Speed Camera News

Baltimore new scamera vendor NOW MAKING "MISTAKES"!

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/sun-investigates/bs-md-speed-camera-new-errors-20130416,0,819517.story

City suspends speed camera tickets amid new mistakes
Citations based on 25 mph limit when it is really 30 mph

By Scott Calvert and Luke Broadwater, The Baltimore Sun
9:00 p.m. EDT, April 16, 2013

Baltimore officials announced Tuesday that they have suspended the city's troubled speed camera program amid fresh reports of erroneous tickets, this time involving a new multimillion-dollar camera network.

The Baltimore Sun found that a recently installed camera on The Alameda has wrongly issued tickets, citing motorists for exceeding a 25 mph limit when the posted limit is 30 mph.

The development is a setback for Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's goal of achieving a "zero error" program, announced after The Sun documented widespread problems with the city's automated enforcement system last year.

City officials said Tuesday, after receiving inquiries from The Sun, that the city was temporarily halting all speed and red-light camera tickets "due to complications that arose during the transition to our new vendor." They said they made the decision Monday.

The driver advocacy group AAA Mid-Atlantic applauded the move.

"In light of these recent issues, we believe that suspending the city's automated enforcement program is the appropriate action for them to take," said Ragina Averella, the group's public and government affairs manager. "Until the city and contractor can determine the scope and magnitude of these issues, suspending the program is the only responsible thing to do."

The erroneous tickets on The Alameda are the first indication of problems since the city revamped its troubled program by bringing on board a new vendor, replacing all 83 of its radar-based speed cameras at a cost to the city of $2.2 million and overhauling a Police Department review process criticized as lax.

"I'm appalled," said Kathryn Falcone, a city resident whose car wrongly got two tickets from the camera four days apart last month. "It doesn't seem like there is any oversight at all."

The problems surfaced after staffing changes in the city's speed camera program and amid calls from state lawmakers for the city to voluntarily adopt elements of speed camera legislation that died in the final moments of the General Assembly session earlier this month.

The camera that has erroneously been issuing tickets sits in the 3900 block of The Alameda. The Sun obtained from motorists three citations that should not have been issued last month because the cars were clocked going less than 12 mph over the actual speed limit — the threshold at which camera tickets can be given under state law.

"Somebody dropped the ball big-time," said Ed Donnellan, a city resident who was cited March 29 for going 38 mph. "It raises questions in my mind about the real purpose of this. Is it to make the city safe for children in school zones, or is it just a flat-out money grab?"

(Ban the Cams:  MONEY GRAB!  Safety is pulling someone over!)

Read more: Baltimore new scamera vendor NOW MAKING "MISTAKES"!

NYC Speed scameras are nothing more than effort to pick your pockets.

Ban the Cams note: The articles used by NYC speed scamera supporters would NOT have been likley stopped by this.  See more:  http://www.banthecams.org/Speed-Camera-News/crashes-used-on-nyc-article-on-speed-scameras-would-likely-never-have-been-stopped-by-speed-scamera.html

http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2013/15/friedrich_all_2013_04_12_q.html

Speed cameras will waste money and serve as a nuisance
By Bob Friedrich

Hold on to your wallets! A new effort by the city to pick your pockets is underway and it is called speed cameras. Remember when the city promised that red light cameras were being installed for safety, not revenue enhancement? We were sold that bill of goods by the same politicians who told us profits from the lottery would bolster education spending.

We soon learned that funds already earmarked for education were being reduced dollar-for-dollar by the lottery money that was being added, resulting in a zero-sum gain for education. The RLCs have proven to be a similar jackpot for local government while yielding no measurable safety improvements.

In fact, over the past five years the opposite has happened. There has been a rollback of ticket-camera programs across the country with at least seven states banning them outright while others have sharply limited their use, due to studies that have found certain RLCs increased rear-end collisions and injuries by motorists slamming on their brakes to avoid costly summonses.

This comes as no surprise to folks driving on Northern Boulevard at Douglaston Parkway, one of the first intersections to receive an RLC. Approaching this intersection at the speed limit provides insufficient time to safely stop when the light changes. Jamming on the brakes endangers everyone including the vehicle driver and occupants behind that may not be anticipating such a sudden stop.

And what about that ambulance or fire truck four or five cars behind with sirens screaming and lights flashing while you are stopped upfront waiting for the light to change green? Will a judge really believe you crossed the intersection to allow emergency vehicles to pass if those emergency vehicles are not visible in an RLC snapshot photo? Fork over $75!

The Union Turnpike-Lakeville Road intersection contains an RLC that regularly snaps pictures of unsuspecting motorists making a legal right on red. Why? Because they failed to come to a complete stop for at least five seconds. Is there any doubt that this is a tax, not a safety, camera?

If safety is the objective at RLC intersections, why not mount countdown clocks adjacent to traffic lights, as some other jurisdictions have done, so motorists can prepare to slow down and come to a safe stop? The only explanation for not doing this must be that revenue trumps safety.

The speed camera is next on the bait-and-switch agenda. Betting on the short-term memory of voters, these same politicians are now trying to sell us the same snake oil as they call for a “speed camera pilot program” to supposedly increase safety. In the absence of quantifiable evidence that speed cameras actually reduce accidents and increase safety, city officials once again are looking to put their hands in your wallet.

Mayoral candidates City Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan), city Comptroller John Liu and city Public Advocate Bill de Blasio all support the scheme. Little wonder, as the next mayor will need as much revenue as possible to balance the looming deficits that lie ahead.

Speed camera proponents say the cameras would provide a 10 mph leeway before tickets are issued. That leeway will fall as the city’s revenue needs rise. Safety advocates have sadly used the recent horrific auto accident that killed a mother and her unborn baby as the impetus to call for the installation of cameras.

Speed cameras would not have prevented this tragic accident nor others that are caused by excessive drinking or road rage. The cameras will siphon money from family budgets as folks go about their lives driving kids to school or soccer practice, only to be trapped by one of these ill-conceived, revenue-generating tax cameras.

Scamera Attacks Week ending 4/14/2013

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/40/4075.asp

Italy, France, UK: Speed Cameras Burned, Smashed, Bagged
Photo radar devices in Europe are destroyed and disabled by vigilantes and police officers alike.

