Speed Camera News

So much for "public" support of speed scameras!!!!  Scamera Attacks ending 10/8/2011

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/36/3607.asp

Maryland, Germany, Italy: Speed Cameras Swiped, Blasted, Spraypainted
Speed cameras attacked in Maryland, Germany and Italy.

A speed camera in Baltimore, Maryland was yanked out of the ground Tuesday at around 10:45pm. The automated ticketing machine located on North Point Boulevard was dragged on the law of Sparrows Point High School by a Dodge pickup truck. Two juveniles were arrested over the incident, but the driver of the truck got away, WBAL TV http://www.wbaltv.com/r/29421117/detail.html reported.

In Forli, Italy Saturday, vigilantes spraypainted the lens of a speed camera on the Via Firenze in Villa Rovere, according to Il Resto del Carlino http://www.ilrestodelcarlino.it/forli/cronaca/2011/10/08/596252-rabbia_cieca.shtml

In Emmerich, Germany on Monday two men broke into a speed camera box and used the powder from firecrackers to blow up the inside of the camera. According to RP Online http://www.rp-online.de/niederrhein-nord/emmerich/nachrichten/raser-sprengt-starenkasten-1.2212694, two suspects were questioned and released.

MD motorist warning on Scameras, "your speed" warning signs before scameras reading 5 to 15  mph low!

http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=79463282773¬if_t=group_name_change

Thanks to Susan Harriet Baker's post on MD for Responsible Enforcement.

Susan Harriet Baker:

 Riding up 270 above the exchange for Sugarloaf/Comus there is construction to repair the bridge; there are warning signs about speed cameras in the construction zone, and an SUV with a speed camera on it parked on the side of the road. Before you reach the spot where the SUV is parked there is a speed reading sign (the ones that say "your speed is XX"). I was traveling 65mph in this 55mph zone, and the speed reading sign said my speed was 50mph ... entrapment, anyone?

Scamera tickets hitting some folks for 9 months of income, "payment" plans offered,,,

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/36/3606.asp

Costa Rica Unveils Most Burdensome Speed Camera Program Yet

Costa Rica introduces some of the highest traffic camera fines in the world.

Since September 8, motorists in Costa Rica have been racking up speed camera fines worth 308,295 colones (US $600) each. Sixteen speed cameras have been flashing around the city of San Jose at a rate of a thousand per day as part of the brand new program. Those fines -- among the world's highest -- are not being mailed to vehicle owners, as is the case elsewhere. Instead, motorists are expected to check their plate number on a regular basis to see if they need to pay up.

On September 26, the first set of license plates was published in the form of a 120-page list in La Gaceta, the government's official journal. The alleged violations are sorted by day, so all of the country's vehicle owners must scan each day of the week looking for their vehicle. Those among the 15,429 plates that have been listed so far have until October 17 to come up with the $600 in cash.

That is a significant burden in a country where the per capita income is $11,300, or less than a quarter of the earning power in the US. In response to the demand for payment options, Banco Popular is offering speed camera loans that pay off the ticket over five years for a monthly payment of 8588 colones (US $16.70).

The impact was felt in a big way by a 22-year-old woman who found she had been ticketed a dozen times in the first publication of notices. She is expected to come up with 3,699,540 colones (US $7188), or about seven months' worth of her salary. She is appealing her fines.

President Laura Chinchilla has felt the heat from the public and is now calling for the fine to be lowered. The government set up the controversial notification system after finding no way to reliably mail citations in a country that does not have a system of street addresses. Since colonial times, directions have been given by reference to landmarks, as street signs are rare. Officials have been moving to implement a standardized address system for several years in anticipation of an automated ticketing program.

A copy of the first list of license plates is available in a 900k PDF file at the source link below.

