constables with the power to enforce 50 or
 
60km/h limits. "They can also talk to children, educating them in road safety, something that cameras cannot do."
 
He said Australian authorities were "unusually obsessed" with speeding, at the risk of underemphasising the dangers of drunk driving or driving without a seatbelt.
 
Speed cameras were "purely punitive, not educational" he said. "We need to ask those obsessed with speed cameras why Germany, with no speed limit at all on its autobahns, has a fatality rate of 0.7, which is substantially better than NSW's 0.9 and Australia's 0.8."
 

The NSW Auditor-General's report into speed cameras last year was a "damning indictment of RTA incompetence and arrogance". The report found 70 per cent of submissions viewed cameras as revenue raisers, and only 28 per cent of cameras produced statistically significant improvements in road safety."
 

"It is far more effective to use roving highway patrol officers."
 
When he was in charge of road safety in 90 per cent of the state west of Lithgow, Stewart wanted every motorist to see a blue flashing light on their travels.
 
He told police in his patch that if a driver is travelling at 112km/h in a 110 zone you pull him over, and "have a chat", about the inadvisability of breaking the speed limit, the hazards of fatigue and the whereabouts of the closest rest stop is. Then you send him on his way without a ticket.
 
This way the community is involved in taking responsibility for driving safely.
 
While politicians and bureaucrats "piously" rail against speeding, claiming it is the No.1 road safety problem, "there is little hard data to back them up", he said.
 
By contrast, the data on drink driving is accurate, since blood samples are taken from people involved in a crash, and tell us that alcohol is involved in 21 per cent of road deaths and 19 per cent of crashes.
 
Similarly, failure to wear a seatbelt (or a helmet) resulted in 12 per cent of deaths.
 
But the official line that "up to 40 per cent" of crashes are caused by excessive speed is a guess, Stewart said, based on insufficient scientific evidence, flawed data and inadequate police accident reports.
 
Stewart is all for bringing down speeds where appropriate, such as in residential areas where reducing the speed limit from 60 to 50km/h means less damage if a car hits a bike or pedestrian.
 
But the blanket assault on speed is absurd: "Why not make all speed limits 10km/h?"
 
Stewart is not just a critic. He has a lot of worthwhile solutions, including the introduction of a fairer "merit" scheme of 100 points, and speeding fines scaled more logically.
 
He advocates removing 90 per cent of speed cameras and putting the money into more highway patrol officers, encouraged to have frequent interactions with drivers in an educational/warning role.
 
One officer plus car costs about $200,000. If he books four people per shift then the fines reap the state $200,000. They are "close to being self-funding". he said. "Why the reluctance to employ more?"
 
He would also erect lots more speed limit "reassurance" signs so drivers know how fast they can go, increase driver education and require new cars to have black box recorders so the role of speed, fatigue and so on can be assessed.
 
Stewart's ideas, backed by his experience at the front line, are well worth heeding.
 
But Roads Minister Duncan Gay, who will open the conference this morning, did not respond to Stewart's offer to view his paper. Gay went into office a champion of motorists, opposed to punitive fines and cameras. But like every minister before him, he is now captured by his department and addicted to the revenue.
 

http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2012/10/09/pastors-decry-speed-cameras-want-them-removed-from-st-louis-county/

Pastors Decry Speed Cameras, Want Them Removed From St. Louis County
By Brett Blume
October 9, 2012 12:34 PM

ST. LOUIS (KMOX) -  Several area church leaders are banding together in a new effort to have speed enforcement cameras removed from highways in St. Louis County.

“The travesty is that the cameras have been placed, by and large, in north St. Louis County,” said the Reverend B.T. Rice with New Horizon Christian Church, who’s helping to spearhead the campaign. “That’s affecting citizens who can least afford these tickets or who can appeal and attest them.”

The Reverend Sammy Jones with Mt. Zion Baptist Church believes the placement of the cameras in certain communities was no accident, nor based on any traffic statistics.

“It bothers us that when they began putting these cameras in place, the first thing they do is find areas that are predominantly African-American and they place them there,” Rev. Jones explained during a mid-morning press conference Tuesday at Shalom Church City of Peace in Florissant. “And we think that is wholly unfair.”

The ministers’ group has sent a letter to St. Louis County Council chairman Mike O’Mara, asking him to include this on the agenda for the council’s next meeting, with the ultimate goal being to place the issue of speed cameras on a county-wide ballot in the near future.

Group leaders said they’ve not heard back yet from O’Mara.

“We believe these speed cameras are nothing more than money grabs to pad the pockets of some municipalities that are under-funded or mismanaged,” Rev. B.T. Rice explained. “As concerned clergy we believe these speed trap cameras should be discontinued immediately. Residents…have the right to vote whether or not they should continue.”

South Carolina: Traffic Camera Company Busted for Failing to Pay Ticket
South Carolina Ethics Commission labels traffic camera company CEO a delinquent for failure to pay his fines.

The owner of a speed camera company faces $1400 in delinquent fines for violating ethics laws in South Carolina. William B. Danzell, the chairman of iTraffic Safety, has spent his career forcing motorists he calls "scofflaws" to pay up. Now the State Ethics Commission says Danzell has himself been a scofflaw for the past 10 months. In April, the commission sent iTraffic Safety a cease and desist order in April prohibiting Danzell from undertaking any efforts to promote speed cameras or other citation delivery programs to lawmakers in Columbia. The commission confirmed that Danzell's debt remains outstanding.

"This letter is to advise you that therefore, you are prohibited from engaging in lobbying activities if you are currently registered as a lobbyist's principal in this calendar year and are prohibited from registering to lobby in South Carolina until such time as the forms are received," State Ethics Commission Executive Director Herbert R. Hayden Jr wrote in a certified letter to Danzell.

In 2010 Danzell moved his startup company iTraffic to South Carolina to run a speed camera program on Interstate 95 in the town of Ridgeland. The system operated in open defiance of a state law http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/32/3239.asp prohibiting the use of photo enforcement. In the time it took for the legislature to unanimously adopt a second law repudiating iTraffic http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/35/3503.asp, the firm succeeded in issuing thousands of tickets. As part of its service, iTraffic even offered to collect delinquent citation debt as a means of increasing revenue further. Before that could happen, the door was officially shut on photo ticketing.

