Washington Judge Issues $10,000 Ticket Against Red Light Camera Firm

 
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Garmin Nuvi 1690

we'll see

It will be interesting to see how this case will go. In some places RLC firms are walking on broken glass, so they are getting nervous. But I don't think they will give up easily. There is to much money to grab, and with right deal they will gain support from local police and politicians. Like in Tampa, FL:

Police Chief Jane Castor had proposed to the city in March that it sign a contract with American Traffic Solutions. Castor and members of her department personally profit from any ticketing system linked to an increase in automobile insurance rates. This is so because the state imposes a tax on car insurance that is deposited as a "state contribution" in each municipality's police pension fund. Based on city figures, the 0.85 percent tax pumped an extra $8,158,217 into Tampa police pensions from a total of $1 billion in added insurance costs paid by Tampa drivers between 1999, when the current system was imposed, and 2009.

The primary source of that premium increase has been the boost in the number of traffic tickets issued by Tampa police. In 1999, the city wrote 30,000 citations. Just four years later, there were 87,000 tickets -- and a 40.6 percent increase in insurance premiums. By 2005, the ticket total was a whopping 140,000.

The extra cash reduced the amount individual members had to contribute to the pension fund, leaving officers with more take-home pay. In 1999, officers paid 6.45 percent of their salary into the retirement fund -- about equal to the average rate paid over the past 27 years. Thanks to the influx of new cash, the rate dropped to 1.8 percent in 2002. In 2006 it was 1.18 percent. Stock market turmoil and investments turned sour, however, raised the contribution required significantly above the average in 2004, 2005 and 2011.

source: http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/35/3563.asp

So outcome of this battle is far from clear, and still can turn either way.

I Wonder...?

Hmmmmm.

I wonder if ATS will just pay the fine...or wait and see if they get served ;b

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OK.....so where the heck am I?