Source:  La Gaceta No. 184 (Costa Rica, 9/26/2011)  http://www.thenewspaper.com/rlc/docs/2011/cr-ticketlist.pdf

http://www.stopbigbrothermd.org/2011/10/pg-countys-new-speed-camera-issues.html

Wednesday, October 5, 2011
 

PG County's New Speed Camera Issues Erroneous Tickets

After only a few days of issuing tickets, officials in Prince George;s County have already reported their first erroneous speed camera citations. http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Speed-Cameras-Questioned-in-Prince-Georges-County-131111583.html  PG County reported that a speed camera located along the 6800-7800 block of High Bridge Road in Bowie sent out 18 erroneous citations.  Police stated that the problem was not due to a speed measurement error but rather because the device was improperly configured to issue citations on a Sunday http://news1.capitalbay.com/news/washington-dc/dc/297917-prince-george-s-speed-camera-cited-drivers-by-mistake.html.  Under Maryland law 'school zone' speed cameras are authorized to issued tickets M-Fri. (Note: Cameras in Montgomery County and those used in SHA workzones are NOT restricted to week days).

A police spokesperson stated to NBC news 4 "On this particular Sunday, Sunday September 25th there were 18 citations issued incorrectly.  We then reviewed all of them.  We got in touch with the individual drivers, one of them had already paid.  They will be reimbursed.  The rest had their tickets waived".

Under state law, all citations are supposedly inspected and approved by a police officer BEFORE tickets are issued, and all citations contain an (electronically imprinted) signature affirming this.  In the case of these citations apparently did not include checking the date of the violation.  Also under state law speed cameras are supposed to be inspected by a county employee 'daily' who signs a 'daily setup log' to that effect... apparently in this case that inspection did not include looking at a calendar to find out what day of the week it was. The county's speed cameras are provided by their vendor, Optotraffic http://www.stopbigbrothermd.org/search/label/Optotraffic (a division of Sigma Space Corporation), who maintains the cameras in exchange for a cut of the speed camera revenue from each ticket.

According to NBC News 4, PG County police stated that this was an isolated problem with this one speed camera "improperly programmed by the vendor".  However a spokesperson from AAA Mid Atlantic referred to the many other complains about erroneous citations issued by Optotraffic cameras in the past, complaints which have been disregarded by county officials.

We have previously reported how some municipalities using Optotraffic cameras appear to have taken shortcuts in the operation of their cameras, filling in logs on days operators were apparently not working. http://www.stopbigbrothermd.org/2011/07/tale-of-fishy-camera-logs.html  StopBigBrotherMD.org has also previously argued that if certain claims by Optotraffic and county officials are taken at face value, then no meaningful inspection of citations could possibly be taking place. http://www.stopbigbrothermd.org/2011/07/prince-georges-moves-ahead-with.html

http://someoneneedstosayit.blogspot.com/2011/10/bluff-city-rip-off.html

The Bluff City Rip Off

Not surprisingly, Bluff City is moving to extend their speed trap http://www.timesnews.net/article/9036677/bluff-city-bma-adjusts-speed-limits-to-comply-with-camera-law "north to the Charlie Worlie Bridge." This is probably over two miles from the speed camera. So they have used the camera law as an excuse to extend their speed trap for an additional two miles. For the uninitiated, the Charlie Worlie Bridge is at the bottom of a rather large hill. Look for the police to set up at the bottom of the hill or at the pull-off next to the flea market.

As I predicted http://someoneneedstosayit.blogspot.com/2011/09/bluff-citys-next-attempt-at-traffic.html, they are using a "traffic study" as justification for this, one that is likely rigged. "[Interim City Manager Judy] Dulaney said a recently completed traffic study of the area showed that most vehicles, northbound and southbound in all lanes of travel, pass through at an average of 66 mph." This is in a 55 mph zone on a 4-lane divided highway in a generally non-congested area. The flea market brings in a fair amount of traffic on the weekend, but commuter traffic is less on Saturday so the net effect is probably de minimus. My guess is that they put their speed trailer on the hill going to the Charlie Worlie Bridge on the northbound side and near the other side of the hill on the southbound side so they would get a higher speed reading.

You people who elect this pathetic group of misfits called the Board of Mayor and Aldermen need to get on the phone and cut this off at the legs. Before this becomes effective, they have to have a second reading that that is scheduled for October 13. Let your voice be heard. You are allowing a government to grow out of control. In no circumstances should so much of any government's revenue be dependent on extracting money from motorists in a speed trap.

