Judge Rules Speed Cameras Are A Scam

Something to consider, but the endless hours of Russian video where no accidents happen tend to not get posted to the internet. If everyone in the US had a dash-cam, I would contend that we are just as bad.

I've had one for a number of years now and it's gotten to the point where I won't drive a car without it. Twice now I've had the other driver cause the accident and try to blame it on me when the cop arrived. I let them go over the whole story of how I in one case swerved for absolutely no reason and in the other case how on a 70MPH(I was doing 80) road I slammed on the brakes apparently? Afterwards I just casually mention how, "Oh yeah, I actually have the whole thing on tape proving you wrong." :D

Nice thing too is I don't manage it all. Starts and stops when the car does, records 30 minute intervals holding a total of about two days worth and then loops deleting the oldest video, and it has a three hour battery so after an accident I can get out and record everything exactly as it was. Also if the accident was ever my fault (so far that's none), I don't have to reveal that I had it!
 
They are a scam because cities do not use them to enforce a law, they use them as a form of punitive taxation. The use of speed cameras violates due process and equal protection. It is an unequal application of justice as only the people who are within the area of the speed camera are subjected to it, while people elsewhere in the municipality, county, state, etc, are not. There's no way to face your accuser in court and fight the fine if it's automatically mailed to you. Presumption of innocence is thrown out the window as if the camera photos you you're considered guilty as a result. How can it be proven that the camera didn't photo the car while driving at or under the speed limit, or that the car was legal to pass through the light at the time? Machines can be rigged, after all.

Many people have said "don't speed" and "don't run the light". In a perfect world, nobody would ever speed and nobody would ever run a light, but it is not a perfect world. Too short a yellow light, wet conditions that may make it hazardous to brake going into a stale yellow light... many factors can cause a person to pass under a light when it changes. A speedometer may not be perfectly calibrated, or mechanical wear can cause it to be out of spec, so a driver may honestly believe they are traveling within the speed limit while the camera says otherwise. An unsafe driver following too closely may make it dangerous to attempt to hard brake while a light changes. Is it justice to ignore real-world problems like this? A policeman on the scene is capable of using judgement - that person tried to stop but began skidding, so passed through to avoid losing control... that person was driving 1 mph over the speed limit and no other vehicles were in any jeopardy... that vehicle is being tailgated so I'm going to pull him over instead of the person he's driving too closely behind... etc. A camera cannot make discriminating decisions like this, nor can a machine be a substitute for a law enforcement officer. Citizens have rights and these speed cameras are nothing more than a money hungry local government picking the pockets of the citizenry without their consent. They should all be taken down. If city governments want taxes they should follow the legislative process. If enforcement is a problem then police the problem areas. You want to get people to obey traffic laws? Put a cop on a motorcycle on the corner and watch people behave better. It's certainly safer for the drivers, especially since an officer is already there to respond should there be an accident. But then... it's never really been about public safety has it?
 
LOL, there used to be one of those red light cams here. First people stopped going that way. Then FDOT put up a yield sign on that corner. Camera was gone two weeks later. I guess the "right on red" tickets dried up.:D
 
Driving is indeed a privilege, not a right. Sorry for those confused few who continue to think otherwise.

People get behind the wheel and will do all manner of shit that is against the law every day - everything but drive responsibly. Now that technology has finally caught up with those who think laws don't apply to them, they are looking for any excuse to invalidate it by citing atypical examples of its use. When 90% of the tickets could have been avoided in the first place by not driving like a jackass you will find very little sympathy from your fellow drivers who obey the law.

People are just mad because their habitual disregard and ignorance of the law has finally starting to hit them in the wallet.
 
Bravo to the judge.

I have noticed certain yellows are way shorter, that's why I drive in a balaclava. No picture for you!
 
Something to consider, but the endless hours of Russian video where no accidents happen tend to not get posted to the internet. If everyone in the US had a dash-cam, I would contend that we are just as bad.