Vigilantes set fire to a speed camera outside of London around 1am last week Sunday, the Wimebldon Guardian http://www.wimbledonguardian.co.uk/news/10338673.Carriageway_closed_after_speed_camera_and_car_set_on_fire/ reported. The device had been issuing tickets on the A297 St. Heiler Avenue near Morden Hall Park.

Vigilantes in San Giorgio del Sannio, Italy on Saturday set fire to a newly installed speed camera on the highway toward Benevento, the Benevento Chronicle http://benevento.ottopagine.net/2013/04/13/incendiato-il-gabbiotto-dellautovelox-sul-raccordo/ reported. In the same area, another speed camera on the road toward Castel del Lago had its lens smashed.

In Lyon, France two police officers were put on trial Tuesday, accused of disabling speed cameras by covering them with black plastic trash bags and duct tape, according to Ouest France http://www.ouest-france.fr/ofdernmin_-Lyon.-Deux-policiers-ayant-aveugle-des-radars-demasques_6346-2181716-fils-tous_filDMA.Htm. The officers were upset about the use of cameras against motorists for the purpose of raising revenue. They were identified after being shown, with faces blurred, on a local television station in November.

Police lawsuit accuses city of speed camera fraud:

Published on Apr 9, 2013

RIVERDALE PARK, Md. -
Riverdale Park Police are accused of illegally issuing thousands of speed camera tickets. A lawsuit filed Monday claims employees

Hill’s bill to ban speed cameras in Bluff City, TN is dead this year.  BUT BAN Bill will be back next year!

Bill to likley pass next year!

http://www.tricities.com/news/local/article_8b44b094-a313-11e2-866b-0019bb30f31a.html

Hill’s bill to ban speed cameras in Bluff City is dead

BY JAMES SHEA | BRISTOL HERALD COURIER TriCities.com

State Rep. Timothy Hill’s bill to ban speed cameras in Bluff City is dead.

Rep. Charles Sargent, R-Franklin and chairman of the Tennessee House Finance, Ways and Means Committee, pulled the bill from the calendar Wednesday, effectively stopping the bill from moving forward.

Hill, R-Blountville, said he did not want to move the bill forward too quickly and plans to reintroduce the bill during the session next year.

“Things look really good to get it passed next year,” Hill said in a phone interview Thursday.

The bill passed the Transportation Committee in March but got hung up in the House Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee. It was pulled from that committee’s agenda two weeks ago.

Hill said the procedure allows him to reintroduce the bill next year at the same point.

“Basically, it freezes the legislation where it was in the process,” he said.

Hill said he is proud of his effort with the legislation. He said his bill has gone further than any previous piece of legislation that would ban cameras.

The cameras are located on U.S. Highway 11E and ticket anyone who drives more than 10 mph over the 45 mph speed limit.

They are a significant source of revenue for the city. City Manager Judy Dulaney, speaking at Thursday‘s meeting of the Board of Mayor and Alderman, said the cameras have put $334,000 into the city’s coffers. They have allowed the city to buy new police vehicles and do repair work at the park, she said.

Dulaney had testified against Hill’s bill in March and had met with Hill when she was in Nashville.

Bluff City Attorney Paul Frye said after the board meeting Thursday that the Transportation and Finance committees’ chairmen pulled the bill because there was no support in the Senate. The bill had been introduced in the Senate but had not had a single committee hearing.

Hill said it was not a problem that the bill had not moved in the Senate. Normally, the Senate will pass a local bill if the House approves it.

Frye said he did believe that was the case.

Even with the bill dying, the city still has a choice to make. The contract with the company that operates the speed cameras, American Traffic Solutions, expires next year, and the board will have to decide if it wants to continue to have the cameras.

Ban the Cams note:  Notice that the city only concern was really about the loss of $334,000 in revenue.  They never put the speed scameras on "safety".  It was just an excuse.

WA State:  Budget bill strips out construction speed scameras.

Ban Traffic Cameras in Washington State  https://www.facebook.com/BanCams?ref=stream

Another Freedom Agenda WA success...stripping funding for traffic cameras out of the transportation budget!
http://ow.ly/jU6Kt

http://app.leg.wa.gov/m/cmd/Handler.ashx?MethodName=getdocumentcontent&documentId=GQBKOIC-mVE&att=false

Quote: 

EFFECT: Removes the requirement for the Department of Transportation to continue a pilot program for the Washington State Patrol to issue infractions based on information from automated traffic safety cameras in roadway construction zones, removes the Washington State Patrol's appropriation to help enforce violations from automated traffic safety cameras in roadway construction zones, and removes the ability for the Washington State Traffic Safety Commission to oversee a program implementing automated traffic safety cameras to detect speed violations in cities West of the Cascades with populations greater than 195,000.

FISCAL IMPACT: Decreases the State Patrol Highway Acct - State by $740,000.

Ban the Cams note: 

Problems with Construction Zone Scameras:

1.  Speed Scamera CAUSED MORE INJURY ACCIDENTS IN THIS UK report.  http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/06/602.asp

Quote:  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."

2.  Car and Driver review of IL many deaths WERE BY THE CONSTRUCTION CREWS OWN EQUIPMENT!!!!   http://www.caranddriver.com/features/columns/c_d_staff/patrick_bedard/give_em_a_brake_what_they_want_are_your_bucks_column 
 
 

quote:  "One study by the Centers for Disease Control counted 492 fatalities over the years 1992 to 1998: 306 of them were struck by vehicles—154 by construction vehicles and 152 by traffic vehicles.

Another study by the Center to Protect Workers' Rights, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for 1999, said that of 530 vehicle-related deaths of workers that year, 170 involved traffic vehicles and 360 were divided between workers in construction vehicles and workers on foot struck by heavy equipment or trucks.

For a list of gruesome ways to die, just read down the list of reports from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health: Laborer dies after being run over by asphalt roller; truck driver dies after his vehicle rolled over an embankment and came to rest on its top; asphalt-compactor operator dies from crushing injuries during machine rollover; 17-year-old laborer dies after being run over by a water truck; laborer dies after falling underneath the wheel of a front-end loader; crane operator falls 30 feet from a freeway overpass."

