Local teens claim pranks on county's Speed Cams (MD)

 
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*Keith* MacBook Pro *wifi iPad(2012) w/BadElf GPS & iPhone6 + Navigon*

Speed Camera Prank

Hehe....another good reason why cams should be illegal.

Kids will be kids!

Boy, am I glad I am not in high school anymore!

I have a tough enough time being cautious on the roadways with my own car without someone else speeding for me so I receive the citation.

Bargain!

"A $40 citation is mailed to the owner of the car for violating the speed limit in these areas."

What a bargain! Citations here in the Phoenix area are over $100.00! But no points on your license, yet!

Court Fees

Vegasbound wrote:

"A $40 citation is mailed to the owner of the car for violating the speed limit in these areas."

What a bargain! Citations here in the Phoenix area are over $100.00! But no points on your license, yet!

Well, the citation may be $40 but I bet there are at least another $60 in fees on top of it.

Daniel

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Garmin StreetPilot c580 & Nuvi 760 - Member 32160 - Traveling in Kansas

THAT's a good one!

Don't you love that statement?:

Quote:

...
Andrews also said that this could hurt the integrity of the Speed Camera Program. "It will cause potential problems for the Speed Camera Program in terms of the confidence in it," he said.
...

Speed Cam Prank

I guess they can or will do the same thing with the Red Light Cams too !

Man... this is disturbing.

I would be furious if I got one of these tickets.

I'm sure I would be screaming at my kid for getting a ticket that they might not have even gotten.

I hope they at LEAST compare the tag to the Make Model and color of the car.

Some People's Children

Those kids have a lot of nerve

Prank Tickets

This is disturbing but it should be easy to fight in court, not that it isn't a pain to go to fight the ticket. I would be evident that the plate was irregular and the car could be reasonably identified as not the same car by distinguishing marks ie. dealers stickers, bumber stickers, chips scatches etc.

Hmmmmm

Wonder if it would work with EZ-Pass? (just kidding, I use my Nuvi to navigate around those nasty Del and MD tolls).

Speed cams were tried briefly in NJ in the early 90's but I don't think they were never really leaglized. I remember reading in the local paper back then, something constitutional about being able to face your acuser. I never heard anything since then.

That burns me up!

Years back I would have thought of that myself! Man I'm getting old! Pretty funny since it's happening to someone else. Doubt I'd feel the same way if I got a ticket.

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Brian Garmin nuvi 255W

HaHaHa!!

Good one!!

/what am I laughin' at?! I have a silver Camry that looks like half the cars out there and would be way too easy to "pimp" (spoof). Damn kids! Behave yourselves!

I agree, maybe one benefit will be that this will eventually undermine the whole camera enforcement thing. People will start pimping the mayor's and city aldermen's cars. That might bring about a quick demise of camera enforcement in those cities!

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JMoo On

Technology Changing Pranks?

About the only prank we did when I was a teen was to move our band director's car (Pinto) between a pole and the parking stop. We did this by a half dozen of us literally picking the car up and carrying it sideways. There was no room for him to move back and forth enough to get it out of there. We only did this a couple of times in good fun and we had to get it back out again. surprised

One other time, it seems that several students lifted a porta-pot on top of the high school, over the main entrance and then proceeded to fill it up. Of course, this has nothing to do with cars or speeding. And, no, I was not part of that one, but several of my friends may allegedly have been.

I grew up in a rural farming community and the high school was in the country, surrounded by farm fields.

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kch50428

kch50428 wrote:

http://www.thesentinel.com/302730670790449.php

Kids...what will they think of next.

I can see it now - photo glossy paper will not be allowed to be sold to minors, just as most hardware stores won't sell spray paints to minors... rolleyes

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Weird - Double Click

Double Click accident... redface

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Denver toll

eungkeupsil wrote:

Wonder if it would work with EZ-Pass?

E470 in Denver is doing away with manual toll collection, and going with transponder or license plate toll only.

Let's not give these kids (or adults for that matter) any ideas. wink

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nüvi 750 & 760

integrity ? ? ?

jale wrote:

Don't you love that statement?:

Quote:

...
Andrews also said that this could hurt the integrity of the Speed Camera Program. "It will cause potential problems for the Speed Camera Program in terms of the confidence in it," he said.
...