We're bad but not that bad. The reason dash cams are so prevalent in Russia is specifically because car accident/insurance scams are so high. All in all, they're fairly rare in the US.
 
Holy cow, how many angry californians can you fit in one thread?! I would be very surprised if the "safe" drivers here are attentive drivers.


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Driving is indeed a privilege, not a right. Sorry for those confused few who continue to think otherwise.

People get behind the wheel and will do all manner of shit that is against the law every day - everything but drive responsibly. Now that technology has finally caught up with those who think laws don't apply to them, they are looking for any excuse to invalidate it by citing atypical examples of its use. When 90% of the tickets could have been avoided in the first place by not driving like a jackass you will find very little sympathy from your fellow drivers who obey the law.

People are just mad because their habitual disregard and ignorance of the law has finally starting to hit them in the wallet.

Absolute nonsense.

You have a right to face your accuser. When you are given a citation by a police officer, you have the right to face him/her in court. There's due process.

In this instance, there is none. There's no evidence that you were actually driving the vehicle. (I believe this in fact is what started Mike Allen's suit against Elmwood Place, someone was ticketed when they weren't driving the vehicle).

I have nothing wrong with technology being used in law enforcement. The issue here comes from a lack of due process and as mentioned earlier, the cameras being used as nothing but a taxation mechanism.

For example, Elmwood Place has a population of 2100, has a total area of 0.32 square miles, and generated 1.5 million dollars in revenue in less than 4 months.

It's a taxation mechanism, plain and simple.
 
Driving is indeed a privilege, not a right. Sorry for those confused few who continue to think otherwise.

People get behind the wheel and will do all manner of shit that is against the law every day - everything but drive responsibly. Now that technology has finally caught up with those who think laws don't apply to them, they are looking for any excuse to invalidate it by citing atypical examples of its use. When 90% of the tickets could have been avoided in the first place by not driving like a jackass you will find very little sympathy from your fellow drivers who obey the law.

People are just mad because their habitual disregard and ignorance of the law has finally starting to hit them in the wallet.

Tinkering with or hiding traffic signs and manipulating signal timer changes is not appropriate in order to increase revenues for both the red-light camera companies and the city.
 
Driving is indeed a privilege, not a right. Sorry for those confused few who continue to think otherwise.

People get behind the wheel and will do all manner of shit that is against the law every day - everything but drive responsibly. Now that technology has finally caught up with those who think laws don't apply to them, they are looking for any excuse to invalidate it by citing atypical examples of its use. When 90% of the tickets could have been avoided in the first place by not driving like a jackass you will find very little sympathy from your fellow drivers who obey the law.

People are just mad because their habitual disregard and ignorance of the law has finally starting to hit them in the wallet.

The next time you are driving at the proper speed 40mph through one of the intersections around here on a snowy day with a 2 second yellow light, try to properly stop without crossing the line or running the light and see how that works out for you.
 
The next time you are driving at the proper speed 40mph through one of the intersections around here on a snowy day with a 2 second yellow light, try to properly stop without crossing the line or running the light and see how that works out for you.

His argument would be "But I don't drive 40MPH when it's snowing. I drive 5MPH!"
 
His argument would be "But I don't drive 40MPH when it's snowing. I drive 5MPH!"


If you're not capable of driving the speed limit in the snow, you probably shouldn't be driving in the snow at all.
 
The problem is that they put these cameras in places with lower than expected speed limits.
No, the problem is that people don't read speed signs. That's the beauty of signs, they relay all of the pertinent information you need to know :rolleyes:
 
The next time you are driving at the proper speed 40mph through one of the intersections around here on a snowy day with a 2 second yellow light, try to properly stop without crossing the line or running the light and see how that works out for you.
If that's the case you're driving faster than the conditions allow. Crosswalk signs blink to warn everyone the light is getting ready to change. It shouldn't come as surprise that a yellow is coming.
 
Wow, a surprising number of Ed Begley Jr types in here...anytime a private entity benefits from "law enforcement", you can be sure unconstitutionality and corruption will follow.
 