3.  The use of speed scameras in workerless work zones.  http://www.banthecams.org/Speed-Camera-News/just-one-vote-short-md-state-senate-votes-to-keep-workerless-workzone-cameras.html

4.  Missing or hidden signs in "work zones".  http://www.banthecams.org/Speed-Camera-News/construction-zone-speed-scam-in-photo-radar-denver-signs-not-always-visible-as-required-by-law.html

5. Putting the speed scameras near the very end of the work zone.  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."

Baltimore wants to use taxpayer money on more Tax speed scameras.  What a "surprise".

http://foxbaltimore.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/city-seeking-millions-taxpayers-new-speed-cameras-18890.shtml?wap=0#.UWUYkFeHeSo

City Seeking Millions From Taxpayers for New Speed Cameras 

Updated: Tuesday, April 9 2013, 10:56 PM EDT

Taxpayers have shelled out hundreds of thousands of dollars for the speed cameras throughout the city. Now, the city wants taxpayers to pay an additional $2 million more for a whole new round of cameras.

Three years after the city began using cameras to snap speeding motorists, city officials admit the speed cameras were poorly installed and many of them were 'deficient in their performance.'

Now, they want $2.2 million in tax dollars to pay for new ones.

For the past year, a Fox45 investigation has revealed numerous inaccuracies in the citations produced by the cameras.

The city fired the contractor which operated the program last year and in January, a new contractor took over.

Now, the city wants to amend its contract to allow for the purchase of 73 new speed cameras.

"When this was first put together last fall, it was before some of the things that had come out so we wanted to make a new start and not use any equipment that's had problems, start from scratch with the latest technology. We needed to build a really credible program," said Frank Murphy, acting director for the transportation department.

At City Hall Wednesday morning, the city's board of estimates will decide whether to spend the money on the new cameras, which they predict will be far more accurate.

Ban the Cams note:  Not more accurate.  Just more profitable.  On top of this, MD Legislature will NOT EVEN DO MEANINGFUL REFORMS TO REIGN IN SPEED SCAMERA ABUSE!  The waterdown bill would have "grandfathered" in illegal per ticket fee contracts. 

Of course what is really needed is to let the voters DECIDE the issue in the state.  Something THEY WILL NOT ALLOW.  MD has one of the more resitrictive laws on referendums, making challanges to bad laws almost a defacto ban on voter referendums! 

http://www.mddriversalliance.org/2009/04/petition-drive-for-speed-camera.html

Quote:  Maryland rules on forcing a new law to a referendum are extremely strict, requiring a petition with signatures equal to 3% of the total number of votes cast for governor in the last election, or 53,650. Those signatures must all be collected within 60 days of the bills passage and must be hand-written (not electronic).

Even Local Maryland Jurisdistions have highly restrictive laws to prevent the voters bringing the issue up on a vote.  Sykesville, MD is the only town in MD where a vote on the issue of photo enforcement has taken place.  The voters tossed the speed scameras.  http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/31/3130.asp

Quote:  These plans fell through after a group of residents collected more than enough signatures within the thirty-day deadline to put an ordinance repeal on the ballot. Sixty-one percent of Sykesville voters insisted on repealing the use of speed cameras.

Maryland Speed Scamera reforms killed off. (ATTEMPT to "Grandfather" ILLEGAL SPEED SCAMERA CONTRACT)

http://www.mddriversalliance.org/2013/04/session-ends-without-passing-camera.html

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Session Ends Without Passing Camera Reform
Lawmakers argued until late into the night over the wording of speed camera reform bills, but the session ended without coming to a final a vote.

Bills sponsored by Senator Brochin and Malone were discussed in both Houses.  Brochin's original bill had been severely curtailed in the Senate, removing a requirement that citation images allow for the verification of recorded speeds.  The house committee had essentially replaced Brochin's language with new wording which would also have grandfathered in all existing "bounty system" contracts.  The bills did also contained some positive new provisions, including requiring the assignment of an "ombudsman" by speed camera programs to handle complaints, as well as some additional rules regarding signage and warning periods for cameras, and a clarification that "school zone" speed cameras were to be placed only around K-12 schools (as opposed to colleges or adult education centers).

A committee had been assigned including Senators Brochin and Malone to hammer out the differences between the two houses, agreeing to only grandfather in contracts in place as of April 9, 2013 (rather than October when the bill would have gone into effect) and clarifying that extensions could not be added.   Both the House and Senate had already rejected language which would have addressed the issue of accuracy by requiring secondary evidence or speed (which had been part of Brochin's bill had before being amended by the Senate), or requiring hardware to be testing to a nationally accepted standard.  As such the bill did not truly address the accuracy issues which prompted the calls for reform legislation in the first place.  The bill's proponents claimed it would have committed to ending the "bounty system", however it did so in a way that would have left dozens of existing contingent fee contracts in place which might have gone on for years to come.

Current law contains a provision stating:

"If a contractor operates a speed monitoring system on behalf of a local jurisdiction, the contractor’s fee may not be contingent on the number of citations issued or paid."

The language of the legislation as it was approved by the House would have amended this to :
"If a contractor IN ANY MANNER operates a speed monitoring system OR ADMINISTERS OR PROCESSES CITATIONS GENERATED BY A SPEED MONITORING SYSTEM on behalf of a local jurisdiction, the contractor’s fee may not be contingent ON A PER–TICKET BASIS on the number of citations issued or paid." (emphasis added)
This change would have closed a loophole exploited by many local governments which was allowed contractors to be paid per ticket so long as the word "operate" was not used to describe what the contractor did (though language to grandfather in existing arrangements was also included in the bill.  However the addition of the words "on a per-ticket basis" apparently would likely have been treated as an "and".  The Maryland Drivers Alliance had noted that this might have legalized other types of contingent fee arrangements which were based on the number of tickets but not strictly stated as "per ticket", such as payments for each batch of 100 tickets or a percentage of monthly fines collected (both of which are essentially still paying on ticket volume but not specifically a fixed amount per ticket).  The "on a per-ticket basis" clause was not in the current law or the original language of Brochin's bill, and its unknown whether that was the intent of the authors of the house bill language.  Both Delegate Malone and Senator Brochin replied that this was being looked at, but it is unclear whether anything in the compromise amendment considered in the final hours would have addressed this potential new loophole.

