TheNewspaper

California: City Obsessed With Red Light Camera Ticket Numbers

TheNewspaper Editor — 2013-05-17T00:03-08:00

California is the largest market for red light cameras in the country thanks to the fines set by the state running nearly $500 each. Municipalities that adopt the technology are quick to deny any possibility that financial considerations have anything to do with their decisions to monitor local intersections. Internal discussions between the city of Menlo Park and camera vendor Redflex Traffic Systems suggest otherwise.

Menlo Park is currently in the process of deciding whether to renew its contract, so earlier this month the city signed a sixty-day extension allowing four cameras to continue operating until July 2. The decision of whether to install a fifth camera hinges on the number of citations that can be generated, not on any accident reduction consideration, according to a review of emails between the Menlo Park Police Department and Redflex.

Redflex currently charges a monthly fee of $5651.50 for each intersection camera it operates. That means to be profitable, a location must generate just twelve paid tickets each month. On March 11, Redflex spent twelve hours videotaping traffic at the intersection of Bayfront Expressway and Chilco Street, counting how many tickets it might be able to issue in that time. For the eastbound direction, the company counted zero violations caused by a driver running straight through a red signal -- the type of violation that might cause an accident. Instead, there were 114 vehicles turning right on red, a maneuver that, though ticketable, is rarely dangerous according to federal data (view study). The result at the intersection would be sufficient to issue $650,000 worth of tickets annually.

"My only question is: since most of the violations are right turns, how long would that be sustainable?" Traffic Sergeant Sharon A. Kaufman asked in a March 28 email to Redflex. "Once behavior changes will we see a drastic reduction in the number of citations/violations?"

The response from Redflex account representative Mark Riggs presupposed no such behavior change.

"The normal process for a new approach is the first few months there will be high numbers then it will begin to decline and stabilize," Riggs replied. "Where it drops is anyone's guess due to all of the variables involved. I can say that most intersections that have right turns enforced continue to produce consistent numbers."

The emails show that Menlo Park has not changed its ways since it was slammed three years ago by the San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury for focusing solely on citation numbers ( view grand jury report, 1mb PDF file).

"Based on interviews and responses to survey questions, the reporting of accident statistics is not being used as a measure of the effectiveness of red light cameras," the grand jury found. "The primary emphasis appears to be on the number of citations issued. Based on the data provided by the cities, there was no overall trend indicating a noticeable change in accident rates before and after installation of red light cameras."

From 2008 to 2012, Redflex issued 23,066 tickets worth $11 million in Menlo Park. In February and March of this year, Redflex mailed $330,000 worth of tickets, according to data supplied by HighwayRobbery.net. Source

Maryland: Another City Forced To Refund Illegal Photo Tickets

TheNewspaper Editor — 2013-05-16T00:01-08:00

Hagerstown, Maryland announced Wednesday that it would refund 808 illegally issued speed camera tickets. Brekford Corporation mailed the citations between the end of December and January using three automated ticketing machines that failed to meet the certification requirements of state law.

"A speed monitoring system shall undergo an annual calibration check performed by an independent calibration laboratory," Maryland Code Section 21-809 states. "The independent calibration laboratory shall issue a signed certificate of calibration after the annual calibration check that shall be kept on file; and shall be admitted as evidence in any court proceeding for a violation of this section."

A motorist who intended to fight a photo ticket requested the calibration certificate for use at trial in January, but the city responded with a March 5 letter denying the request, despite the law's requiring calibration documents be kept on file. The Maryland Drivers Alliance investigated the incident and forced the city to release an "in-house" calibration certificate from Sensys, the Swedish firm that manufactured the speed camera that Brekford operates on Hagerstown's behalf.

Another court challenge used the newly obtained documents and Washington County District Court Judge Mark D. Thomas agreed that the lack of independent certification rendered the citations void. All charges were dismissed. The finding raises the potential of similar refunds for citation recipients in the city of Laurel where six of Brekford's speed cameras operated under calibration certificates provided by the speed camera manufacturer Sensys, not an independent lab.

In December, Baltimore was forced to issue refunds for photo radar tickets after Xerox, the company that operates the cameras on the city's behalf, admitted that 5.2 percent of the tickets were issued based on bogus radar readings (view report).

The Maryland Drivers Alliance is encouraging ticket recipients in the state to file a public information act request for the calibration certificates before paying any fines. The group provides a sample request form on its website and offers to assist motorists in understanding the documents. Source

Chicago, Illinois Inspector General Rejects Red Light Camera Justification

TheNewspaper Editor — 2013-05-15T00:25-08:00

There is no evidence that the world's largest red light camera program is operated as a safety program, according to a report released Tuesday by the inspector general for the city of Chicago, Illinois. The independent investigation comes as Redflex Traffic Systems continues to operate every aspect of the automated ticketing program despite Mayor Rahm Emanuel's promise to cut ties with the Australian firm.

