Ohio Supreme Court Clears Anti-Speed Camera Referendum for Vote

Chillicothe, Ohio residents will retain the right to vote out speed cameras on November 3, thanks to a Ohio Supreme Court ruling yesterday. Fearing the public would shut down his signature program, Chillicothe Mayor Joseph Sulzer had asked the high court for an emergency injunction blocking the citizen-led initiative. Sulzer argued that this step was needed because the proposed initiative was unconstitutional and the city was denied a fair chance to argue against it before the Ross County Board of Elections (view Sulzer’s court filing). The supreme court justices unanimously rejected his complaint.

By The Newspaper
October 22, 2009
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/ohio-supreme-court-clears-anti-speed-camera-referendum-for-vote/

Traffic cameras earn D.C. $36.4M in '09 from speeders

By: Scott McCabe
Examiner Staff Writer
October 27, 2009 The District has raked in at least $36.4 million from nearly a half-million drivers in fiscal 2009 because of traffic cameras, almost double the amount two years ago, according to a study released Monday.

D.C. police collected $29.9 million from speed camera fines and $6.5 million from red-light cameras tickets in the first 11 months of the last budget year, according to a study by AAA Mid-Atlantic.

The report did not include amounts for the final month because the District was still counting the money at the time the study was conducted.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/crime/Traffic-cameras-earn-D_C_-_36_4M-in-_09-from-speeders-8441583-66195607.html

Arizona: Witnesses Blame Accident on Speed Camera

The panicked reaction that some drivers have to the sight of a speed camera may in fact be a significant cause of accidents. The group CameraFraud.com yesterday released an Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) accident report that describes a July 25 incident in which a gray Chevy Camaro collided with a red 1994 Toyota 4Runner SUV on Interstate 17 in Yavapai County, sending two people to the hospital. Although DPS maintains that it hired an Australian company, Redflex Traffic Systems, to operate speed cameras to improve safety, the department’s own report tells a far different story. “All the witnesses reported seeing the gray passenger car lose control of the vehicle as it passed the photo radar van, and was apparently trying to slow down for the photo radar van,” the police report explained.


Scottsdale resident Tracy O. was about 500 feet from the accident. She told the police that, “The Camaro [was] trying to slow down because of speed camera.”

Scottsdale resident Helene S. told police that, “I saw the Camaro swerve out of control and hit into the red SUV. It happened after the Camaro passed a speed camera.”

Sedona resident Allison S. was about 150 feet away. “[While] driving northbound in rain right near photo radar enforcement vehicle, [we] saw [the] car fishtail ahead of us, spin and hit red SUV which then also spun off the road.”

Although no video of the Arizona incident has been released, the same panic-braking reaction was captured on tape by police in Norfolk, England. The government-owned BBC news service inadvertently aired the video clips from two such incidents last year (see below). Shortly after the news program aired, the BBC removed all copies of the footage from its website. The Norfolk Speed Camera Partnership and the UK Information Commissioner cited “technical difficulties” in refusing to release the full videos of each crash.

By The Newspaper
October 9, 2009

Maryland Adopts Speed Cameras

The use of automated cameras that give speeders the willies -- and the occasional ticket -- becomes legal throughout Maryland on Thursday, October 1, 2009.

Washington Post
Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Outrage - Fee for Paying a Camera Fine

Please join the group leading the cause. This is an outrage! You already get a fine and now they want you to pay a fee for you sending them the money.

Announcing a new Meetup for CameraFRAUD.com!

What: ESTABLISH A PHOTO RADAR FEE ---NOT---
When: November 4, 2009 9:00 AM
Where:Superior Court Building205 W. Jefferson St. Phoenix, AZ 85003
http://www.freedomsphoenix.com/News/059026-2009-10-06-maricopa-co-board-of-supervisors-sets-public-hearing-11-4.htm

SETTING OF HEARINGS~All hearings will be held at 9:00 am, 205 W. Jefferson, Phoenix, unless otherwise noted~Justice Courts79.