Danzell had packed up his company and left the state by the time then-Governor Mark Sanford (R) signed the second camera ban into law http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/31/3176.asp in June 2011. He fled in such haste that he failed to provide the legally required lobbying disclosure statements covering June 30, 2011 through January 31, 2012. Failure to file this form constitutes a misdemeanor offense, but Danzell ignored delinquency notices from the commission.

"If the lobbyist's principle disclosure statements are not received within ten days of receipt of this letter, additional penalties of $10 per day per form for the first ten days and $100 per day per form for each additional day up to a maximum of $5000 per form will be levied, and a complaint will be filed against you," Hayden warned.

In addition to sending notices by registered mail, commission staff emailed Danzell at the email address provided on his lobbyist registration. This is the same address appearing on iTraffic's Facebook page and other websites. The surface mail returned as undeliverable because Danzell has recently devoted his attention to landing Prichard, Alabama as the first client for his company's latest for-profit venture. iTraffic promised the city that it could boost the number of conventional, officer-issued tickets http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/38/3810.asp from 100 to 3000 each month in exchange for a fifty-percent cut of each fine.

Danzell's former venture, Nestor Traffic Systems, was once among the top tier of red light camera companies. It was successful enough to go public and be listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange. Soon, however, the firm's fortunes faded. Some cities dropped the use of red light cameras http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/20/2000.asp after Nestor's promises of profit failed to materialize. An internal battle for control of Nestor ended with Danzell being booted as CEO from the firm he founded. From a high of $48 a share, mismanagement sent the stock price down to a low of 13 cents, forcing Nasdaq officials to delist the firm http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/23/2383.asp. As the company went under, executives paid themselves handsomely while stiffing contractors http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/27/2719.asp who did work for the firm.

A copy of the State Ethics Commission order is available in a 50k PDF file at the source link below.

Source:  Notice to Cease and Desist Lobbying Activities (South Carolina State Ethics Commission, 4/6/2012) http://www.thenewspaper.com/rlc/docs/2012/sc-ethics.pdf

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/39/3917.asp

England, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Scotland: Speed Cameras Defeated, Destroyed
Vigilantes use fire, explosives, saws and tape to take out speed cameras around the world.

Vigilantes in Scotland decapitated a pair of speed cameras last week. The automated ticketing machines were located on the A68 in Birkenside and were cut down with a saw, the Border Telegraph http://www.bordertelegraph.com/news/crimewatch/articles/2012/10/02/436819-speeding-cameras-targetted-by-vandals-/ reported.

In Norfolk, England, a speed camera was set on fire around midnight on September 11. According to the Eastern Daily Press http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/crime/arsonists_attack_speed_camera_in_taverham_twice_1_1566735, the device on A1067 Falkenham Road in Taverham was set ablaze a second time on September 18. Police have no idea who might be responsible.

In Padua, Italy a small explosive device was used to blow up a speed camera on Friday night, according to Giornalettismo http://www.giornalettismo.com/archives/523539/quelli-che-fanno-scoppiare-gli-autovelox/. The device had been issuing tickets at Citadella until the forward lens was broken and the explosive thrown inside the machine.

Motorists in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia are showing their lack of regard for heavy "Saher" photo enforcement by obscuring their license plates, according to Al Riyadh http://www.alriyadh.com/2012/10/03/article773362.html. Some have bent a portion of the plate or used tape to obscure the speed cameras' ability to identify the vehicle owner.

Price to sell out MD motorists to SCAMERA INDUSTRY BY MD GOV and others??  $707,725 Campaign "donations".

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/39/3913.asp

Maryland Governor Pushes Photo Ticketing Agenda
Maryland governor pushes agenda of speed camera and toll road enforcement firms.

While New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R) dropped his endorsement of photo enforcement http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/39/3911.asp last week, Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley (D) took to the airwaves Tuesday to defend it. In an interview on WTOP Radio's http://www.wtop.com/610/3060815/Md-Gov-Toll-shirking-rental-companies-deadbeats "Ask the Governor" show, O'Malley sung the praises of a program run by a corporations that provided thousands in donations to his campaign.

Since its inception, the statewide program run by Affiliated Computer Services (ACS, now a subsidiary of Xerox) has issued one million photo tickets worth $40 million since November 19, 2009. ACS stations cameras in freeway "work zones" where the speed limit has been reduced, issuing the majority of citations at times when no construction is taking place or when no workers were present. The General Assembly resisted attempts in the most recent session to re-write the statute to prohibit ticketing in workerless work zones.

"While the county has the ability to do them in school zones, our state has the ability to put them up in work zones," O'Malley explained. "It's clearly working in the state where we have those speed cameras up in the work zones."

According to state campaign finance records, ACS handed $4000 to O'Malley's campaign in 2007. The Dallas-based firm sent another $1000 to the Prince George's County Democratic Party. ACS was one of four corporations actively lobbying to land the lucrative contract, with the issue generating a grand total of $707,725 for the campaign warchests of O'Malley and members of the General Assembly http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/27/2752.asp from all parties with a direct financial stake.

O'Malley addressed another issue of great interest to the photo enforcement industry. A reported $6 million in unpaid photo tickets have been issued from the state's toll roads. O'Malley focused on rental car firms.

"There's a lot of conversations going on with regard to collecting money with regard to the rental car companies," O'Malley said. "The broader challenge, what we need to do is amend an ambiguity in the law, whether the Maryland Toll Authority has the power to suspend drivers' registrations. That was a bill we had in the General Assembly to make that clarification... That bill will be coming back in the coming session. In the meantime, I've directed the department to use all available means to collect these tolls."

O'Malley explained the state should prosecute the rental car companies and individuals regardless of whether it has the legal authority to do so.

"If there's some ambiguity as to whether they have the authority to suspend those registrations, they should let the scofflaws raise that defense and not be raising it against themselves," O'Malley said.

Such prosecution of rental car companies is what drove at least four of the top firms to sign deals with the American Traffic Solutions (ATS) subsidiary called PlatePass which automatically deducts the price of photo tickets http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/31/3193.asp from the credit cards of rental customers, plus an added $30 fee. ATS principals Jim Tuton, Adam Tuton and Adam Draizin cut checks totaling $1500 to the Maryland governor's campaign, even though they all reside 2300 miles away in Arizona.