Earlier this year, Redflex was caught in a $2 million bribery scheme designed to ensure Windy City officials would continue adding new cameras to boost the company's bottom line. The audit results are consistent with the suggestion that the locations for the new cameras were selected for the benefit of Redflex, not city residents.

"CDOT [the Chicago Department of Transportation] was unable to substantiate its claims that the city chose to install red-light cameras at intersections with the highest angle crash rates in order to increase safety," the report found. "Neither do we know, from the information provided by CDOT, why cameras in locations with no recent angle crashes have not been relocated, nor what the city's rationale is for the continued operation of any individual camera at any individual location."

The city gave Redflex $19.1 million for 384 cameras stationed at 190 intersections. Redflex has no financial incentive to issue additional tickets because it is paid the same $52,740 annual fee for each camera whether the location issues 328 citations or 19,805 (the lowest and highest volumes recorded at an intersection, respectively). In 2012, Redflex issued 612,278 tickets, collecting $71,943,053 in revenue.

Redflex offers a turn-key operation, leaving municipalities with no true responsibilities. So when the inspector general asked for crash data that might justify the cameras, Chicago responded that it does not collect the sort of reliable data that the audit requested. An independent analysis conducted by a University of Chicago adjunct professor in 2010 found no accident reduction where cameras were used (view report). The city also failed to provide any documentation that the yellow signal timing at the photo enforced locations is appropriate for traffic conditions. Chicago just uses a blanket 3 seconds for intersections with a 30 MPH posted speed limit and 4 seconds for 35 MPH intersections.

"We found a lack of basic recordkeeping and an alarming lack of analysis for an ongoing program that costs tens of millions of dollars a year and generates tens of millions more in revenue," the report stated.

The inspector general recommended the city come up with guidelines regarding selection of camera locations that would allow independent verification of whether continued camera use makes sense. When Chicago names another vendor to take over the red light camera program, Redflex will walk away having earned $106 million since the program began.

A copy of the audit report is available in a 1.1mb PDF file at the source link below. Source

Maine: Legislation Would Reverse Toll Road Secrecy

TheNewspaper Editor — 2013-05-14T00:46-08:00

The Maine state legislature's Joint Transportation Committee on Monday reported a bill that would lift the veil of secrecy from a major toll road project and force private developers to pay for their own feasibility studies. On April 5, 2012 Governor Paul LePage (R) signed a bill ordering the state transportation department to conduct an economic feasibility study of a $2 billion, 220-mile toll road cutting across the state from east to west, connecting the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec. The new bill repeals that provision.

"We should not be using public funds to conduct a study for a private project," state Senator Edward J. Mazurek (D-Knox County), the bill's sponsor, testified. "We have a range of existing state transportation projects waiting for funding, and siphoning limited public funds to private projects is not acceptable."

The state transportation department was supposed to have completed its study in January, but agency officials suspended the project after failing to receive key documents.

"To perform such a study, we need to have reliable information about the connections between the new proposed highway and existing public infrastructure," Maine DOT legislative liaison Nina A. Fisher explained. "Without knowing these connections, we cannot properly identify proposed highway users or their willingness to pay tolls."

The committee voted to repeal the mandate for the study and make public any work done to date on the project.

"Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, all documents, including, but not limited to, emails, attachments, letters, contracts, reports, records, notes, summaries, working papers, plans, interoffice and intraoffice memoranda and drafts or any other materials created, received or transmitted by the Department of Transportation in connection with Resolve 2011, chapter 147 are not confidential and are subject to public review," Legislative Document Number 985 states.

In most states, toll roads constructed with substantial public assistance keep all materials regarding the proposal secret until after the final contracts are signed. The critical traffic and revenue analysis as "proprietary" data that cannot be disclosed. A study released last month found the secret traffic analyses conducted in Orange County, California were significantly inflated, leading to the loss of millions in taxpayer money (view report).

The committee turned back stronger attempts to outlaw the project, but that did not stop local activists from testifying that the state's public-private partnership (PPP) statute should also be repealed.

"Repealing the PPP law would protect the public from misuse of taxpayer money for private interests, protect the public from assuming at least 50 percent of investor debt on a project for private profit, protect the public from being on the hook completely if the project fails, ensure public infrastructure for public use, and protect the public's social, environmental, and economic assets that benefit us all," Chris Buchanan with Stop the East-West Corridor testified. "PPPs in general have proven in other states to socialize risks and privatize profits. In many cases, PPP projects have cost taxpayers more money than if they had done the project publicly in the first place."