ESTABLISH A PHOTO RADAR FEE Pursuant to A.R.S. §11-251.08, set a public hearing for November 4, 2009 to solicitcomments and consider the adoption of Photo Radar Fee of $20.00 per defendant to beginDecember 1, 2009. The proposed photo radar fee will be assessed against each individualcharged with a civil traffic violation through utilization of photo radar.A.R.S.§11-251.08 authorizes county boards of supervisors to adopt fees for any specificservice the county provides to the public as long as that fee is attributable to and defrays theexpense of the service for which the fee is assessed and the fee does not exceed the actualcost of that service. The Justice Courts estimate the average cost to process each photoradar case to be $21.60. (C-24-10-001-M-00)Learn more here:http://www.meetup.com/camerafraud/calendar/11568981/

This message was sent by Andrea Garcia (agirlsdirt@gmail.com) from CameraFRAUD.com.

We Have Seen the Future

This is the camera array from the Predator Reaper. It can clearly see for miles.
Just wait until you see a set of these following you home, checking your speed, your cell phone use, your distraction quotient and any other thing the AZ Legislature can think of to earn funds. I have an idea for all governments STOP SPENDING SO MUCH MONEY!

Speed Cameras Attacked in Italy, Germany, Kuwait, Poland

Speed cameras smashed, traffic cameras shot, a speed trap hiding spot is destroyed in Italy, Germany, Kuwait and Poland.

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/29/2912.asp

Lakewood, Wa council ends speed-camera vans

In two to three weeks, the camera vans that roam Lakewood school zones to nab speeders will be gone.

Councilman Finnigan said the intent of the original contract with Redflex was to reduce the speed of vehicles. Officials say there hasn’t been a serious pedestrian-vehicle accident in a school zone in Lakewood’s 13-year history.

The amendment to install fixed cameras is a “disproportionate reaction, or solution, to a problem we don’t have,” Finnigan said.

The News Tribune
Brent Champaco
9/23/2009

http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/education/story/889590.html

CameraFraud.com

If you want to get involved in stopping this expanding miscarriage of justice join a group at Camerafraud.com.

Mobile speed cameras target casino, freeway

Not sure how I missed this one but follow this link to the Arizona Republic's story. According to the Republic the Mobile Camera between Chandler and Maricopa is working so well that Court hours are going to have to be extended.

www.azcentral.com/community/chanadler/articles/2008/07/17/20080717cr-speeders0717.html


by Edythe Jensen - Jul. 17, 2008 09:30 AM
The Arizona Republic

Mobile speed cameras to suprise chatty motorists with penalties

Nowadays, we're lucky to be able to so much as breathe air while driving without getting penalized. As of late, motorists in South Yorkshire have quite the incentive to keep their phone conversations under wraps while in transit. Mobile speed cameras, traditionally used to catch speeders, will be used by police to catch unsuspecting chit-chatters in the act, who would later receive an unexpected notice showing 3 points on their license and a demand for £60, which was recently, and perhaps not-so-coincidentally, increased from £30. "If officers using mobile cameras see someone using a hand-held phone, whether with their own eyes or through the lens of their camera, then they are fair game." There's been no word on plans for similar implementation within the automated camera system, but "that is not to say that we can't change the policy," states Meredydd Hughes, the head of roads policing for the Association of Chief Constables. Drivers may soon feel compelled to throw down some cash for a headset, although there's even been speculation on the perils of hands-free yapping -- looks like a good tint-job's the last resort... and how about some spinners while you're at it?

This is 1984 http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/28/mobile-speed-cameras-to-suprise-chatty-motorists-with-penalties/

National Motorists Association: Worst Labor Day Speed Traps

The National Motorists Association (NMA) released its list of the top seven locations to avoid over the Labor Day holiday. This year, the drivers’ rights group highlighted areas where heightened use of automated ticketing machines threaten those who are just passing through.