Of course, Delaney claims that the speed camera "isn't the primary reason for extending the 45 mph speed limit to the bridge." If you believe that, please contact me about a bridge that I have for sale that is a real money making opportunity. That is such a complete and obvious lie that I cannot believe any bureaucrat is dumb enough to actually say it.

The REDFLEX "Mafia" front Group "honored" by GHSA.

Ban the Cams note:  Original article the Front Group FILED SUIT to DENY the voters a vote on the RLC SCAM in Port Lavaca, TX.  http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/34/3445.asp

Quote:  An Australian company has hired kingmakers from Chicago, Illinois to prevent Texas residents from being able to decide whether or not red light cameras should be used in their community. A "grassroots" group calling itself the Texas Traffic Safety coalition filed a lawsuit to stop the city of Port Lavaca, Texas from holding a referendum on the photo enforcement program run by Melbourne-based Redflex. Although no court order was issued in the case, the city council decided not to hold the election, despite the city charter's instruction that the council must place a qualified petition on the ballot.

According to the March 3 Texas Secretary of State filing that created the Texas Traffic Safety Coalition, the group consists of three directors: David Goldenberg, Gregory Goldner and David Smolensky. All three are officers of Resolute Consulting, a public relations firm based in Chicago, Illinois. Redflex is one of the firm's satisfied clients.

Ban the Cams note II:  http://camerafraud.wordpress.com/2010/05/04/the-redflex-mafia/

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/36/3605.asp

State Governors Honor Red Light Camera Company Front Group
Governors Highway Safety Association gives an award to a front group run by an Australian photo ticketing firm.

State highway officials are using their public offices to lend credibility to a public relations front group created by a foreign red light camera company. On September 27, the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) held its annual meeting in Cincinnati, Ohio where it celebrated the "special achievement" of the Traffic Safety Coalition. This group, which is run by a public relations firm retained by the Australian photo enforcement firm Redflex Traffic Systems, accepted the Peter K. O'Rourke Special Achievement Award.

GHSA is a non-profit organization that "receives a substantial part of its support from a governmental unit or from the general public," according to its tax returns. Its primary members are state transportation officials who use GHSA to lobby on behalf of programs that increase the issuance of traffic tickets.

"In 2010, traffic safety camera programs in Illinois were under assault," the GHSA notice for the Traffic Safety Coalition award explained. "A small but vocal minority of camera opponents were spreading misinformation to media, decision makers, legislators and the general public. In response, the Traffic Safety Coalition quickly assembled a diverse group of safety advocates to conduct a vast education and advocacy program to show how traffic safety cameras are effective at deterring dangerous and illegal driving behavior... Facing opposition from misinformed members of the public and the state legislature, the Coalition worked to reshape public opinion on traffic safety cameras."

According filings with the Texas Secretary of State, the Traffic Safety Coalition consists of three directors: David Goldenberg, Gregory Goldner and David Smolensky, all of whom are senior staff for Resolute Consulting, a public relations firm based in Chicago, Illinois. Redflex is listed as one of the firm's satisfied clients.

GHSA's award material did not disclose the Traffic Safety Coalition's connection to Redflex. Redflex uses its group to advocate policies that advance its business opportunities through the news media. When comments come from a "coalition" it lends the appearance that the opinions expressed are those of independent, grassroots activists rather than public relations professionals with a direct financial interest in their advocacy.

"At the grassroots level, the Traffic Safety Coalition engaged community members in outreach to legislators and local media outlets, including the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun Times, WGN and Daily Herald," GHSA explained. "It produced printed materials to explain the benefits of automated enforcement and built an interactive website."

Though GHSA and the Redflex group claim opponents of photo radar constitute a minority, traffic cameras opponents have proved to be an actual majority winning sixteen out of sixteen election contests http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/27/2769.asp, often by substantial margins.

http://www.abd.org.uk/pr/757.htm

ABD Slams Botched Release Of Speed Camera Statistics
The Department for Transport has announced that some camera partnerships have complied with its request to release speed camera statistics. 1
http://www.abd.org.uk/pr/757.htm#1

ABD Chairman Brian Gregory comments:

“The public must ask the question: 'What are camera partnerships trying to hide?'. For years we have been trying to get proper statistics out of them and have invariably come up against a brick wall. The government eventually politely requested information without putting in place any demands to produce the full data needed for a proper analysis2. Some of the camera partnerships have reluctantly complied by publishing the minimum of data they can get away with and others haven't published at all. Quite clearly, if the data showed cameras in good light, the partnerships would be proudly shouting the full facts from the rooftops. Their reluctance says it all.”
 