Being from the UK originally, and now living in Ireland, I can't believe how low some of the speed limits are in the US. A recent episode of Top Gear on the BBC had them testing supercars in the US on some unbelievable roads, with 50mph speed limits !! not another car in site, miles from the nearest town in the middle of a desert !! What are they protecting you from? Sand in your eyes !!
I had an idea for getting away with speed camera tickets, though I never tried it. It involved putting a load of high powered infared led's around my number plate. The idea was that it would dazzle the camera to the extent that the number plate would be unreadable in the photo. But being invisible to the human eye, you could have a police car follow you and be none the wiser. Never tried it though, and except no liability for anyone who does and serves a stretch on the inside. :)
 
If that's the case you're driving faster than the conditions allow. Crosswalk signs blink to warn everyone the light is getting ready to change. It shouldn't come as surprise that a yellow is coming.

Not sure where to start with this statement
 
Driving is indeed a privilege, not a right. Sorry for those confused few who continue to think otherwise.

People get behind the wheel and will do all manner of shit that is against the law every day - everything but drive responsibly. Now that technology has finally caught up with those who think laws don't apply to them, they are looking for any excuse to invalidate it by citing atypical examples of its use.

It's not my driving I worry about it's all those other bad drivers.
In fact, I saw 3 other people get in accidents while I was making this post from my phone :->
 
Wow, a surprising number of Ed Begley Jr types in here...anytime a private entity benefits from "law enforcement", you can be sure unconstitutionality and corruption will follow.

I'd agree.

Unfortunately, I think much malcontent with the judges ruling in here comes from the whole attitude, "I think I'm a great driver, I think others aren't therefore they should be punished.." mentality.

What they fail to understand, especially in this case (I'm from the Cincinnati OH area), is that many of these so called municipalities serve no other purpose other than to collect tax revenues. Mayor's courts in OH are a joke.

Furthermore, this isn't the first case in this area of this crap. Arlington Heights, another small municipality in the Cincinnati area, creates the majority of their revenues from patrolling literally a .25 mile stretch of I-75, where the speed-limit rapidly changes, and they pick off unsuspecting drivers in which to tax. They've caused numerous accidents due to their activities, but that doesn't matter, the coffers have to be filled on a regular basis.

Lastly, as I stated before, Elmwood place is literally 0.32 square miles, has 2100 residents, and generated 1.5 million in revenue from the cameras in less than 4 months. Additionally, if you want to "fight" the ticket, to get a hearing costs and administrative fee of $25 just to be heard (and you'll lose regardless).

The whole thing is nothing but a taxation mechanism disguised as a traffic violation in the guise of "safety." It's bullshit, plain and simple.
 
I've always been taught that you are supposed to stop at a yellow light, only if it is safe to do so. Well, I'm the only one who can determine if it is safe because I am aware of what is going on around me. We have red light cameras here in a suburb of Houston where the speed limit varies between 45 and 50 mph. If I'm doing 45 and the light turns yellow just before I enter the intersection, I almost always stop because my car can stop on a dime. The truck behind me following too closely however sometimes prevents me from being able to stop without hit. That is my main issue with red light cameras. We have no way to prove we were doing the right thing to try and avoid an accident with them.
 
I have never received a red light ticket, although I see people get them turning on a street that was right down from my house. Cars that stopped completely were still getting them....

On a side note, there was a red light camera on the road where you turn to go to Fry's. I usually rode my motorcycle and would run up beside dicks that had cut me off and trigger the light. Since I am beside and have no front license plate, the guy in the lane got his picture taken :p
 
If you're not capable of driving the speed limit in the snow, you probably shouldn't be driving in the snow at all.

That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Sometimes, even in a well maintained, high performance, all wheel drive car with snow tires, available traction does not allow for safe travel at the speed limit. If the road is too slick, even the best driver in the world will still need more room to stop or change direction, and the only way to counteract that is to slow down.

Really, if you think you're capable of safely driving the speed limit in all possible conditions, you're the one who should not be driving at all.
 
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