Phoenix and Scottsdale, ArizonaState lawmakers desperate to raise money to solve an out-of-control deficit turned to photo radar to fill a $165 million gap. Dozens of fully automated Australian mobile speed camera vans, in addition to fixed camera units, were added to the freeways in addition to existing cameras on city streets. This weekend, however, the state reacted to the NMA warning and cut speed van deployments to a handful, according to the group CameraFraud.com.

By The Newspaper September 7, 2009 see the rest including Los Angeles at
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/national-motorists-association-worst-labor-day-speed-traps/

You have to check out the site Radartest.com. The two articles that caught my eye "Are Speed Cameras Effective?" http://radartest.com/article.asp?articleid=100619 and "The Majority Favors Speed Cameras" http://radartest.com/SpeedcamPoll.asp. Craig Peterson tested the BS being put out by the revenuers and found them full of hot air.

Fewer paying speed-camera tickets in Arizona

Courtesy of Dave Vontesmar
DPS officers served Dave Vontesmar of Phoenix with 37 photo-enforcement tickets, but the photos showed this driver wearing a mask. Vontesmar says he's not paying.

See the story in the Arizona Republic 9/8/2009

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/09/08/20090908dpsmonkey0908.html

Arizona Visitor Unfriendly Item II

Rental Cars - We rent in Arizona! If you have to rent a car in Arizona be sure to rent away from the Airport. Rental taxs to pay for the new combined rental facility, taxes for stadiums and just general taxes can drive your full size rental to double what you paid for it. If you feel bent over and done hard when you leave Arizona, join the chorus.

(Rental companies are also going to release your information to the Speed Camera Nazis. So do not believe they are on your side.) Vacation, do business, or anything else you may do in someplace other than in the AZ. Tourist are not welcomed.

Arizona Drivers Cannot Afford Senator John Nelson

John Nelson Republican District 12

Senate 1700 W. Washington Room 305
Phoenix, AZ 85007

Phone Number: (602) 926-5872

Fax Number: (602) 417-3112

Email Address: mailto:jnelson@azleg.gov

Senator Nelson is the author of Senate Bill 1291 to expand the Photo Speed Enforcement and add points to your drivers license. Call him, write him, send him emails.

Arizona Legislature Prepares to Defend Photo Radar

Arizona Senate committee votes to save photo radar and impose license points for freeway tickets.Despite a brewing public revolt over the issue of photo radar, the Arizona State Legislature may be circling the wagons in an effort to defend lucrative automated ticketing programs. The Senate Public Safety and Human Services Committee voted 4-2 on Wednesday to increase the pressure on motorists by adding points to the drivers' licenses of anyone receiving a freeway camera ticket, instead of offering relief by banishing the machines from the highways, as some had expected. A statewide signature drive to ban photo ticketing continues to pressure lawmakers, but influential lobbyists in the statehouse have won the first battle.The following lobbied on behalf of adding points to freeway tickets:
Wendy Briggs, American Insurance Association
Lanny Hair, Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of Arizona
Don Hughes, American Family Insurance
Don Isaacson, State Farm Insurance
Ellen Poole, USAA Insurance
Mike Williams, Arizona Highway Patrol Association
Redflex Traffic Systems of AustraliaEach time a motorist receives a license point, his insurance provider can raise his rates anywhere from $50 per year to $1000 or more, depending on his driving record and the severity of the offense. With hundreds of thousands of photo tickets being issued on Arizona freeways, the legislative change represents the potential for millions in extra revenue for the industry.The original push to remove license points actually came from American Traffic Solutions (ATS), the company that lost on on a bid to operate the freeway ticketing program to its arch-rival, Redflex. When points are not added to licenses, drivers are less likely to contest the ticket. ATS CEO James Tuton, 48, understands the plight of drivers in a personal way as he has been a frequent recipient of traffic citations himself. On Wednesday, Tuton was scheduled to be arraigned before McDowell Mountain Justice Court Judge Michael Reagan for a violation. Tuton will not be able to get out of this ticket by going to traffic school since he already attended a class in December to avoid the consequences of a citation issued by one of his own photo vans.Observers inside the state capital offered several explanations for the apparent change of heart of some lawmakers. The most obvious is that facing a $3 billion budget deficit, legislators need the $100 million brought in by the freeway program to avoid having to make tough choices about cutting state spending or raising taxes. The second is that $16.50 from each photo radar ticket goes into a fund paid to the personal campaign accounts of politicians. Most importantly, however, sources noted that some lawmakers want insurance companies to have more of a reason to pour millions into a political campaign to defeat the citizen's ballot initiative that would shut down the cameras for good.In addition to adding points to licenses, the legislation introduced by state Representative John Nelson (R-Glendale) was amended to make a number of minor changes to the way photo ticketing programs operate. Signs notifying of the presence of speed cameras would also have to indicate the speed limit. Speed traps would have to be placed more than 200 yards from a speed limit change. The state Department of Public Safety would have to release a report every six months on the amount of revenue collected by the ticketing program. The proposal now faces a debate in the full Senate and House where it would have to be approved before being sent to the governor.