The ABD urges journalists to fully investigate the figures released and to demand the full data as listed in ABD PR 751 below.

NOTES FOR EDITORS
 
1. DfT press release  http://www.dft.gov.uk/news/press-releases/penning20110824

2. Demands for data ABD PR 751  http://www.abd.org.uk/pr/751.htm

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/36/3601.asp

Belgium, UK: Speed Cameras Scorched, Swiped
Three speed cameras are set on fire in Belgium and England with another grabbed in Bedfordshire, UK.

Last Sunday at around 3am, vigilantes set fire to a pair of speed cameras in Belgium. In Lommel, the damage done was less serious because the tire hung around the camera to fuel the flames fell off before the device was destroyed. In Hechtel-Eksel, the fire destroyed the camera pole, Nieuwsblad http://www.nieuwsblad.be/article/detail.aspx?articleid=N93G5FCQ reported. Police have no idea who might be responsible.

In Lincolnshire, England a speed camera was set on fire at around 5am on September 23. A gasoline-filled tire was used to fuel the blaze in Louth. In Bedfordshire on September 22, vigilantes made off with a speed camera that had been installed on Roxton Road in Great Barford, Bedfordshire On Sunday http://www.bedfordshire-news.co.uk/News/Village-outraged-over-theft-of-speed-camera-23092011.htm reported.

Ban the Cams note:  See below where the scamera side tries to PRICE People out of finding Data on the Speed SCAMERAS in both FOIA and Discovery for defense.

Thursday, September 29, 2011
Damascus Resident Beat Workzone Camera Ticket 
 

Ridge Road speed limit sign placed far from the side of the road

In an August 29 court hearing an attorney from Damascus successfully beat a speed camera ticket issued by Montgomery County http://www.gazette.net/article/20110907/NEWS/709079664/1096/damascus-man-beats-speed-camera-ticket&template=gazette at 27000 block of Ridge Road in Damascus.  

Mr Layer made several points in his defense relating to the restrictions on both 'residential zone' speed cameras and workzone speed cameras under state law.  In addition, he also argued that, based on the speed camera photos, that it was a construction zone, which could clearly be seen, which could have obstructed signage and arguably made the site a 'workzone speed camera' which is only permitted on highways with speed limits of 40mph or greater.  It was notable that after the lanes were shifted for the construction the sign for the 30mph speed limit was located 20 feet away from the side of the road where it was no longer clearly visible and could easily have been concealed by construction signage or equipment at any given time.  The speed limit on ridge road is 40mph a short distance from the cameras.

Read more: Damascus Resident Beat Workzone Camera Ticket

See the "smiling" face of Big Brother in Bankok!

(Thanks to CameraFraud for the link!)

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/258878/cctv-cop-dummies-launched

'Intelligent' Pol Sgt Choey on duty (AKA Cylon Scamera!)
• Published: 29/09/2011 at 02:29 PM
• Online news: Local News
Camera-equipped dummy police officers have been set up in 13 locations across Bangkok to catch drivers who violate traffic rules, Metropolitan Police deputy chief Phanu Kerdlarppol said on Thursday.
 

Photos by Pattanapong Hirunard
 

He said there were people who wanted the fake police officers - all named Pol Sgt Choey (choey is "passive", in Thai) - to be placed in different areas to keep motorists from breaking the traffic rules when real traffic policemen were not on duty.
"Pol Sgt Choey will no longer be passive because they now have closed circuit television cameras and speed cameras inside them. They are now called Intelligent Pol Sgt Choey," Pol Maj-Gen Phanu said.

The mannikin law enforcers will help reduce the number of traffic violations and encourage people to be alert when driving, he said. (Ban the SUREE, that is why you are hiding it in a dummy!)