Could Maryland be pullilng the same speed scamera safety "claim" as Wiltshire UK did????

Recently MD "proclaimed" that their constructions zone scameras "saved" lives.

(Even CameraFraud was critical of the claim:

Maryland issues 1 million work zone scamera tickets to "protect workers" in construction zones. Half the tickets were issued when there were no workers and no construction. Also, fatalities dropped during the same period in areas without scameras. Don't believe the lies, it's all about the money.)

What was interesting was this: 

http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/opinion/display_editorial.htm?StoryID=141405#.UGmV4cePW9Uj  Quote: 

"The only reservation we have about the cameras is that statistics also show that more than half of the citations are issued when no workers are present and no construction is going on."

But of more interest is the fact that their was NO MENTION in the report of what the CAUSES of those wrecks were!!!!!

In Wiltshire UK, they made a claim of 64% less "crashes" a few years back.

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/05/538.asp  "Officials claim an impossible reduction in accidents from the use of speed cameras."

Quote: 

The Association of British Drivers (ABD) fought with the camera partnership for release of crash data under the Freedom of Information Act. According to the documents, the crashes cited in the formal justification for the placement of cameras on the M4 include:
 

•an accident where a pedestrian fell from a bridge
•an accident where a gust of wind pushed one truck into another
•several tire blowout accidents
•a crash where a car drove the wrong way

So the question is what was THE PRIMARY CAUSE of the wrecks in the before and after????

One wonders what games will be found out!  We already know from a UK report that was hidden that speed scameras in construction zones CAUSED MORE WRECKS NOT LESS.

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/06/602.asp

Full text of suppressed UK government study shows speed cameras increase accidents 31 percent on freeways, 55 percent in work zones.
 

http://www.ktrs.com/news/local-news/item/4977-st-louis-countys-top-cop-tells-ktrs-listener-shred-tickets-caught-on-camera

St. Louis County's top cop tells KTRS listener: "Shred tickets" caught on camera

Monday, 01 October 2012 10:30

St. Louis County’s police chief reenforces his stance against speed cameras, telling KTRS' Paul Harris Monday morning they used only for making money.

Officials from cities that use the speeding cameras say they’re used for safety. County Police Chief Tim Fitch says they're more of a money generator. That's why he want  to allow speed cameras only in active school and construction zones. It's also why he wants  the county council to put a measure on next April’s ballot county-wide to ban speeding cameras county-wide.

He offered this advice to one KTRS listener on what to do if a driver is caught on camera and receives a ticket. Fitch says "I personally would tell them to find the nearest shredder and see how fast you could get it into the shredder. I'm not familiar with anyone who's been arrested for not paying nor put it on their credit record for not paying one of them."

Similar votes around the country have shown that voters generally support bans on speed cameras.  About 13 St. Louis County municipalities use the cameras. County leaders would rather see a statewide vote.

Speed Scameras being used to troll for revenue.  Godfrey Bloom for Humberside Police Commissioner

Thanks the Association of British Drivers for the link!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRXySukFCKQ

"Godfrey Bloom for Humberside Police Commissioner Election Speaks on Speed Cameras"

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Published on Sep 26, 2012 by TheEFDGroup

• European Parliament, Brussels, 26 September 2012
• Speaker: Godfrey Bloom, UKIP MEP, Europe of Freedom and Democracy (EFD) Group

ABD:  Petition to stop endless (workless) 50 mph UK motorway limits with SPEC SPEED SCAMERAS.

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/39399

Roadworks: Stop endless 50mph limits on motorways
Responsible department: Department for Transport

At any one time, there are countless miles of motorway which have temporary speed limits of 50 mph or less imposed for several miles at a time typically enforced average speed cameras. 20+ miles of 50 mph on a motorway is ridiculous. The length of these speed limited sections should be restricted to a maximum of 5 miles, or 2 miles for limits of less than 50mph.

UK residents can sign the petition here:  https://submissions.epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/39399/signature/new

(Ban the Cams note:  Not uncommon to see some of these zone go on with NOT ONE WORKER IN SITE EITHER.  A UK "Top Gear" episode pointed this out when they were going from London up north on the A1.  IN that case a 60 mph road had a "40 mph" construction limit WITH NO WORKERS AT ALL IN THE ZONE!)

SUPER MARIO BONUS FOR KICKING OVER SPEED SCAEMRA IN LATVIA!!!!!(Scamera Attacks week ending 9/30/2012)

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/39/3909.asp

Australia, Italy, Latvia, Poland: Speed Cameras Shot, Sprayed, Smashed
Speed cameras across Europe and Australia come under assault.

A speed camera failed to protect itself from an accident in Perth, Australia at 4:35am on Saturday. The black photo radar minivan was hiding on the side of Mt. Cotton Road in Sheldon when another vehicle slammed into it, the Courier Mail http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/national/police-officer-injured-when-motorist-drives-into-speed-camera-van-at-sheldon/story-fndo6bgc-1226481481311 reported.

In Gdansk, Poland two men used black spraypaint to disable a speed camera around midnight on Monday. A passing officer noticed two individuals, aged 22 and 24, near the camera in Koscierzyna while wearing gloves and holding a spraypaint can, TVN24 http://www.tvn24.pl/pomorze,42/zamalowali-fotoradar-bo-zrobil-im-zdjecie,278672.html reported. They were taken in for questioning.

In Cremona, Italy on Friday, a vigilante shot a speed camera installed on the provincial road 343. According to Il Giorno http://www.ilgiorno.it/cremona/cronaca/2012/09/28/779218-Autovelox-Fucilate-Voltido.shtml, the bullet penetrated the outer housing but did only minor damage to the equipment inside.

In Riga, Latvia, a motorcyclist filmed himself kicking over a speed camera. In the video he posted to YouTube on Tuesday, effects from an old-school Super Mario Bros. videogame were used to emphasize the sporting aspect of thwarting the automated ticketing machine.

Watch video on YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3scWbi3yp4

SBB MD:  "you don't even need to visit Maryland to get a ticket"

http://www.stopbigbrothermd.org/2012/09/pa-resident-gets-2-tickets-from.html

Friday, September 28, 2012

PA Resident Gets 2 Tickets Without Visiting Maryland (SCAMERA REVIEW A JOKE, WHAT REVIEW!)