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/28/2812.asp

SB 1291 Attack on Arizona Drivers

If you believe the Arizona Legislature is not after your tax dollars read SB 1291
http://www.thenewspaper.com/rlc/docs/2009/az-sb1291a.pdf
This new legislation will add points to your drivers license.

Limit photo enforcement to most dangerous speeders

June 23, 2009 - Tribune East Valley

By Robert McCarthyCommentary
Last month , Tribune opinion pages editor Le Templar wrote some negative commentary at his blog, “What I Know,” [http://whatiknow.freedomblogging.com/2009/05/08/sam-crumps-reasons-not-to-hate-speed-cameras/1999] on Rep. Sam Crump’s reaction to a criminal-speed photo enforcement citation issued to the executive director of the Arizona Republican Party. That citation was later dismissed by a justice of the peace.
The legislator’s arguments against the photo enforcement system were nothing new, and they were probably readily dismissed by most readers of Templar’s blog. Be that as it may, Crump did, without a rational explanation of why the current method is unjust, touch upon some serious issues with speed-limits enforcement not witnessed by an officer.
Let an old highway patrolman scratch your gray matter and get you thinking as to why he has mixed emotions about speed enforcement with cameras and only five or six seconds of video. Back in 1997, I wrote a guest column for the Tribune when the subject of photo radar and photo red-light enforcement was being talked about for the first time. My comments pointed out that speeding should morally (and legally, as well) be looked upon as a “continuous violation” and not contained within an effort to pass another vehicle.
In my 40 years of police work, most of which was on the highway, I never cited a driver for a burst of speed over a short distance. The gas pedal is referred to as an accelerator for good reason.
I also pointed out that people and commerce have to move, and if we all drove at 10 mph, nobody would be getting hurt. Accidents are part of the price we pay for progress. Building safer vehicles instead of establishing absurd speed zones is the reasonable alternative.
Nevertheless, if the cameras are here to stay, let’s go after the violators who are the real source of the problem: the criminal speeders. I remember as a young patrolman hearing a wise old sergeant say, “When you reach 90 mph, you’re not driving a car … you’re aiming it.”
The current practice of citing people for 11 mph over the speed limit is ridiculous, especially in the double-nickel zones.
How many folks have been ticketed for passing another car at 65 to 70 mph and then resuming 55 mph after the pass? The national maximum speed limit, dreamed up by Washington in the early ’70s, was one of the biggest frauds ever perpetrated on the people of this country. It was done to preserve a so-called “finite resource,” even though the experts knew there are unlimited sources of oil (including shale, coal, etc.) in practically every corner of the world.
I am ashamed of my former agency engaging in speed traps, something we used to accuse small departments of doing to boost a town’s revenue.

Mesa resident Robert McCarthy served for 34 years with the Arizona Department of Public Safety. After submitting this commentary, McCarthy received a photo enforcement citation in the mail for alleged speeding on Interstate 17. He intends to challenge the ticket in court.