Read more: See the "smiling" face of Big Brother in Bankok

Ban the Cams note:  Speed scameas have always been about money (in fact the police openly talked about reducing the "tolerances", IE trigger speeds to increase "violations").

But of more interest is the "other" use, people of "interest".  Just for thought, what if the people of "interest" becomes you????

For a little historical perspective the U.S. Government in the past had files on people who were considered people of "interest.".  You know like Charlie Chaplin!  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Chaplin.  He was accused of being involved in "un-American activities".  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Un-American_activitie.  

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/aerial-surveillance-push/2300359.aspx

Aerial surveillance push
BY PETER JEAN
22 Sep, 2011 04:00 AM
 

Police have suggested that Canberra's new point-to-point speed cameras be linked to unmanned aerial surveillance drones and used to track vehicles of interest to authorities.
 

The first of the cameras, which use automated number plate recognition technology to calculate a car's average speed and whether it is within the legal limit, are due to be switched on by the end of the year.
 

But minutes of a Government point-to-point steering committee meeting held in June last year show that police recommended a broader range of uses for the cameras.
 

According to the minutes, which were issued to the Opposition under the Freedom of Information Act, a senior police officer said the cameras could be used for other purposes.
 

''He noted that the use of P2P ANPR cameras to detect unregistered, stolen and other vehicles of interest would provide ongoing and longer term benefits for the project,'' the minutes said.
The officer also advised that, ''a specific benefit would derive if the P2P cameras were linked to UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] which could track vehicles of interest.''
 

Another meeting attendee said revenue projections showed that the cost of installing the system should be paid back within six to 12 months.
 

''He noted that P2P systems had relatively low infringement rates, and there may be scope to reduce the tolerance level to increase infringement numbers,'' the minutes said.

Ban the Cams note:  this is how they keep the revenue flowing in from "violations", just change the what the trigger speed of it is!

Read more: Talk of using U.A.V in collaboration with speed cameras I think is going far beyond the stated scope

ABD list of Articles on UK Speed Scamera Data.

Ban the Cams special thanks to the Association of British Drivers who have fought the Speed Scameras in the UK for their help in compiling information on the scameras.  Also thanks to Jim for fowarding this onto us (the links are from www.abd.org.uk ).

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2029361/Speed-cameras-cut-accidents--create-study-finds.html
"Speed cameras 'do not cut accidents'... they create them, study finds"
 
http://www.hemeltoday.co.uk/news/local/most_speed_cameras_are_cash_cows_says_mp_1_3023528
"The MP said he was aware of one camera at Queensway in Hemel Hempstead that had caused rather than prevented accidents."
 
http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/local/are_they_worth_it_sheffield_speed_cameras_failing_to_cut_accidents_1_3715472?commentspage=2
"SPEED cameras have failed to cut accidents at almost half of all sites where they have been installed in South Yorkshire"

http://www.braintreeandwithamtimes.co.uk/news/9236595.Braintree__Collisions_up_after_speed_camera_installed/
"The number of collisions recorded at Braintree’s only speed camera have risen since it was put up."

http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/9215912.Some_Dorset_speed_cameras_have_NOT_cut_accidents/
"SOME speed cameras in Dorset have not cut accident rates – and casualties near some cameras could even have increased, according to statistics. Figures show that many cameras have done little or nothing to improve accident rates, but have proved highly effective in clocking up speeding fines. "

 
http://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/local/9230563.Accident_figures_suggest_speed_cameras_are_not_saving_lives/
"SPEED cameras installed to stop accidents are not doing their job, according to national figures"
 
http://www.bigbrotherwatch.org.uk/home/2011/08/2849.html
New statistics from the Department for Transport have today revealed what has been believed about speed cameras for quite some time. Namely, they regularly fail to cut accident rates and can even increase them.
 