Ultimately a filibuster led by senator Pipkin, who believed the bill was too weak and who had supported repeal legislation, prevented the bill from reaching the senate floor.

See additional coverage on the Baltimore Sun http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-speed-camera-approval-20130409,0,547293.story

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/40/4069.asp

Poland, UK: Cameras Bashed, Burned
Speed camera in England set on fire, Polish photo radar unit slammed.

Vigilantes in Lublin, Poland rammed a speed camera earlier in the week, Sfora http://www.sfora.pl/Rozbil-fotoradar-i-uciekl-Tu-mandatow-nie-bedzie-a54276 reported. The device was left leaning at a 40 degree angle and a nearby control box was smashed, rendering the camera inoperable.

In Lancashire, England a speed camera was burned at 11:20pm last week Saturday. According to the Lancashire Evening Post http://www.lep.co.uk/news/local/disgust-over-preston-speed-camera-arson-attack-1-5552428, the automated ticketing machine on Lea Road in Preston was completely destroyed.

NYC LIKELY BOUGHT EARLIER SPEED SCAMERA VOTE.  Cost $5.6 Million a year on unrelated Yeshiva Busing!

Thanks to Camerafraud on providing this!

http://www.bensonhurstbean.com/2013/04/golden-felder-trade-cameras-for-bussing/

Golden And Felder Wanted To Horse Trade Speed Cameras For Yeshiva Busing

by Willie Simpson on Apr 3rd, 2013

The fight over speed enforcement cameras is getting nastier. Last week http://www.sheepsheadbites.com/2013/03/bloomberg-golden-speed-cameras/, Mayor Michael Bloomberg personally called out State Senators Marty Golden, Simcha Felder and Dean Skelos for having blood on their hands in refusing to include funding for speed enforcement cameras in the state budget. In response, Senate Democrats are trying to reinvigorate the effort http://www.sheepsheadbites.com/2013/04/speed-enforcement-cameras-receive-renewed-push-in-light-of-bloombergs-rage/ to get the cameras approved. However, in their recap of the week’s events, the New York Times included this interesting tidbit of closed door negotiations between Governor Andrew Cuomo, Bloomberg, Felder and Golden.

(NY) Senator Felder, too, has no use for cameras. He represents a district dominated by Orthodox Jewish voters, and his priority this session was to persuade the city and state to foot the bill to bus any child past 4 p.m., which in effect means mostly children who attend yeshivas. Mr. Felder and Mr. Golden succeeded in pushing through this legislation, which will cost the city $5.6 million this year.

As the state senators are not unreasonable men, they even offered to bargain: they might allow speed cameras if Mr. Bloomberg agreed to foot the bill for this busing program.

The mayor said no. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said no. But when his state budget emerged from behind closed doors in Albany it included this new and costly busing program.

The Orthodox, who are adroit at pulling the levers of power, and their political allies claim all children could benefit. But that argument is evidence-starved. The state paid for a pilot program this year, and city school buses have picked up 1,000 children — from 29 yeshivas and one charter school http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/c/charter_schools/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier.

Senator Golden, who has charted the growth of the Orthodox population in his district, shrugs off criticism. It is, he said, “the new normal.”

So Golden and Felder would have been happy to approve the funding for speed enforcement cameras as long as yeshiva students who attend private Orthodox schools got free busing? Huh…so, using Golden and Felder’s logic, I guess this means that the safety of responsible motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians is less important than free transportation for private schools provided on the taxpayers’ dime.

It’s the “new normal” after all.

MD: House Committee Grandfathers In Bounty System Contracts, Rejects Speed Verification

http://www.mddriversalliance.org/2013/04/house-committe-grandfathers-in-bounty.html

House Committee Grandfathers In Bounty System Contracts, Rejects Speed Verification

With just five days left in this year's legislative session, the House Environmental Matters Committee has approved a speed camera "reform" bill which grandfathers in existing per-ticket contingent fee speed camera contracts for more than a year.  The Environmental Matters committee has blocked other speed camera reform bills which would have required that citations include a means of verifying recorded speeds after the fact, and also voted down a measure which would have repealed speed cameras.

The bill, sponsored by Committee Vice Chair Malone, clarifies a provision of existing law banning the practice of paying speed camera contractors based on the number of tickets issued.  Existing law already states that "If a contractor operates a speed monitoring system on behalf of a local jurisdiction, the contractor’s fee may not be contingent on the number of citations issued or paid.", however this rule is currently being broken with impunity by local governments who claim that they, not the contractors who own and substantially control the machines, "operate" the system.  Even Governor O'Malley has stated that the many existing contingent fee contracts, including contracts in Montgomery and Prince George's County and Baltimore City violate the intent of state law.  A circuit court judge recently ruled that Baltimore County's contingent fee contract was illegal http://www.mddriversalliance.org/2013/03/court-rules-baltimore-county-contract.html.

This bill would modify the language of this provision to include contractors which "in any way operate" speed cameras or "administer or process violations".  However it would grandfather in all of the dozens of existing illegal contingent fee contracts, and allow them to continue paying the contingent fees for years to come.  Since the new law would not go into effect until October of this year, local governments might still be able to sign new long term contingent fee contracts, or possibly amend them with extended option years, allowing them if they choose to continue paying on a per-ticket basis for at least several more years, perhaps even indefinitely.

[  UPDATE 4/6/13: The House has relented to pressure from the public and press on one issue:
An amendment was added after the bill left committee to require contracts to comply with the new terms by October 14, 2014, allowing existing per-ticket contracts to stay in effect for another 21 months.  However the bill still does not include secondary evidence of speed nor does it actually address the issue that originally prompted the legislation: the fact that some speed cameras have been found to be inaccurate.  The bill in now in the Senate. ]

A bill, sponsored by Senator Jim Brochin, which would have ended the bounty system had already passed the Senate http://www.mddriversalliance.org/2013/03/senate-neuters-speed-camera-reform-bill.html.  However Committee Vice Chair Malone has made clear that no speed camera bill other than his own would make it out of the committee this year, and Brochin's Bill has since been amended to be identical to Malone's Bill..