Arizona Freeway Speed Cameras Deploy Statewide

Arizona camera deployment accelerates as statewide budget mounts.
10/31/2008

Faced with one of the tightest budget crunches in its history, the state of Arizona is wasting no time in deploying it newly authorized freeway speed camers. Redflex Traffic Systems runs the photo radar program in return foran expected cut of $20,361,300. In Phoenix the Austrialian company has activiated a number of fixed camera systems in the past week. Seven cameras are now active on Intersate 10, seven on the 101 and three on the 51. In Mesa, three cameras are ready to begin on ticketing on 60.

In total, Redflex expects to deploy 100 fixed and mobile camera camera can generate thousands of $181 tickets for the state's for the state's general fund. The state estimates that fiscal 2009 will see 428,839 citations worth $77.6 million. In the following year, the number will grow to 571,785 tickets worth $103,493,085. The state' contract with Redflex provides an option to double revenue by increasing the total number of cameras to 200.

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/25/2582.asp

Judge Calls Speed Cameras Unconstitutional

Arizona: Judge Throws Out Political Arrest Based on Photo Ticket
The Newspaper 6/8/2009


Arrowhead Justice Court Judge John C. Keegan last week dismissed the photo radar-based reckless driving charges filed against the Executive Director of the Arizona Republican Party. On May 6, officers from the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS), which is headed by Democrat Roger Vanderpool, showed up at the state GOP headquarters with a speed camera ticket in hand to arrest Brett Mecum, 30. Judge Keegan took the case as an opportunity to reinforce his previous judgment that the Arizona law governing freeway speed cameras is unconstitutional.


"Speed cameras along Arizona 's freeways are an aspect of everyday life for a vast majority of Arizonans," Keegan wrote. "It is difficult to fathom a trip anywhere within the Phoenix Metropoitan area without the omnipresence of the camera. If the statute authorizing the cameras is unconstitutional, the Arizona legislature, by enacting this statute, violates the equal protection rights of thousands of Arizonans every day."


"Since citizens have no monetary or licensure incentive to enforce their constitutional right to equal protection, the court has left it upon itself to ensure that these individual rights are protected," Keegan wrote.

Source: Arizona v. Mecum ( Arrowhead Justice Court, Arizona , 6/1/2009)

See full story at http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/28/2801.asp

AAA eyes caution label due to Ariz. speed cams

There are numerous stories and sites dealing with this miscarriage of justice. According to an Associated Press story AAA is considering a watch for all motorist regarding Arizonas revenue grab. See www.azstarnet.com/sh/crime/279022

Do Not Drive in Arizona

With cameras about every two miles - you will get a ticket. So my advice do not drive in Arizona.

Do not drive to Spring Training. You will not see a police officers but you will see lights. Bright lights that in spite of the claims on the DPS website will blind you and impair your alibity to drive. You will see these lights even if you are not the guilty driver. So skip Spring Training, let the citizens of Arizona who stand by and let their governement continue to expand this network of dangerous enforcement to pay for those new stadiums.

SpeedTrap=Arizona

Before you plan your next trip take this as a warning: Arizona is not visitor friendly. The state has declared war on motorist. Just take a look at this site if you think I am kidding:

http://photoenforcement.azdps.gov/Cameras/

You will see more red bubbles than a foreclosure map in California, these red bubbles are camera locations. Arizona has launched full into 1984 by placing speed enforcement photo cameras every few miles. They have stationary cameras and cameras that they move around. If they wanted to reduce speed they would hire more Highway officers but their intention is to generate revenue.

Beware! You cannot travel though the State of Arizona without driving through a multitude of these sneaky little robot law enforcement devices.

From the DPS website:

Photo Enforcement Camera Locations

In accordance with the recently passed state law to expand photo enforcement statewide, the Arizona Department of Public Safety has 36 fixed photo enforcement camera locations, as listed below. Click here for additional information on our mobile photo enforcement units.

Mobile Photo Enforcement Units The Department of Public Safety now has 42 mobile units available to deploy throughout the state of Arizona.