StopBigBrotherMD.org was recently contacted by a motorist from Pennsylvania who was ticketed not once but twice for a vehicle which did not belong to her:

"I've received 2 incorrect tickets for speeding around Baltimore.  I live in PA, and there is another PA plated car with the same number as me, except where I have an M they have a W.  The picture from the last ticket is during the day and fairly clear, it's just that PA's W and M are pretty narrow.

The ticket says "Sworn to or affirmed by" with a signature, but it is obviously not checked.  The car in the pictures is a silver Honda, whereas I have a dark brown VW.  They look nothing alike.

Calling the customer service line lead to a review and dismissal of the 1st ticket, and I'm on the same path with this one, but if the other car was the same or similar to mine would I just be found guilty?  It's also a hassle just to go through this process, but nothing compared to if I have to go all the way down for a court date ever."

We've reported on cases of errors by cameras http://www.stopbigbrothermd.org/search/label/camera%20errors many times.  Baltimore City issued a speed camera ticket ticket to a motorist who have been dead for years http://www.stopbigbrothermd.org/2012/01/baltimore-city-speed-cameras-issue.html.  The city has issued tickets to an incorrect vehicle http://www.stopbigbrothermd.org/2011/02/baltimore-city-cameras-ticket-invisible.html in cases where the images were so dark the car could not even be seen, in a case where it took that ticket recipient months to get the 'offense' removed from their MVA record.  There have been at least three separate instances where Baltimore erroneously issued thousands of tickets from cameras configured to the wrong speed limit from one camera in 2010 http://www.stopbigbrothermd.org/2010/04/baltimore-city-speed-camera-issues.html and agan from two different cameras in 2012 http://www.stopbigbrothermd.org/2012/03/baltimore-issues-hundred-of-erroneous.html, meaning the problem may actually be getting worse.  WBAL also reported how Baltimore City's red light camera program once issued thousands of tickets "signed" by a police officer who had been deceased for months http://www.stopbigbrothermd.org/2011/02/deceased-baltimore-cop-signs-2000-red.html.

The SHA's cameras around Baltimore are not blameless either... one motorist wrote to the Baltimore Sun about receiving a citation for someone else's car, and needed to take off work and drive 54 miles to contest the ticket.

To officials who say "if you don't speed you won't get a ticket", we say BULL!  With the faulty quality control some speed camera programs have been getting away with, you don't even need to visit Maryland to get a ticket.

Dan Educates the City of St. Ann MO over Speed Scameras!

Speed Cameras debunked in St. Ann, Missouri.......apparently, they did not feel they needed an engineer why they designed the system. Why? Because it is all about the money.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=VhuUZY2uGMY

Wrong on Red comment "Democratic Operatives" who will likely try to stop speed scamera ban vote.

WrongOnRed commented on STLtoday.com.

Why not just call out Joyce Aboussie by name instead of the "Democratic Operatives"? Is she still making just under 10% of ATS Missouri Cash Revenues as a "consultant", or has her piece of the scam proceed increased? Any time you have both Aboussie and Goldman Sachs (who owns a 3rd of ATS) involved you know the outright purchase of politicians is not too far behind, to the detriment of the taxpayers.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/county-voters-may-be-asked-to-decide-on-banning-speed/article_99bee88e-153e-59d3-ac11-88d708bd0156.html

County voters may be asked to decide on banning speed cameras

 BY CHRISTINE BYERS This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 314-340-8087 and paul HAMPEL This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 314-727-6234

ST. LOUIS COUNTY • A quiet movement to let voters decide whether to ban most speed enforcement cameras in St. Louis County — including inside municipalities — is itself picking up speed.

The idea appears to have started with county Police Chief Tim Fitch. In an internal memo dated Aug. 29, he asked legal counsel whether County Council members could propose such a ballot initiative.

Fitch proposes continuing to allow cameras only in active school and construction zones.

Should the measure play out as it has in similar elections elsewhere across the country, companies providing speed camera service will lobby lawmakers, but the voters likely will support a ban anyway.

The list of lobbyists for camera companies operating in the St. Louis area reads like a who's who of Democratic powerhouses, holding the purse strings to campaign funds. And St. Louis County has a Democratic majority on its council.

But that doesn't seem to deter council Chairman Mike O'Mara, D-Florissant, who said he would support Fitch's request.

"I respect his opinion as the top law enforcement person in St. Louis County," O'Mara said in an interview this week. "And like him, I don't like speed cameras that are only being used as money grabs."

However, County Executive Charlie A. Dooley was lukewarm Wednesday, saying he would rather see the issue addressed at the state level.

"I'm not sure the county would have jurisdiction over municipal issues like this," Dooley said. "I understand where the chief is coming from, but I'm hesitant about the legality of interjecting the county into these affairs."

County Counselor Pat Redington, who works for Dooley, said Wednesday that Fitch's inquiry is "under review." She said the soonest it could go before voters is April.

The charter can be amended by an ordinance adopted by the County Council and approved by a majority of voters.

A 'Gotcha game'

Fitch — already an outspoken critic of police departments in communities too small to support a professional force — said he thinks speed cameras are used mainly to keep struggling municipalities financially afloat under a pretense of traffic safety. The tickets generate fines but not necessarily other consequences.

"If you're really trying to affect driver behavior, you need to identify the driver and assess points to their license," Fitch said.

For now, the chief has not taken aim on red light cameras, saying the complaints he hears are about speed cameras that may be moved around and used without warnings to motorists.

"Everyone knows where the red light cameras are at, but with speed cameras, it's clearly a 'gotcha' game," Fitch said.

About 13 county municipalities use speed cameras, according to county police.

Many are in north St. Louis County, noted the Rev. B.T. Rice of New Horizon 7th Day Christian Church.

"I'm being inundated with calls from my members and associates about these tickets, and so are other pastors," Rice said. "I think if we could get on the ballot, it would be a no-brainer, people would vote against it."

So far, voters in 24 places around the country have voted on banning speed or red light cameras or both. The initiatives have passed in all but two.