The House Committee also rejected a credible reform bill sponsored by Delegate John Cardin http://www.mddriversalliance.org/2013/03/maryland-house-approves-gas-tax-hike.html, which would have required recorded images to provide evidence of speed.  Systematic errors recently admitted to by Baltimore City and Xerox Corp http://www.mddriversalliance.org/2012/12/xerox-admits-5-error-rate.html were discovered only because the city had imprinted citations with precise timestamps and because video recordings http://www.mddriversalliance.org/2012/10/trucking-company-questions-accuracy-of.html of violations were available to citation recipients.  Most other jurisdictions, including the SHA and many citations issued in Montgomery County, deliberately round citation image timestamps off to the second, making them 100% useless for the purpose of verifying speed.

Without verifiable evidence of speed, a defective speed camera could pass all of its calibration tests and still issue erroneous citations (just like the ones in Baltimore City http://www.mddriversalliance.org/2013/01/defective-baltimore-cameras-passed-all.html), and there would be no way for ticket recipients or anyone else to prove it.  Had there been no secondary evidence of speed in Baltimore City, it is likely the faulty hardware would still be in use today issuing tickets to innocent drivers claiming they were traveling twice the speed limit in a school zone http://www.mddriversalliance.org/2012/10/trucking-company-questions-accuracy-of.html, and putting professional drivers at risk of being fired for a violation they did not commit.  Officials in Baltimore City were aware of errors with their cameras for many months http://www.mddriversalliance.org/2012/11/baltimore-saw-previous-problem-with.html before they were eventually forced to publicly admit to them.

The use of timestamps to verify speed is included in standards set by the NHTSA http://www.nhtsa.gov/DOT/NHTSA/Traffic%20Injury%20Control/Articles/Associated%20Files/810845.pdf: "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."
This standard however is not followed in Maryland., because they don't want the public or the press to have the ability to fact check recorded speeds.

Experts have stated that using detailed timestamps is the best way to verify speed after the fact and avoid errors.  Jin Kang, chairman of the electrical and computer engineering department at the Johns Hopkins University, stated to the Baltimore Sun: "From the engineering and scientific perspective, I don't know why they're fighting it," the professor said. "They have the information. Why not provide it?"

The Sun also quoted Christopher Davis, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park: "I am surprised that the SHA thinks calculation of speed from time-stamped photographs is complex," he said. "Any of my students could do this calculation."   Professor Davis had testified in support of Senator Brochin's bill http://www.mdt2center.umd.edu/news/news_story.php?id=7192:  "Radar, which is generally used by speed cameras, is especially subject to errors because of its wide beam, and its measurements can be disturbed by reflections, nearby large vehicles, and other vehicles moving within the radar systems’ field of view." Stated Davis to a Senate Committee, "It is important to assure the public that the citations they receive as a result of a speed camera observation are accurate and fair. The only truly fair way to use speed cameras is to provide accurate time-stamped photographs of a vehicle showing that it has moved a known distance in a precisely measured time interval.”

Of course we at the Maryland Drivers Alliance know the reason why so many speed camera agencies are fighting this: 
They believe Baltimore City's real mistake was allowing the public and the press to have too much information, and they are TERRIFIED that errors will be discovered in other speed camera programs.
In fact they are willing to deny defendants access to evidence (the real interval between citation images) and ensure that defendants face a total presumption of guilty to prevent this from happening.  As such local and state agencies have been spending your tax dollars in a desperate lobbying effort to prevent such legislation from passing.

Secondary evidence of speed could have been accomplished in several ways.  The images could simply add precise timestamps or a 'delta time between images'.  Measurements could be facilitated either by painting lines on the road, possibly only two lines indicating the distance a vehicle should have traveled if it had been going 12mph over the limit.  Or it could be facilitated by digitally imposing a 'template' or 'ruler' on citation images which could be used for the evaluation.  Alternately, the citations could contain a link to a short, low resolution video clip like the ones which identified the errors in Baltimore City.  These ideas were all rejected out of hand by the committee and by existing speed camera programs, because they are scared of what will happen if people have access to this type of evidence.

Malone's "reform" bill would local governments to designate an "ombudsman" who would be authorized to void erroneous citations without a hearing.  However since the bill which the committee approved does not require any secondary evidence of speed, and does not substantially improve the requirements for certifying and testing equipment, there would be no proof of errors like the ones which occurred in Baltimore for the "ombudsman" to examine.  So for example a corrupt local government like Forest Heights http://www.mddriversalliance.org/search/label/Forest%20Heights would be free to do what they have done in the past: conduct a cover-up and deny all errors.  With no requirement for secondary evidence of speed, there is no reason to think having an agency which profits from cameras designate an ombudsman would really change anything or that this isn't simply a 'feel good' measure designed to serve as "PR fluff" for the state's speed camera programs. 

Malone's bill will now go to the House of Delegates for a vote, and the Environmental Matters Committee has decreed that the house shall not be allowed to consider any other reform bills which include secondary evidence, a timely end to the bounty system contracts, or requiring stricter standards for testing.  The new bill would need to make its way through both the House and Senate in just five days, leaving little time for the public to analyze its new provisions or to comment on them.

The House of Delegates will now decide whether to amend this bill and turn it into a real reform bill which protects the rights of the innocent by including secondary evidence of speed, and ends the bounty system FOR REAL by REQUIRING local governments to change their contracts.  Or they may pass a half measure designed to let them claim to the public they have reformed the law, when in fact nothing much will have changed.  Or quite possibly, with only five days left in the session, they may simply run the clock out and pass nothing at all... allowing pro-speed camera lawmakers to all claim they supported reform when they knew full well they were not going to pass anything in the end.

Because that is how things work in Annapolis.

Find your Maryland State Representatives Here http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/webmga/frmmain.aspx?pid=legisrpage&tab=subject6&poptype=find&popid=
Additional Coverage:

MD school zone scam:  "speed cameras aren't used anywhere near kids."

CameraFraud National:

Maryland school teacher points out that "school zone" speed cameras aren't used anywhere near kids.

Ban the Cams note:  The MD "school zone" scam has been going on a while.