I have to wonder who thinks there is -ANY- integrity in the Speed Camera Program?

Not always easy to fight tickets

pmaynes wrote:

This is disturbing but it should be easy to fight in court, not that it isn't a pain to go to fight the ticket. I would be evident that the plate was irregular and the car could be reasonably identified as not the same car by distinguishing marks ie. dealers stickers, bumber stickers, chips scatches etc.

It's not necessarily easy to fight tickets. I once got a parking ticket for illegally parking in Beverly Hills. I've never been to Beverly Hills. The ticket was issued to a rental car that I used to assist someone with their job workshop in Northridge. The ticket had the correct rental car company, the correct license plate number for the car I rented, but the wrong model and color of car.

I was never anywhere near Beverly Hills but, in order to fight the ticket, they required that you appear in person in the Beverly Hills traffic court. Right. Travel 8 hours (each way), pay for the gas, meals, lodging, etc. in order to appear in court to contest an obviously bogus ticket. A total ripoff.

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GPSMAP 76CSx - nüvi 760 - nüvi 200 - GPSMAP 78S

Actually, the Phoenix citations are $181.50.

Vegasbound wrote:

"A $40 citation is mailed to the owner of the car for violating the speed limit in these areas."

What a bargain! Citations here in the Phoenix area are over $100.00! But no points on your license, yet!

Actually, the Phoenix citations are $181.50. At least the ones on the highway from AZDPS.

I have to return it by tomorrow, it wasn't me driving. It'll have a letter asking for specific answers to questions. What government official, sworn police office reviewed that citation and personally signed it (none).

And more importantly, what government official requested, received and reviewed my California vehicle records to determine whom the ticket should be sent to (none)?

i hope this will be a lesson

i hope this will be a lesson to the cities with those speeding cameras.

Front picture?

I can't see any reference to a front picture in that article. In AZ, the cameras take both a picture from the rear and the front, allowing to see the face of the driver (and passenger if any). That would give a strong defense argument to the victim of such a prank. In a small town, that could possibly also identify the culprit.

Next they'll add masks

To keep from getting nabbed on face pictures.

I say let them keep doing it

I say let them keep doing it and in doing so the public will be so outraged that cities will be forced to remove red light cameras.

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Your Portion Of Light Whether you are a brilliant flame or but a tiny spark matters not-for the world needs whatever portion of light is yours to give.

This has to be taken into

This has to be taken into consideration in other jurisdictions if it continues.

Player Piano

Photo law enforcement is like a player piano - a mindless beat and melody with no human actually touching the keys. Problem is when the music starts the accused have no choice but to dance.

(Yes, they say a human actually reviews the citations, but I would guess most of their work is eliminating the errant moose or elk crossing against the light at 2AM).

I say that photo law enforcement is not ready for prime time until there is such a thing as "auto-representation", a robot that will, without input, review or time vested, automatically represent the accused in court. Until the accused also have access to an "automated defense" the scales of justice are without a doubt tilted toward the side with the relentless efficiency of an automated system.

Any statistician would tell you the same.

Further, most local law enforcement has a common, dual-purpose motto, "...to protect and serve...". At best, it can only be argued speed and red light cameras provide the former of those functions, to PROTECT the community. These cameras provide no SERVICE to the community as the human personnel they replace normally would. I don't expect to see a red light camera providing relief or comfort when the next tornado, hurricane or natural disaster hits. (And...for those of you that would argue that the protection of the community IS service to the community; I will remind you that such a subordinate, protectionist view is a very, very slippery and narrowing slope.)

The more law enforcement relies on these cameras the more law enforcement is derelict in the second part of their motto, their SERVICE to the community.

It is no surprise to me that it is children that are the ones exposing the flaws and contratictions of these mandatory "player pianos". Adults do not have the capacity to do this.

Parents

article wrote:

The parent said that "our civil rights are exploited," and the entire premise behind the Speed Camera Program is called into question as a result of the growing this fad among students.

The cameras will go nowhere. Soap box speeches about civil rights when it has nothing to do with civil rights don't even get looked at by city officials. The only thing that will get looked at will be the kids and the punishment they will receive. This story will fade away like the rest of the "proof cameras need to go" stories.