In East Cleveland, Ohio, off-duty uniformed police officers went door to door telling residents that they and firefighters would be laid off if the city lost its ticket revenue. About 54 percent of the vote last year was against the ban.

Also in 2011, 58 percent of voters agreed to keep speed cameras in school zones, but 60 percent voted against red-light cameras in Longview, Wash.

When it comes to the state level, camera companies tend to open their pocketbooks wide, said Arizona state Sen. Frank Antenori, who said his efforts to reach the ballot were blocked by lobbyists.

"These guys know if it gets to the ballot, it's the end game," Antenori said. "So they keep it in the hands of the gutless and spineless politicians that won't put it on the ballot."

American Traffic Solutions, the largest photo enforcement company, is based in Antenori's state.

The company operates red-light cameras in St. Louis and will soon be running a speed camera in Calverton Park — the only one approved by the Missouri Department of Transportation, noted company spokesman Charles Territo.

He said he agrees that guidelines are needed to prevent abuse but said municipalities should be free to use this tool in locations they deem hazardous.

Territo said National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that in Missouri, about 1 in every 4 speed-related fatalities occurs in 35 mph speed zones or less.

"There's not a one-size-fits-all with this," he said. "Limiting the technology to school and work zones has an impact on its effectiveness. And limiting the authority of local law enforcement to deploy tactics that best suit their traffic control needs is a slippery slope."

B&W Sensors operates most of the speed cameras in Fitch's cross-hairs. Co-founder John Baine said in an email that the devices have reduced the number of speeders on roadways by as much as 85 percent.

"Technology is often met with opposition," he wrote. "Sometimes I think change is the real problem in life."

Vinita Park Mayor James McGee believes his city's speed cameras have improved safety.

"If I can't afford to have officer out there stopping speeders, why not put up a camera to slow people down?" he asked.

Legal challenges

Municipalities that use the cameras solely for revenue need to be stopped, but amending the county charter isn't the way to do it, said Tim Fischesser, executive director of the St. Louis County Municipal League.

"It's not a county responsibility, it's a municipal responsibility," he said. "This would be like a mayor saying we want the county police to do certain things in the unincorporated areas."

He suggested that the state Legislature regulate the cameras.

But St. Louis County has been down this road before, as voters amended the charter during the 1970s to forbid municipalities from regulating security guard licenses.

And, in Missouri, legislative attempts to regulate cameras statewide have failed. Perhaps no one understands that better than former state Rep. Michael Corcoran, now mayor of St. Ann, where speed cameras monitor school zones.

He tried unsuccessfully to propose legislation regulating the cameras during his time in the Missouri House. He said he would support Fitch's ballot initiative if it can be shown to meet legal muster.

"We don't need them to be popping up everywhere," he said. "But I wouldn't want to see the expense of a ballot issue wasted and overturned in the courts."

The city of Houston settled a lawsuit earlier this year with ATS for $4.78 million after that city ended its red-light camera program before its contract expired.

What would become of the St. Louis area municipal contracts with B&W Sensors may depend on exactly what their contracts say.

At least one city has stopped using its camera without any sanctions. Charlack Mayor Frank Mattingly said he had no comment for this story because his city isn't using its speed camera right now.

O'Mara, the County Council chairman, said he had not spoken about the issue with the other six members, four of whom are fellow Democrats.

But he noted, "I would say that the chief could expect a lot of support on this issue from the council."

WA State I-90 Constuction Zone Speed sCAMERA alert.

The state has moved their "construction" zone scamera to I-90 on a 5 mile zone.

Read it here:  http://www.seattlepi.com/local/transportation/article/Scofflaws-beware-Speed-cameras-coming-to-I-90-3853513.php

Make no mistake this is more about cash than safety.  Heck a UK study on Constuction Zone speed scamers showed that speed scameras CAUSED more wrecks, NOT LESS!

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/06/602.asp

The UK Department for Transport funded, then suppressed, a study that shows a 55 percent increase in injury accidents when speed cameras are used on highway work zones and a 31 percent increase when used on freeways without construction projects. According to the Transport Research Laboratory, the "non-works [personal injury accident] rate is significantly higher for the sites with speed cameras than the rate for sites without."
 

Construction Zone Speed Scam in Photo Radar Denver!   Signs NOT ALWAYS VISIBLE AS REQUIRED BY LAW!!!!!!

Ban the Cams note:  There have been reports in the past on "construction" zone speed limits in photo radar zones not always "visible" in the past too.  Not uncommon for the scam van to be located right at the END of the zone too.  http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/29/2930.asp

Quote:  Larry Stefanuik, a former police constable who now helps motorists fight traffic tickets, was shocked at how blatantly the city was violating the law as he recorded the incident. The unmarked ticketing van was not only operating in a workerless zone, it was also positioned less twenty yards from the end of the construction zone barricades.

http://denver.cbslocal.com/2012/09/25/speed-limit-signs-in-construction-zones-not-always-visible/

Speed Limit Signs In Construction Zones Not Always Visible

September 25, 2012 10:00 PM

From Investigates

DENVER (CBS4) – The Federal Highway Administration has ordered a review of the signage at a construction site in northeast Denver after a motorist got a speeding ticket and complained the construction zone signs were improperly posted.
 
CBS4 Investigator Rick Sallinger has found portable speed limit signs kept up beyond the federal guideline and motorists being ticketed.
 
Denver police stopped Neil Slade on East 56th Avenue, just east of Quebec, for going 46 in a 30 mph zone. The fines are doubled in the construction zone and Slade could face $250 for the offense.

“I was informed I was speeding in a work zone.” Slade recalls asking the officer “What construction?” claiming he never saw the speed limit sign.
 

If traveling behind a large vehicle, Slade claims a driver would never see the portable construction zone signs.
 
“The whole purpose of reduced speed limit signs are to get people to slow down and if you can’t see the sign what good is it doing?”
 
CBS4 showed pictures of the construction zone signage to the State Traffic Engineer, Charles Meyer at CDOT, and consulted the Federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. Meyer says portable signs are permitted.

LINK: Read The MUTCD  http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/htm/2009r1r2/part6/part6f.htm
 
“Portable signs can be used in some certain circumstances when a permanent sign might not be appropriate. Or, it may just have to be constantly moved,” Meyer said.
 