http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/4-000-crashes-speed-cameras-introduced/story-13229361-detail/story.html
"SINCE mobile speed cameras were introduced at some of Bristol's worst accident blackspots, there have been more than 4,000 crashes on the roads they watch."
http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=24013
"Three speed cameras in Preston that pulled in £18,000-worth of fines in 2010 actually bore witness to an increase in the number of accidents since they were installed."
"Not only is it scandalous that cameras where casualties have increased have been kept in operation for many years, it is even more disturbing that the authorities have hidden this data and authorised continued operation whilst being in possession of this knowledge"
 
http://www.gethampshire.co.uk/news/s/2099023_accidents_rise_despite_presence_of_speed_cameras
"Accidents rise despite presence of speed cameras"
 
http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Home/Casualty-rates-at-some-speed-camera-sites-have-worsened-24082011.htm
"Casualty rates at some speed camera sites have worsened since their installation, figures out today showed."
 
 
http://www.buckinghamshireexaminer.co.uk/south-bucks-news/local-buckinghamshire-examiner-news/2011/08/31/bucks-speed-cameras-failing-to-cut-accidents-82398-29335743/
"SPEED cameras in South Bucks are failing to cause accident rates to drop despite successfully bringing average speeds down."
 
http://www.thisissomerset.co.uk/Speed-cameras-fail-reduce-accidents/story-13246055-detail/story.html
"In Midsomer Norton and Radstock, none of the areas where mobile camera vans operate has seen a significant fall in accidents since their introduction."
 
http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2011/07/24/speed-cameras-have-no-impact-on-accident-reduction/
"Speed cameras have little or no effect on reducing road accident on roads in the West Midlands, statistics released today suggest."

http://www.transport-watch.co.uk/transport-speed-cameras.htm
Prior to 1995 deaths per vehicle-mile were falling at 7% per year.  After that date, instead of accelerating under the impact of the cameras, that beneficial trend collapsed to 2.5%.  Had the previous trend continued there would have been 10,000 fewer deaths that actually occurred.  There is also a remarkable correlation between those extra deaths and the number of fines
 
 

http://someoneneedstosayit.blogspot.com/2011/09/bluff-citys-next-attempt-at-traffic.html
 
Friday, September 23, 2011
Bluff City's Next Attempt at a Traffic Camera Scam

Here's a warning to folks who travel 11-E. In light of the recent shut-down of the speed camera in the southbound lane, the "city" of Bluff City wants to expand the ridiculous 45 mpg speed zone further up the highway so they can keep their traffic scamera alive. As part of this process, it appears that they may be doing a traffic study, using the little trailer that records people's speeds and shows their speed on a sign board as they pass. Traffic studies are required for all new speed cameras under the new Tennessee law and it may be that they are doing this as part of their plan to extend the speed trap and "reinstall" (or re-activate) the speed camera.

Here's the trick - they have located the trailer just a few yards inside of the current 45 mpg speed zone, but are measuring speed outside of the 45 mph zone. They basically placed their trailer right behind the sign where the speed limit changes. The sign on the trailer shows 45 mph and it is "inside" of the speed zone, but is set to measure cars that are clearly outside of the speed zone. That way, they can say "we set up a traffic study in the 45 mph zone and most people were exceeding the speed limit." They won't bother telling anyone that they were actually measuring speed in a 55 mph zone. THESE PEOPLE WILL STOP AT NOTHING WHEN IT COMES TO STEALING YOUR MONEY!

I note that this speed measuring trailer was turned off yesterday, but look for a rigged traffic study to go along with the expanded speed limit. This should be illegal. If that camera is turned on, anyone who gets a ticket should challenge the validity of the traffic study that may be being prepared with this speed measuring radar trailer.

Better yet, Bluff City should be disbanded and have its charter revoked. It is a dysfunctional government that seems to exist primarily to keep jobs for a few bureaucrats and few policemen.

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/35/3595.asp

France: Speed Camera Set Ablaze
A speed camera in Limoges, France is destroyed with fire.

A 22-year-old man set fire to a speed camera in Limoges, France last week Saturday at around 3am. The device on RD79 Aixe Road had been opened and set aflame using gasoline-soaked papers, La Montagne http://www.lamontagne.fr/editions_locales/haute_vienne/il_met_le_feu_a_un_radar_et_laisse_ses_papiers_sur_place_%40CARGNjFdJSsAFh8DBxs-.html reported. One of the papers the vigilante used was an application for employment that contained his name and address. It did not catch fire, allowing police to catch up to him. The man had no previous criminal record.