1.  Fake School Zones: http://www.stopbigbrothermd.org/search/label/Fake%20School%20Zones

2.  Use in school zones without SCHOOL http://www.banthecams.org/Speed-Camera-News/glenarden-speed-cameras-placed-in-areas-without-schools-schoolless-school-zone-scam.html

3. closed down school zones scameras. http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2010-10-09/news/bs-md-school-zone-watchdog-20101008_1_school-zone-speed-camera-red-light-camera

more School Zone Scams:  http://www.banthecams.org/2020-9-school-park-zone-speed-scams.html on other school zone mischief by the scamera side.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-speed-camera-tickets-20130402,0,5890279.story

Which kids are Baltimore's speed cameras keeping safe?
An unlucky motorist recounts a visit to court and a quest for answers

By Jessica Gregg
 
12:42 p.m. EDT, April 2, 2013
I spent my first morning of spring break sitting in traffic court fighting a speed camera ticket. Good times all around, especially when you consider the great problems the city has had with its speed camera system.

More than 25 drivers gathered in Judge Kathleen Sweeney's courtroom, and a whole pack of people were quickly found not guilty. Theirs were one of several cars going through intersections at the same time, and Judge Sweeney said the cameras apparently can't tell exactly which car in a group is speeding.

I wasn't so lucky. When the video of my infraction rolled, four cars raced through the intersection. A few seconds later there is my lone car. No quick dismissal for me — I had to argue my case.

The argument I made, the point that I have wanted to assert since I got this ludicrous ticket last summer, was that I was fined for being in a school zone when in fact there is not a school nearby at all. And there definitely wasn't one in session at the time. It was July.

The speed limit for most of Northern Parkway in both directions is 35 miles per hour. When you head west from York Road there is a sign at Lake Evesham that warns you that you are entering a school zone. There is also a sign that warns you the speed limit will drop.

And it does drop to 30 miles per hour — although that sign is fairly well camouflaged by ivy and other growth — as you come down the hill toward Springlake, which makes for an awesome speed trap.

About one mile west is the Bryn Mawr School. Surely that school isn't the reason for the speed camera, I asked Judge Sweeney.

Well, she pointed out, there are other schools — Gilman, Roland Park Country School, St. Mary's Seminary. But they're all at least as far as Bryn Mawr and on the other side of the street.

"Which school is in this speed zone set up for," Judge Sweeney finally asked the prosecutor, who had to look it up himself.

Grace Methodist Preschool was the answer.

Ah yes, Grace Methodist School, which is a half mile away from this speed camera and on the opposite side of Northern Parkway.

I love this city. I really, really do. What I don't love are its crazy traffic rules. Here's what I do for a living. I track 63 students who have graduated from a middle school for girls and have gone on to high school and college, and I make sure they have what they need for academic success. In other words, I drive to a lot of different schools in the city every month to check up on these students.

Here are some of the high schools I visit: Baltimore Talent Development, Catholic High, Cristo Rey Jesuit, Dunbar, Institute of Notre Dame, New Era Academy, Poly, and Roland Park Country School. Here's how many of these schools have actual speed cameras in the blocks adjacent to them to protect the safety of their students: Zero.

This is why being ticketed in a "school zone" irks me. These speed cameras have nothing to do with protecting our students. They are a money maker for the city, an unofficial tax on folks who use the roads.

I know, not exactly a news flash. But because of the existence of Grace Preschool a half of a mile away and on the other side of a four-lane road from a speed camera, I was found guilty of speeding in a school zone. While I didn't have to pay the fine, I did have to pay court costs.

Of course, a week before I went to court the city's speed camera task force had decided to look into a number of issues, including the appropriateness of various designated "school zones." But as Judge Sweeney stated when she came into her courtroom that morning, she didn't want hear about that.

Fair enough, I suppose, but the educator in me just can't resist the urge to bring it up.

Jessica Gregg is a teacher from Baltimore. Her email is This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
 

Redflex KNEW of Death threats against Redlfex employees.  AZ speed camera van murder civil trial.

(Ban the Cams note:  Much as we dispise the scameras, hurting another human being is wrong.  NO VIOLENCE AGAINST PEOPLE PLEASE!)

If you must do something, holding protest signs in the camera angles of the vans would make a better point.).

Quote:  "When there was actually an e-mail death threat to Redflex against its executives and its employees in February, two months before Doug was killed, even though DPS was involved in that investigation, they didn't stop and say geez, somebody could get hurt here."

 
Photo radar shooting victim's widow speaks out

Posted: Mar 22, 2013 7:32 PM EDT
Updated: Mar 27, 2013 7:32 PM EDT
By Mia Garcia

PHOENIX - A FOX 10 Exclusive

The wife of Doug Georgianni, the Scottsdale man who was gunned down inside a photo radar van four years ago -- speaks out for the first time.

The interview comes on the heels of a jury finding no fault with the state for the death of her husband -- but she says the lawsuit wasn't about the money. It was about right and wrong and getting justice for him.

"For four years, I've wanted justice for Doug," said Jean Georgianni.  "I woke up every morning knowing I was going to spend the day with my best friend."

"Doug may very well be alive if they'd done as simple as spend a few hundred dollars to give these people bullet proof vests," she said.

Jean believes the Department of Public Safety could have prevented her husband's death, but a jury didn't agree.  The verdict was handed down Tuesday.

"While I respect the fact that six jurors thought otherwise, it doesn't change the truth," she said.

She believes civilian employees, like Doug, should not have been required to sit in marked DPS photo radar vans.

"When there was actually an e-mail death threat to Redflex against its executives and its employees in February, two months before Doug was killed, even though DPS was involved in that investigation, they didn't stop and say geez, somebody could get hurt here."

Still, the jury blamed the shooter, Thomas Destories.  He's currently in prison serving a 20-year sentence. In an exclusive interview with FOX 10, Destories claimed he had no idea anyone was in the photo radar van.

"I wanted to make sure no one was there.  I looked, I checked, it was quiet, it was silent," he said.

"I do believe him that he did not know there was anyone in that vehicle," said Jean.  "It's still very hard, but I'm not a person that holds on to anger.  It poisons your soul."

And after four years of fighting for justice for Doug, she said, "You have to accept sometime that difficult things happen in life and while the result of this court case was difficult, it pales in comparison to what losing Doug did to me in my life."