The MUTCD says permanent signs are to be erected 7 feet high. The portable signs must be over a foot off the ground and should not be in place more than three days. But in the construction project on East 56th Avenue we found them there much longer.
 
The city of Denver keeps a close eye on the project and insists that three day limit for portable signs is not a solid rule. Senior Traffic Engineer Justin Schmitz says, “We used some flexibility and engineering judgment for the project to extend that beyond the timeframe. But, they are moved around constantly throughout the site.”
 
Work zones help protect people and they also bring in money  (Ban the Cams note: NO not really.  In fact a UK study SHOWED MORE CRASHES IN PHOTO RADAR Zones in Construction areas. http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/06/602.asp) . Denver routinely uses photo radar vans to catch violators. CBS4 spotted more portable signs left up for days on the South Broadway construction project. We asked Skip Guarini, a safety consultant, to have a look at the project.

“I’m not even sure it’s legal,” Guarini points to a sign on the sidewalk far from the side of traffic. “That sign is easily missed by a motorist.”

Guarini also pointed out other issues, including traffic signals missing over some lanes. A driver ran the red light in question as CBS4 was approaching the light. Guarini says, “This is typical of a work zone that is not set up properly.”
 
The city of Denver says it will comply with the findings of the East 56th Avenue signage review and correct any problems, if they find any. Failure to follow federal laws can mean loss of highway funds.

http://www.stopbigbrothermd.org/2012/09/the-long-difficult-road-to-imperfect.html

Saturday, September 22, 2012

The Long, Difficult Road to Imperfect Justice 
 

Circuit Court Order to District Court http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xh-h6XqVyjY/UF2VQJ9YMCI/AAAAAAAAAlw/ezt7A3YY6Ro/s1600/courtorder.jpg

Motorists whose right to due process is discarded by District courts may need to file expensive appeals in order to have the details of their case heard.  Here is the tail of one defendant's long, but eventually successful, struggle to get citations issued by Forest Heights and Optotraffic dismissed in circuit court and vacate an incorrect district court ruling.

Some of our frequent readers may be familiar with the saga of Will Foreman of Eastover Auto.  A fleet of vehicles owned by Eastover Auto was issued a large number of speed camera citations by the Town of Forest Heights (with multiple vehicles operated by multiple drivers over many months).  Mr Foreman alleged, using time-distance calculations from the citations themselves, that the speed measurements recorded by Optotraffic's cameras were erroneous.

Mr Foreman had successfully challenged http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/apr/20/business-owner-casts-reasonable-doubt-on-accuracy-/?page=all five of the citations up until April of 2011.  Then suddenly, Eastover Auto, and everyone else we were in contact with on the matter, mysteriously stopped receiving court dates for Forest Heights Speed camera citations for months.  Then, at the same time when Prince George's county announced the beginning of their speed camera program, Mr Foreman and others who had been waiting up to a year for hearings were finally awarded court dates in August of 2011.  And every one of them was found guilty.  In this case the judge refused to hear any arguments regarding the accuracy of the cameras, and Optotraffic argued that citation images cannot be used as evidence of speed.

Foreman had become one of those leading the charge against the alleged inaccuracy of Optotraffic's cameras.  After the ruling Optotraffic and their clients(notably including College Park) launched a PR campaign, with Optotraffic issuing press releases which attacked Mr. Foreman personally and claimed the verdicts proved the accuracy of Optotraffic's cameras.

Future hearings for Forest Heights had the same outcome for most defendants. One individual who's 40,000 lb RV http://www.stopbigbrothermd.org/2012/03/house-committee-given-testimony-on.html had been accused of speeding while towing a car was found guilty, with the same judge accepting Optotraffic's argument that images could not be used to exonerate a defendant of speeding.  In another case an elderly defendant was thrown in jail for asserting his innocence in court http://www.stopbigbrothermd.org/2011/09/forest-heights-speed-camera-defendant.html.  Another judge brazenly stated that she would not hear any argument other than that another person was driving http://www.stopbigbrothermd.org/2011/11/prince-georges-county-court-openly.html and to present that driver, and that no argument that the speed reading was incorrect would be considered.

Documents later released by the town of Cheverly http://www.stopbigbrothermd.org/2011/11/optotraffic-contract-with-cheverly.html proved that some Optotraffic cameras had experienced "False Triggers" and incorrect speed measurements.  However a court refused to admit this evidence (Even though the government is permitted to present evidence "without authentication" in speed camera hearings, according to the wording of state law).  StopBigBrotherMD.org also obtained a record from the town of New Carrollton confirming that this jurisdiction had also experienced a 'false trigger' event (see document http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_jBnlDPNoSs/T168EQXTlGI/AAAAAAAAAhs/NAbsGcYi17Q/s1600/falsespeedtrigger.jpg).  This, in our opinion, proves beyond any doubt that some errors have occurred with these devices.  Forest Heights, on the other hand, refused to provide documents pertaining to possible or alleged camera errors in response to a Maryland Public Information Act request, even though they clearly had received such complaints at the time we made our requests.

Mr Foreman appealed several of his citations to circuit court.  He was required to pay the fines in advance, plus a $23 per ticket district court cost, plus a $80 PER CITATION fee for each citation being appealed.  This shows how economically impossible it would be to appeal every $40 citation issued by a speed camera program which has a systematic problem (which the state high court has stated is the only way for defendants to contest such issues).

Foreman attempted to subpoena documents from Forest Heights for his defense, but the town refused to provide any of the requested documents in court.  He also attempted to get the SHA to authenticate documents which he wanted to admit as evidence.  Foreman reported to us that the Maryland Attorney General's office advised the SHA not to cooperate with his request.  This demonstrates what we believe is yet another example of how the Attorney General's office (or as I refer to them 'The Department of Helping the Government Break the Law') has actively worked to limit the public's access to due process and has helped local governments in warp the rules regarding speed cameras.