Thanks to Camerafraud for the link!

http://www.tbd.com/articles/2010/09/drivers-outraged-over-forest-heights-speed-cameras-miscalculations-8785.html

Drivers outraged over Forest Heights speed cameras' miscalculations 

September 7, 2010 - 06:00 pm

Some drivers claim speed cameras along Indian Head Highway in Forest Heights, Md. is making rather stark miscalculations.
 
Some drivers say the cameras focused on northbound and southbound Route 210 are committing highway robbery. Earl Lomax is a former police officer who says the two speed camera tickets he got along the busy two-lane road this summer are bogus.

"Then, when I opened this thing I'm saying 'Oh no! No they didn't! That's impossible!'" remembered Lomax, who lives in Forest Heights.

Each time, Lomax says based on where he entered Indian Head Highway, he couldn't have reached the speeds the tickets state. Lomax says there's simply not enough time for his 40-foot-long, 40,000-pound RV with a car in tow to hit 53 miles an hour after leaving a side street and lumbering up the hill alongside the camera.

"It's no way I can even get up to 25 miles an hour in that short period of time in this," said Lomax, pointing to his RV.

Lomax says he's trying to go to court to fight the tickets but he says they are too backed up now for him to even get a date.

Will Foreman owns Eastover Auto Supply in Oxon Hill. His drivers have gotten so many tickets he's dubbed the area the "Forest Heights Toll Plaza."

"We've had probably 18 tickets...This summer. And our drivers are responsible for that. I mean, they're professional drivers but they haven't done anything wrong," stated Foreman.

The town approved the cameras in May. State highway officials say they're within the mandatory one mile radius of a school. The police chief has said the cameras are needed for safety because drivers easily double the 35 mile per hour speed limit there.

Drivers we spoke with disagree.

Don Colbert said, "Sounds like somebody's making some fast cash...Something's fishy. Something's very fishy."

We tried to reach Forest Heights' police chief and the mayor but neither were available.

http://www.denverpost.com/carroll/ci_18905954

opinion
Carroll: Photo-radar cash cows

By Denver Post Columnist
Posted: 09/18/2011 01:00:00 AM MDT

When Westword recently published a list of the "Top 5 biggest speed traps in Denver," I expected to see the one where I was nailed this summer. But no. Apparently this business of fleecing motorists is more prevalent than I'd thought.

A few days later, however, Westword published a second list of five notorious speed traps, and bingo: There it was, my nemesis, Kalamath between 1st and Alameda, a photo-radar cash cow.

I pass this stretch of road only on the occasional Saturday, and not once in recent months have I seen any construction to justify the 25 mph "work zone" speed limit. And yet nearly every time, a photo-radar van would be hunkered down on the west side, picking off one unsuspecting mark after another for having the nerve to drive in the 30s on a stretch of road where such speeds would seem to be as threatening as a scooter.

If Denver is so determined to fill its coffers with unearned loot, it might as well deputize a troupe of pickpockets and deploy them on the 16th Street Mall. At least then there'd be no pretense of serving the public interest. Instead, the city's photo radar enforcement program serenely assures us that they choose sites "based on best use of resources and complaint areas" and to "increase public safety."

If only. It's hard to take such claims seriously when photo-radar vans seem parked habitually where the pickings are easy — say, because the posted speed is well below traffic flow or indeed lower than adjoining stretches of the same road.

For what it's worth, Denver ranks fifth nationally on a list of 25 cities "with the highest number of speed trap locations over the past two years," according to the National Motorists Association. The NMA's list relies upon motorist reports as opposed to scientific surveys and so should be taken with caution. Yet there is no doubt that the photo-radar law is routinely abused — in terms of where and how contractor vans are deployed, the visibility of warning signs, and the way the public is misled about the law itself.