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----- Magellan Maestro 5310 ----- Free Garmin Nüvi 270 -----

Trouble ahead

Absolute wrote:
article wrote:

The parent said that "our civil rights are exploited," and the entire premise behind the Speed Camera Program is called into question as a result of the growing this fad among students.

The cameras will go nowhere. Soap box speeches about civil rights when it has nothing to do with civil rights don't even get looked at by city officials. The only thing that will get looked at will be the kids and the punishment they will receive. This story will fade away like the rest of the "proof cameras need to go" stories.

Yes, this story, if true, will go away long before the cameras. If the kids doing this are caught, they will face severe sanctions, not just for the speeding. I imagine it is illegal to cover the license plate on a vehicle with a fake plate. So the kids may be in trouble, not their "victims."

My nephew, many years ago, thought it was funny to go out and tip over mail boxes. This is actually a Federal offence, and he was on the verge of getting into really serious trouble.

Fortunately, he joined the US Navy. The Uniform Code of Military Justice did him some good, and he did not revert to his behavior once he got out of the Navy.

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Ted in Ohio, c340, 1490T with lifetime maps

NJ

thrak wrote:
pmaynes wrote:

This is disturbing but it should be easy to fight in court, not that it isn't a pain to go to fight the ticket. I would be evident that the plate was irregular and the car could be reasonably identified as not the same car by distinguishing marks ie. dealers stickers, bumber stickers, chips scatches etc.

It's not necessarily easy to fight tickets. I once got a parking ticket for illegally parking in Beverly Hills. I've never been to Beverly Hills. The ticket was issued to a rental car that I used to assist someone with their job workshop in Northridge. The ticket had the correct rental car company, the correct license plate number for the car I rented, but the wrong model and color of car.

I was never anywhere near Beverly Hills but, in order to fight the ticket, they required that you appear in person in the Beverly Hills traffic court. Right. Travel 8 hours (each way), pay for the gas, meals, lodging, etc. in order to appear in court to contest an obviously bogus ticket. A total ripoff.

New Jersey is an even bigger joke

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Nicpfeif12 Garmin Nuvi 5000 =)/ Winnebago 24f Minnie/ PHILLIES 07 NL east champps/ Philidelphia PHILLIES 2008 World Champss/ PHILLIES 09 NL CHAMPS/ 2010 NL EAST CHAMPIONS

Where to start?

Really where do I start?

They think they have rights? HAHAHA HAHAHA. No really HAHAHAHA that has got to be one of the funnest things I have heard this week!

Oh and the cameras arnt leaving, no no no, they are making money on them for goodness sake! The other reason I say that? Well, because this has NOT hit any major media outlet so really no one cares!

Rights? LOL HAHAHA

That'll learn ya

cheweez78 wrote:

i hope this will be a lesson to the cities with those speeding cameras.

Is the lesson that they make more money?

I just had an amusing thought. Claim that the camera must have malfunctioned and that you can prove it, if only they'd give you complete access to the camera. Leaving their camera disassembled into a hundred pieces on the side of the road would be entertainment enough for my fine.

I think in California the

I think in California the face of the driver must appear in the snapshot for it to be a cause for a ticket. The ticket is going to a person, not a vehicle so there has to be some reasonable proof of the identity of the driver.

census1940
Happy New Year....

Trouble Behind

tkessel wrote:

Fortunately, he joined the US Navy. The Uniform Code of Military Justice did him some good, and he did not revert to his behavior once he got out of the Navy.

I'll say it again...adults do not have the capacity to show the flaws and weaknesses of these systems.

Speed Limit Signs

Here in Arizona, someone painted over the 55 to make the signs read 65 on one of the freeways...
The Cameras were working overtime to take all the pics. Since it was a holiday weekend that this happened, it was a few days before it got fixed.
David

Put your visor down.

census1940 wrote:

I think in California the face of the driver must appear in the snapshot for it to be a cause for a ticket. The ticket is going to a person, not a vehicle so there has to be some reasonable proof of the identity of the driver.

census1940
Happy New Year....

I think you're right, if the driver's face is not visible in the picture the citation is not issued in California.

All the more reason to put your visor down when your GPS alarms. Heh.

Saw a Similar story

The Story I saw they were actually stealing license plates from the cars they wanted to prank..and a few of them were from Police vehicles..and County vehicles....

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Dave_ Nuvi 660 , 760,1490LMT Wooster, Ohio