John O'Connor testified on Behalf of Optotraffic that photos cannot be used to show speed: "We do not use photos that are taken at two independent times to estimate speed.  Why? Because it's inaccurate. You can't do it." and "The photo is actually just secondary evidence that the vehicle was there and it was in motion, that it was there at the time of the occurrence."  [ O'Connor has identified himself as "Director of the Law Institute of Maryland" in his linkedin page...  an organization which we could find no information for online other than a domain name registration which was opened on September 2011 and which recently expired.  He lists himself as formerly the "Program Manager Automated Speed Enforcement Program Seat Pleasant Police Department", a town whose speed cameras are run by Optotraffic.  That linkedin page also references the Optotraffic website (snapshot from 9/21/2012 https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B1e8Zo-xJDL2UEstekJKNGlFY0E).  O'Connor reportedly gave similar testimony to this effect on Optotraffic's behalf at numerous hearings.]

This testimony seems to conflict with Optotraffic's own technical document https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B1e8Zo-xJDL2NDRkMGMzZTgtMGQwZC00NWZmLTgzNGQtOTZlYmYzM2JiYTM4&hl=en&authkey=CM_r6okB%20, which states that their equipment is supposed to be able to verify speed: “While the primary evidence for issuing a speeding citation is the calibrated Lane Sensor, the two photos provide the secondary evidence of speeding that is presented to the citation recipient.” and “Since a stationary object is present along with the vehicle, a photographic method also determines speed, guaranteeing fairness”. 

Standards set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) http://www.nhtsa.gov/DOT/NHTSA/Traffic%20Injury%20Control/Articles/Associated%20Files/810845.pdf  for 'across the road' police radar standards seem to confirm that images can, and should, be used to verify speed:
"2.18.2 Unattended Operation. If the ATR device is to be considered for unattended operation, the manufacturer shall provide a secondary method for verifying that the evidential recorded image properly identifies the target vehicle and reflects this vehicle’s true speed, as described in §5.18.2. This may be accomplished by means of a second, appropriately delayed image showing the target vehicle crossing a specified reference line."
    and
"5.17.2 Unattended Operation. Repeat the tests of §5.17.1.1, supplemented by the manufacturer’s secondary method for proving that the evidential image correctly identifies the offending vehicle and its speed."
Both DC and Montgomery County place white stripes on the road at camera sites http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/White-Stripes-Now-Backing-Up-DC-Speed-Cameras-144992735.html to facilitate measuring 'the progression' of the vehicle, in order to conform to the NHTSA standard and (as Montgomery County stated) comply with state the law.

Mr Foreman's attorney argued that if images captures by Optotraffic cameras were not evidence of speed, then citations do not meet the statutory requirement of the law.  Transportation article 21-809 states that citations contain "a signed statement by a duly authorized law enforcement officer employed by or under contract with an agency that, based on inspection of recorded images, the motor vehicle was being operated in violation of this subtitle.".

We previously noted how there were 'tick marks' on the road at the Forest Heights speed camera site in question at one point, but that these markings were blotted out after people started reporting errors http://www.stopbigbrothermd.org/2011/05/optotraffic-inadvertently-provides.html.  Optotraffic also removed the explicit "Delta Time: Time b/t photos" from their citations, which had been listed on photos prior to people reporting errors.   No explanation for that change to the timestamps was ever given publicly, nor did any of the several jurisdictions we inquired of provide any response as to why that was done.

Mr Foreman's case was dismissed.   Judge Northrop wrote: "The appeals were dismissed in favor of the Defendant Eastover Auto Supply", ordering all court costs to be refunded: READ COURT ORDER https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B1e8Zo-xJDL2dFRxRGN6bXVuQ0U.  It was a long painful route to avoiding the 'admission of speeding' which the state high court has said paying a citation is. http://www.stopbigbrothermd.org/2012/08/maryland-high-court-crown-can-do-no.html

But it was far from perfect justice.  Even though the Circuit court ordered the district court to refund all court costs which he had been required to pay after the initial district court hearing, Foreman reports that of 9/12/12 he still has received not refund for the district court fees.  "A Circuit Judge files an order to District Court and it is ignored.  Can you imagine if the roles were reversed an I ignored his order? I would have penalties, interest and my registration would be suspended.", wrote Foreman.

To this day Optotraffic refuses to acknowledge that speed measurement errors have ever taken place, despite huge amounts of evidence that they have.  Optotraffic and Forest Heights are happily continuing to issue more citations with the same equipment, using an inspection process which likely does not include any secondary verification of speed.  Or perhaps which does, but which they cannot admit to because that would confirm the assertions of those who have claimed errors.  And of course Optotraffic, Forest Heights, College Park and Prince George's County already got their little PR kick out of the district court decision at the critical time when Optotraffi's cameras were coming under scrutiny, which is exactly what they needed to justify the county choosing a contractor who was a contributor to the county executive's campaign fund. http://www.stopbigbrothermd.org/search/label/Optotraffic

However in the absence of a legislative solution, which has so far been casually brushed aside by state lawmakers, defendants who receive erroneous citations face a roll of the dice in district court.  The cameras may have collected evidence which has sufficient time stamp detail to prove speed, they may not.  They may have a judge who is willing to consider 'secondary evidence' of speed and give the defendant the rightful benefit of the doubt, or they may simply hand out assembly line verdicts. That is the state of justice for Motorists in Maryland.

Forest Heights reported collecting a net $2.6million worth of speed camera fines in FY2011(divided between the town, Optotraffic, and the State of Maryland), which compares to the town's total revenue of $2.19 million from all other sources combined.... revenue which will likely be used to "buy the gun they will point to your head" in order to extract more money from the public in the future.

Ban the Cams note:  This is what happens when you DENY CITIZENS DUE PROCESS and the RIGHT TO VOTE ON THE SCAMERAS!

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/39/3903.asp

Australia, France, Italy, UK: Speed Cameras Thwarted
Vigilantes use a variety of tactics to stop speed cameras around the world from issuing citations.

In Marmagne, France a speed camera was ripped open on Saturday. According to Creusot Infos http://www.creusot-infos.com/article.php?sid=41153&mode=&order=0, the back panel of the automated ticketing machine on the RD680 was pulled off and the wiring cut, causing significant damage. On Friday, a nearby camera on the RN80 in Antully had its lenses smeared with a gray material, preventing the device from issuing tickets.