Most people assume a photo-radar ticket is equivalent to one handed to them by a police officer. But it is not. Thanks to legislation that anticipated the technology's abuse to raise revenue, photo radar tickets aren't reported to the department of motor vehicles and won't rack up points against your license. Your car can't be booted for unpaid fines. And, most interesting of all, according to criminal defense attorney Gary Pirosko, you "have to be personally served" before you actually have to pay — and service must occur within 90 days or the ticket goes away.

Pirosko, who has fought photo- radar shenanigans since the beginning and once got a judge to suspend Denver's system until it was reformed, told me, "The public is sick of cities using them as an ATM machine. I'm telling people to follow the law. Make them serve you personally."

And if you do, don't answer the door to strangers for awhile.

In the tickets it mails to motorists, Denver does say they won't be reported to the state. But the only hint of the personal service mandate is the warning that the assessment "may be served to you" if you don't pay by a particular date.

When Fox 31's Heidi Hemmat did a report on photo radar in April, Denver police brushed off her questions about personal service — as well they might, since ignorance is the best assurance of docile payment.

Make no mistake: Docile payment is the right call if you were speeding recklessly. If not, though, it seems you have an option.
E-mail Vincent Carroll at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
 

(Thanks to Camerafraud for the link!)

http://www2.tricities.com/news/2011/sep/18/tennessee-ag-opinion-spells-trouble-bluff-city-ar-1317156/

Tennessee AG opinion spells trouble for Bluff City

Between Jan. 1, 2010, and May 31, 2011, Bluff City's speed cameras issued 39,923 citations to drivers from all 50 states, four Canadian provinces, two military command posts and the District of Columbia. Costing drivers $50 to $90 each, depending on when they were issued, the tickets netted the city nearly $1.6 million – an amount equal to eight times Bluff City’s total property tax collections from the last fiscal year – in that 17-month period.

By: Mac Mclean
Published: September 18, 2011
 

BLUFF CITY, Tenn. --
Jim Bollinger was on his way to the Johnson City Golden Corral restaurant for an early afternoon dinner Aug. 5 when he saw the bright white light atop Bluff City’s speed camera flash across his rear view mirror.

“We were trying to get there by 4 p.m. to catch the senior rates,” Bollinger said Thursday as he explained why he was going too fast through the 45-mph-zone on U.S. Highway 11E that the camera has patrolled since January 2010. But rather than pay the $50 speeding ticket when it showed up in his mailbox, Bollinger did some Internet research and discovered a recent opinion issued by Tennessee Attorney General Robert Cooper regarding a new set of traffic camera regulations that went into effect July 1.

That legal opinion, which Cooper’s office released Aug. 8, contradicts a key interpretation both Bluff City officials and Northeast Tennessee legislators had of the new regulations when the law was being crafted this past spring.

Cooper’s opinion – and a protest from Jim Bollinger – prompted the city to temporarily shut down one of its two traffic cameras amid concerns the device might have illegally been issuing tickets to hundreds of drivers for the past 2½ months.

“They’ve got one hell of a mess going on there in Bluff City,” Bollinger said as he looked back on what’s happened since he Googled “Chapter 425.”

Chapter 425

Between Jan. 1, 2010, and May 31, 2011, Bluff City’s speed cameras issued 39,923 citations to drivers who were going too fast through a 45-mph-zone on U.S. Highway 11E that the city took over in 2000 as part of a bitter three-way annexation battle involving Bristol, Tenn., Johnson City and Sullivan County.

The sheer number of tickets the two cameras – one monitoring the highway’s northbound lanes and the other southbound – issued during that 17-month period and the $1.6 million they netted the city sparked an instant controversy that went straight to the state legislature.

Responding to the complaints and similar concerns about red light cameras used by cities including Kingsport and Johnson City, the state legislature adopted a series of regulations that became Public Chapter 425 when Gov. Bill Haslam signed them into law June 6. Among the new regulations is a rule barring cities from issuing camera-based citations to drivers who make a right turn on red even if they do not come to a complete stop as they enter the intersection.

Another rule bars cities from setting up speed cameras within one mile of where the speed limit drops by 10 mph or more – something that causes problems for Bluff City because its speed camera is only three-tenths of mile from where the speed limit on U.S. 11E’s southbound lanes drops from 55 mph to 45 mph.