Another camera bits the dust.

Certainly no surprise there when local jurisdictions continue to utilize Speed & Redlight Cameras to enhance their local revenue.

I suspect that in the coming years such events will become commonplace. This is a sad commentary about the declining relationship between local government & it's citizens.

Fred

Like discussed in the topic on blowing up a speed camera, vandalism isn't the answer. The van cost a lot of money and I'm sure the "authorities" will make an example of someone. I think the answer is to remind the government who they work for.

People mistakenly view people that perform acts like this as "freedom fighers" - opposing big, bad government. Making any comparison of these vandals to the revolutionaries fighting the British in 1770s is ludicrous! They are vandals, plain and simple.

The vast majority of speed cameras are set up by local governments. And local governments are the most responsive to voter input. If people oppose speed cameras, they should take action by way of petition and the ballot box.

Blowing up a camera or setting fire to a van will NOT get rid of these things. The tax payer will only be on the hook for the replacement cost AND the cost of the investigation to find the vandals.

I do not condone destroying property but I am sure many people felt good after the demise of the camera.

Yes, it is a revenue making scheme for the government. Just like a cop pulling you over, parking in front of a fire hydrant, parking to long at a parking meter or any of the other fine your particular city/government has. If you obey the law and do not go through a red light or break any law you will not have to pay the fine and contribute to the revenue. And yes a computer is more stringent on what you can get away with. 35MPH means 35MPH not 36MPH or faster. As discussed in another thread it seems most speedometers read 2MPH slower then what you are actually going. So as long as the speedo is correct you are fine. If you change the size of your tires, outside diameter, do yourself a favor and pay to get the speedometer corrected. Or the gears in your drive train. Sometimes it is a computer reprogram or if you have an older vehicle, pre 1986, it is a gear change.

Again just obey the laws out there and when the camera no longer makes money it will eventually go away.

While I suspect it was arson, given current sentiment toward these devices it wouldn't surprise me to learn that someone with an axe to burn started the fire. Too bad about the barn.

That they ask for any information implies that they have no evidence. Even so, having a pitcure of a hooded person wearing a ski jacket isn;t likely to be all that useful in tracking down the perpetrator(s). That's one of the flacies of this video-covered world.

This topic has been beat to death, burned, and had its ashes scattered to the wind.

Apparently, the group Motorists Against Detection (MAD) is responsible for destroying many of these cameras in England. http://www.speedcam.co.uk/welcome.htm

Arizona seems to be another location where this goes on: Arizona Speed Cameras Incite a Mini Revolt http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-traffic-c...

http://www.speedcam.co.uk/welcome.htm

No comment, not enough details.

Some interesting facts:

1. over 100,000 speeding tickets A DAY are issued in the U.S.
2. at an average cost of $150 per ticket, that's over $6 BILLION dollars year generated by speeding tickets.
3. The average city cop will cost about $75,000 per year in salary, benefits, etc. The average city cop will bring in $200,000 a year in traffic ticket fines.

Laws were made to be broken, and the revenue is the reason why.

wknight40 said in part:

It sounds like (because of your above comment), that you feel everything in life is either black or white. Life (and circumstances surrounding it), don't always fit into your self contained box. There very well may be situations where NOT obeying the law saves your (or a loved ones) life.

Try NOT to paint the picture with the same brush.

Nuvi1300WTGPS

Nuvi1300WTGPS@Gmail.com

schadenfreude

And a sad commentary on how certain people think.

That is interesting data. Where did you get it?

It's quite possible it wasn't arson, or a deliberate act. I don't know why most people here are assuming it was?

I doubt very many people here believe that speed limits should be done away with entirely.

Perhaps upping the detection threshold to something like 10-15 mph over the limit would be more reasonable?

I think anything to slow people down is ok by me.. maybe I'm just getting old but man people drive faster and more aggressive then I remember.

On an other note I saw a bumper sticker I really liked. If you tail gate me I WILL slow down. Simple and to the point.

Flip

I agreed with you: Revenue!

Where does he say that everything in life is black or white? How do you consider stopping at a red light is NOT a black or white issue? You are supposed to STOP on a red - there is no further discussion required on that point. It indeed IS "black or white."

How do you consider stopping at a red light is NOT a black or white issue? You are supposed to STOP on a red - there is no further discussion required on that point. It indeed IS "black or white."

Apparently a number of localities decide to go with red light cameras instead of lengthening yellow lights in order to increase revenues via tickets. This is despite the fact that the yellow light duration may fall below standards set by the state or just plain unreasonably short given the speed of traffic.

http://blog.motorists.org/6-cities-that-were-caught-shorteni...

Given the financial incentive, I suppose its only a matter of time before some morally and financially bankrupt Podunk town decides to shorten yellow lights at camera locations for the sole purpose of increasing revenues, without regard for the increased risk of accidents and suffering such a decision would cause.

When the light is yellow . . .