Vigilantes in Kent, England have been so successful at disabling speed cameras by placing stickers over the lenses of the automated ticketing machines that the Kent and Medway Speed Camera Partnership admits it cannot keep up with the pace of removing them, according to Cranbrook People http://www.cranbrookpeople.co.uk/mystery-attacker-waging-war-Kent-s-speed-cameras/story-16920647-detail/story.html. Beginning last month, the stickers were attached to the camera lenses on six cameras on the A2 in Faversham, Newington and Sittingbourne. Two-thirds of the devices in the area were unable to issue tickets.

A 31-year-old man is charged with assaulting a speed camera operator in Perth, Australia on Wednesday. The man confronted the operator in the Hamilton Hill area at 8:30am, hurling abuse and lunging at him according to Perth Now. http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/man-held-after-speed-camera-operator-assaulted-in-hamilton-hiil/story-e6frg13u-1226477204738

In Ciampino, Italy a 60-year-old man thwarted a speed camera trap on Tuesday by standing in the road on the Via Appia Nuova warning motorists to slow down, Roma Notizie http://www.romanotizie.it/ciampino-automobilista-si-funge-da-semaforo-umano.html reported. Carabinieri were dispatched to arrest the man who forced the photo ticket trap to shut down after an hour because not enough citations were being generated. Nearby in Rome, city officials have installed 43 speed cameras, and 19 of them have been burned, spraypainted or otherwise disabled, according to Leggo.  http://www.leggo.it/roma/bianca/roma_nel_iv_municipio_pronte_telecamere_contro_i_vandali_degli_autovelox/notizie/194407.shtml

Weekly Standard: proliferation of traffic cameras proportional to the corruption and mismanagement of city

Quote:  It’s revealing that the proliferation of traffic cameras seems directly proportional to the corruption and mismanagement of the local governments erecting them.

(THANKS TO The National Motorists Association for sharing this).

http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/speed-demons_652650.html

Speed Demons

It’s pretty hard not to have some misgivings about the increasing government surveillance of citizens, though reasonable people can disagree to what extent this is necessary to keep us safe. However, The Scrapbook would like to think that we can all agree that when the surveillance state becomes just another means of raising revenue it’s entirely pernicious.
And so it is that traffic cameras have spread like a cancer across the land. It’s revealing that the proliferation of traffic cameras seems directly proportional to the corruption and mismanagement of the local governments erecting them. In March, Washington, D.C., mayor Vincent Gray made a disturbing promise to “cover the entire city” with traffic cameras. Gray justified this by saying, “I think we need to do everything we can to protect people in the District from the negligent and irresponsible actions of others.”

That’s an interesting sentiment coming from Gray, who’s been under federal investigation for running a crooked mayoral campaign. A Washington Post poll this past July revealed that 54 percent of D.C. residents think he should resign. Unlike taxpayers who might be driving 8 mph over a 25 mph speed limit, there’s actually a reason for law enforcement authorities to monitor Gray very closely.

But again, safety is a laughable pretext when justifying traffic cameras—tellingly, Gray made his pledge to cover the city in cameras at a budget meeting. Last year, the city generated some $55 million in revenue from traffic tickets and expects to earn $30 million in additional revenue this year. Naturally, this means the city will issue even more traffic camera tickets, which is impressive when you realize that last year the city issued 462,601 traffic camera tickets in a city of 617,996 residents.

Amazingly, D.C. now has competition when it comes to overuse of traffic cameras. Prince George’s County, Maryland, borders Washington, D.C., to the east, and, not ­surprisingly, it too is notorious for corruption. Last year, Prince George’s county executive Jack Johnson was sentenced to seven years in prison for taking as much as a million dollars in kickbacks; Johnson’s wife was hiding an ill-gotten $79,000 in cash in her bra when the FBI arrested her.

P. G. County is also leaning heavily on traffic cameras to make up for the revenue its corrupt officials are no doubt squandering. Except that it seems that residents of P. G. County are not taking this effort to squeeze money out of them for the crime of commuting lying down.

The Washington Post reports there have been a “half dozen incidents of vandalism and general meanness toward the cameras in the county. A camera was actually shot with a gun. Another was set on fire.” But have no fear, Prince George’s County police officer Robert V. Liberati, whose official title is, and no, we’re not making this up, “Commander of the Automated Enforcement Section,” explained last week that the county has come up with a novel solution to its traffic camera vandalism problem. Commander Liberati told local radio station WTOP that they’re putting up cameras to monitor what happens to their traffic cameras.

The Scrapbook does not condone vandalism of public property, but the county’s response here does raise the question of how this Orwellian recursion is supposed to end. We’re guessing that D.C. and Prince George’s County will continue to do whatever they can to extract cash, regardless of how unfair and infuriating it is to those penalized by these proliferating cameras. The alternative would be for local officials to clean up their act and spend less money, and we all know that can’t happen.

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/38/3897.asp

Maryland, Belgium, UAE: Speed Cameras Watched, Burned, Blocked
Speed cameras are watched by cameras in Maryland, burned in UAE and the traps are blocked in Belgium.

After vigilantes disabled six speed cameras in less than six months, Prince George's County, Maryland is installing speed camera monitoring cameras, according to WTOP radio  http://www.wtop.com/58/3034979/New-cameras-watch-cameras-that-watch-you. In April, a camera on Duley Station Road in Upper Marlboro was shot. Later that month, the mobile automated ticketing machine on Harry S. Truman Drive was knocked over. In May, one of the legs of a camera on Brightseat Road was severed. In July, the camera on Race Track Road was set on fire.

Vigilantes set fire to a speed camera in the United Arab Emirates on September 4, according to Emirates 24/7 http://www.emirates247.com/news/emirates/rak-speed-camera-vandal-strikes-again-2012-09-09-1.474683. The camera was located on Galila road in Ras Al Khaimah and had recently been attacked once before, bringing to five the total number of devices destroyed in the emirate this year.

Officials in Wallonia, Belgium thwarted themselves by trying to hide a speed camera behind a tree. RTL http://www.rtl.be/info/votreregion/hainaut/905764/charleroi-un-radar-automatique-qui-ne-voit-rien- reported the automated ticketing machine on the A54 near Charleroi no longer functions because overgrown trees are blocking its view. Those in charge of the camera blame the public services department responsible for trimming.

Ban the Cams note:  Cameras watching scameras.  Wonder did the scamera side ever hear of a mask????