DPS released this statement:

"In this case, the jury weighed the facts and came to a studied, careful resolution.  The justice system performed its duty."

Georgianni's attorney says they're considering an appeal.

WA State interstate construction speed scamera alert. Beware of workerless zones and other scamera tricks.

http://www.king5.com/news/local/Speeders-beware-Automated-cameras-returning-to-I-5-I-90-201348501.html?c=n

Speeders beware: Automated radar cameras returning to I-5, I-90 .

by DREW MIKKELSEN / KING 5 News
Bio | Email | Follow: @Drewmikk
KING5.com
Posted on April 3, 2013 at 7:40 PM

Updated today at 8:00 PM

CENTRALIA, Wash. --  Drivers through Centralia next week need to slow down, or they can expect a ticket in the mail.

The state Department of Transportation is reinstating its radar-triggered camera starting Monday, April 3.

The camera sits on the dash board of an SUV. When a passing car tops the radar’s threshold (usually around 11 miles per hour over the posted limit), a digital camera snaps a picture of the car’s license plate.

A driver can expect to receive a $137 ticket and a copy of the photo.

The state began using the cameras in Lewis County in 2008 and 2009 as part of a pilot program.
After the DOT claimed the cameras resulted in slower speeds, lawmakers allowed the DOT to place them in work zones.

Scott Kober, who drives for a living, is skeptical.

“It’s about money,” said Kober from Bonney Lake. “You see it in school zones. It’s all about money.”

A DOT spokesperson said the money raised from the tickets only pay for enforcement.

The SUV will be along I-5 near Centralia until mid-May before moving to I-90 in Kittitas County.

The DOT said it has permission from the legislature to use the cameras in any work zone in the state, but Snohomish and Pierce counties have said they are not interested in using them.
 

Ban the Cams WARNING:  BEWARE of.

• The use of speed scameras in workerless work zones.  http://www.banthecams.org/Speed-Camera-News/just-one-vote-short-md-state-senate-votes-to-keep-workerless-workzone-cameras.html
• Missing or hidden signs in "work zones".  http://www.banthecams.org/Speed-Camera-News/construction-zone-speed-scam-in-photo-radar-denver-signs-not-always-visible-as-required-by-law.html
• Putting the speed scameras near the very end of the work zone.  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."

Any readers over there seeing this please let us know on this blog page!

NYC Speed SCAMERA part two.  Bronx Senate head trying to push speed scamera again. 

Article here:  http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2013/04/nys-senate-co-leader-jeffrey-klein-to-take-up-stalled-nyc-speed-camera-bill

One interesting claim by speed scamera promotorers.

They insinuate that "30"% of all crashes are caused by "speeding".

But what is interesing is that in 25 other states the number is under 2%.

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/38/3801.asp  

Quote:  “Out of 2.7 million traffic accidents recorded in twenty-five states over the course of a year, only 1.6 percent were caused by drivers who exceeded the posted speed limit. The figures come from an analysis by TheNewspaper of annual reports typically compiled by state for use in applying for grant money from the National Highway Transportation Agency (NHTSA).”

What we have here is 25 states indicating that EXCEEDING the speed limit was the cause in under 2% of crashes, yet NYC claiming "speeding was a factor in  nearly 30%" of traffic fatalites. 

NOTICE HOW THE CITY DOESN'T BRING UP CAUSED BY.

That is on purpose.

There is no doubt the NYC numbers are counting accidents that were NEVER CAUSED by exceeding the speed limit.  Might have been there but not the underlying cause.  (NYC is notorious for underset speed limits).

• It is like claiming a accident is caused by speeding because a drunk crossed the center lane going under the speed limit hitting someone going 5 over.

The cause was obviously the drunk.  But because one driver was exceeding the speed limit it is logged in as speeding related

Makes you wonder why the city can't give numbers of HOW MANY CRASHES WERE PRIMARILY CAUSED BY GOING TOO FAST FOR CONDITIONS AND OVER THE SPEED LIMIT. 

NOT LOGGED in just because the speeding was there but not really a cause. 

Don't you just like how the scamera side plays with smoke and mirrors.

Heck the speed camera promoters attempted just last month to use two terrible crashes in NYC that a speed camera would have NEVER likely stopped.  http://www.banthecams.org/Speed-Camera-News/crashes-used-on-nyc-article-on-speed-scameras-would-likely-never-have-been-stopped-by-speed-scamera.html

Make no mistake this is about money.  THE committee hearing it in Albany, NY was the BUDGET based on earlier reports.

PA legislator proposing work zone Speed trap cameras. 

Ban the Cams Note:  Some problems with workzone camreas.

1.  UK Showed they CAUSED MORE WRECKS:  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."

2.  No breakdown of underlying causes of worker deaths in Reps claim.  When Pat Bedard broke down IL, most worker deaths were BY CONSTRUCTION Companies own vehicles.

http://www.caranddriver.com/columns/give-em-a-brake-what-they-want-are-your-bucksQuote: 

Another study by the Center to Protect Workers' Rights, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for 1999, said that of 530 vehicle-related deaths of workers that year, 170 involved traffic vehicles and 360 were divided between workers in construction vehicles and workers on foot struck by heavy equipment or trucks.

(IE MORE WORKKERS WER KILLED BY THEIR OWN VEHICLES!)

Quote II:  But statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration don't support that argument. Work-zone fatalities were only 2.4 percent of all traffic deaths in 2003.

Quote:  III  Let's return to Illinois—and its $1000 speeding fines—where two workers were killed by traffic vehicles last year. Nine workers, more than four times as many, were killed by construction mishaps in work zones, says the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

3.  Very little crashes US wide are really CAUSED by exceeding the speed limit.
 http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/38/3801.asp

Quote:  "Out of 2.7 million traffic accidents recorded in twenty-five states over the course of a year, only 1.6 percent were caused by drivers who exceeded the posted speed limit. The figures come from an analysis by TheNewspaper of annual reports typically compiled by each state for use in applying for grant money from the National Highway Transportation Agency (NHTSA)."

http://www.whptv.com/news/local/story/Speed-cameras-could-be-coming-to-Central-PA-but/8T-zZ7R6IUaqQXwkvZXaqw.cspx

Speed cameras could be coming to Central PA, but opponents debate their accuracy

Speed trap cameras? 

Reported by: Kirk Wilson

Contributor: Nate Wardle    
Print Story Published: 3/28 4:14 pm Share Updated: 3/28 6:32 pm

Opponents say it's just another way to make money. Those that like the idea say it's a matter of traffic safety.

The controversy surrounds a camera that documents a vehicle's speed and results in violators receiving a citation in the mail.

The speed-timing camera, if approved, won't be used just anywhere. The legislative proposal limits the enforcement tool to highway and road construction work zones.

Work zones can be a nuisance for motorists. Because of everything going on and distractions they are ripe for crashes.

Rep. Ron Waters has proposed the use of cameras to record how fast vehicles are going and citing those drivers who speed. Those against the cameras say the fines are just a revenue raiser for the government.

However, others say the accuracy of the cameras has never been confirmed. But PennDOT insists it's all about safety.

"Right now there's about 20 motorists and workers killed in work zones annually each year,” explained Steve Chizmar of PennDOT. “Anything we can do to reduce these numbers is a step in the right direction. The reality is the majority of those people killed are actually motorists we feel this kind of enforcement is actually slowing people down in work zones we know we can improve safety."

How it works is if a car is speeding, the camera snaps a picture of the license plate. Then the ticket arrives in the mail. If approved, the automated work zone enforcement would initially be used as a pilot project.

Motorists in Pennsylvania may be familiar with the red light cameras used in Philadelphia. The cameras are in operation in more than 500 communities nationwide. Speed cameras, on the other hand are allowed in only 125 areas.

Ban the Cams note:  MD Drivers Alliance has a nice recap of the problems with the MD workzone scameras here.  http://www.mddriversalliance.org/2013/03/pa-examines-speed-cameras-looks-to.html

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/40/4061.asp

Maryland, France, Italy: Speed Cameras Painted, Burned
Vigilantes paint speed cameras in Maryland and France and burn them in Italy.

Vigilantes in Frontignan, France disabled a speed camera early in the week. The automated ticketing machine on the RD612 toward Montpellier was covered in thick, red coat of paint, Midi Libre http://www.midilibre.fr/2013/03/27/frontignan-le-radar-automatique-a-nouveau-relooke-en-direction-de-montpellier,667454.php reported.

In Baltimore County, Maryland, bright orange spraypaint was used to disable a speed camera. The device was located in the Seven Courts neighborhood, Parkville Patch http://parkville.patch.com/articles/seven-courts-speed-camera-vandalized-again reported.

In Rovigo, Italy, vigilantes set fire to a speed camera on Thursday. According to Il Resto del Carlino http://www.ilrestodelcarlino.it/rovigo/cronaca/2013/03/30/866528-autovelox_distrutto_dalle_fiamme.shtml, the automated ticketing machine was located on regional road 88 outside Lendinara.

REPORTER CALLS ON CRIMINAL CHARGES over Illegal use of Elmwood Place, OH Speed Scameras!!!!!

Ban the Cams note:  Go to the link below there is a great video on the reporter hammering Elmwood Place, OH and listing parts of OHIO LAW the town broke!

Some even included ILLEGAL testifying against ones spouse in DIRECT VIOLATION OF OHIO LAW!

http://www.fox19.com/story/21801971/should-elmwood-officials-face-criminal-charges-over-speed-cams

By Ben Swann

Judge Rober Ruehlman:

Elmwood Place (OH), is engaged in nothing more than a high-tech game of 3 card monty.

It is a scam that motorists can't win.

(FOX19) - The fight over the speed cameras in Elmwood Place continues tonight.

As of right now, those cameras are off and a class action lawsuit on behalf of those who were ticketed by the robo-cams is moving forward.

But based on the judge's blistering ruling on these cameras https://docs.google.com/file/d/0Bz102u_oWrojMjZSOE9PN2JVOUE/edit?usp=sharing, is that enough?

Ben has the Reality Check you won't see anywhere else.

Copyright 2013 WXIX. All rights reserved.

(Thanks to Camerafraud on the link!)

http://www.dailyadvertiser.com.au/story/1391519/speed-camera-illegal/?cs=12

Speed camera ‘illegal’

A GROUP of legal specialists are claiming the use of NSW speed cameras is in breach of Commonwealth law – and they plan to take their case all the way to the High Court of Australia.

See your ad hereThe fight comes at a time when Wagga residents have been outraged over perceived revenue raising of mobile speed cameras in the city.

Association Against Speed Measuring Devices member John Bracey said if they were successful in their case, motorists across Australia would be repaid for speed camera fines dished out over the past 10 years – at least.

He said it all stemmed down to the fact speed cameras need pattern approval.

Mr Bracey referred to the Commonwealth’s National Measurement Act 1960 to support his argument.

He quoted that pattern approval compliance is needed to conform to international standards, referring to Section 19A of the act.

“There are five distinct types of speed measuring devices in Australia, but none hold pattern approval,” he said.

“I want to make it clear we are not against the use of speed cameras.

“They’ve just got to be accountable – why should the government be above the law?”

Mr Bracey said things had gone on for so long because the governments had colluded to ensure speed camera offences were financially effective.

The Daily Advertiser contacted the federal government’s National Measurement Institute about the matter.

See your ad hereManager of legal metrology Grahame Harvey said speed cameras were not in breach of the law and did not require pattern approval.

Mr Bracey disagreed giving the reply: “They are then saying the National Measurement Act is not enforceable under law”.

For more information visit www.asmd.org.au.

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local/new_york&id=9039943

Albany nixes plan for New York City speed cameras

 NEW YORK (WABC) -- Lawmakers in Albany have put the brakes on the idea of installing dozens of red light cameras near schools in New York City.

This is the third straight year that the Legislature has refused to include the plan in the new state budget.

The idea was to install 40 cameras to catch people speeding in school zones.

Some lawmakers, though, say the technology has proven to be unreliable.

Ban the Cams note:  Just look at the MD debacle.  One vendor even admits over 5% of all speed scamera tickets were in error!  http://www.mddriversalliance.org/2012/12/xerox-admits-5-error-rate.html