A copy of the legislation is available in a 25k PDF file at the source link below. Source

Ohio Appeals Court Forbids Traffic Stop Over Unpaid Parking Tickets

TheNewspaper Editor — 2013-05-13T01:26-08:00

Since April last year, Dayton, Ohio has been trying to generate millions in additional revenue by towing vehicles said to have unpaid photo enforcement or parking tickets. The city's policy instructed police to pull over motorists and taking their car away until the alleged debt was paid. To keep a steady stream of $85 citations, Redflex Traffic Systems of Australia operates ten red light cameras and ten speed cameras in Dayton.

"We have a substantial number of people who continue to ignore our traffic laws and flout the system," Police Chief Richard Biehl explained in a press release announcing the policy on April 9, 2012. "Unfortunately, we sometimes have to tow vehicles to get the driver's attention and cooperation."

In a decision late last month, the state Court of Appeals said Chief Biehl and the city have been flouting the Constitution. Three days before that press release was issued, Officer Jeff Hiber pulled over a car he saw on Salem Avenue because a license plate check claimed its driver had three unpaid parking tickets.

In the course of the stop, passenger Edward L. Dukes, was caught with a small amount of crack cocaine. A Common Pleas Court judge upheld the stop as legitimate.

"Officers may stop and detain a motorist when observing any traffic offense or violation of the law and no independent 'reasonable articulable suspicion' of other criminal activity is required under Terry," the lower court judge ruled. "Here, Officer [Hiber] had authority to stop the car (and tow) pursuant to Dayton Police Department General Orders 3.02-6 Towing Motor Vehicles, 3.02-03 Parking Enforcement, and Executive Order 7-2012."

In Ohio, photo tickets and parking tickets have been made civil violations to minimize due process protections for ticket recipients, streamlining the collections for municipalities. The three-judge appellate panel pointed out that this arrangement also eliminates the criminal element from any charge that would justify a warrantless seizure of a driver.

"Hiber's testimony is clear that he initiated the traffic stop herein because the vehicle was on the police department's 'tow-in-list,'" Judge Mary E. Donovan wrote for the appellate court. "He did not observe a traffic violation or testify that he possessed a reasonable articulable suspicion of criminal activity when he stopped the car."

The court blasted the city of Dayton and state prosecutors for attempting to justify a traffic stop based merely on the April 2012 towing policy issued by Chief Biehl.

"We disagree with the state's assertion that the public's interest in obtaining the hundreds of thousands of dollars owed to the city for unpaid parking citations outweighed Dukes' privacy interest as a passenger in a vehicle on the tow list," Judge Donovan wrote. "Driving a motor vehicle while owing civil parking fines is not a crime. In other words, the protections guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment cannot be altered by means of an executive order issued to police department personnel."

The court reversed the conviction of Dukes. A copy of the decision is available in a 50k PDF file at the source link below. Source

League City, Texas Red Light Cameras Bagged

TheNewspaper Editor — 2013-05-12T00:04-08:00

Red light cameras in League City, Texas were covered with bags this week, but not by vigilantes. Australian camera vendor Redflex Traffic Systems had no choice but to shut down the devices.

Last November, 77 percent of voters approved a measure banning the use of automated ticketing machines -- the fifth city in the Lone Star State to do so -- but technically the measure has not yet taken effect. City officials last year re-wrote the immediate ban initiative circulated by citizens and replaced it with a measure that would only take effect on October 29, 2014, when the city's contract with Redflex expired. The change proved politically untenable, so on April 23, the council voted to pay Redflex $350,000 to end the contract on July 1.

"The city will cease issuance of red light tickets immediately and the seven cameras still in operation will be turned off and removed by Redflex within 90 days," the council resolution stated.

In November, voters also knocked the two most vocal red light camera supporters off of the city council, easing the way for passage of the take-down resolution last month. Since the beginning, League City's camera program generated $4,941,261 in revenue. Source

Minnesota City Settles After Cop Uses Mace On Deaf Motorist

TheNewspaper Editor — 2013-05-10T00:55-08:00

A police officer who lashed out at a deaf driver with whom he had difficulty communicating cost St. Paul, Minnesota $93,450 on Wednesday. The city council approved a settlement with Douglas D. Bahl, who had sued over a traffic stop that took place on Friday, November 17, 2006. Bahl is a high school teacher, but he can only express his thoughts fully in American Sign Language.

St. Paul Police Officer Stephen Bobrowski pulled Bahl over at around 5pm for allegedly running a red light. When the officer came to the driver's side window and began speaking, Bahl shook his head, pointed at his ear and said, "no" while indicating he wanted to use a pad of paper and pen to communicate. Instead, Officer Bobrowski began speaking louder, saying "driver's license" and making the shape of a card with his hands.

When Bahl failed to produce the license, Officer Bobrowski shoved him. Bahl leaned away, and the officer grabbed him by the wrist. Bahl took a pad of paper from the passenger's seat and wrote "joint" to signify his wrist joint was in pain. Bobrowski blasted Bahl with Mace and yanked the man out of the car to be placed under arrest. Bahl was taken to Regions Hospital for treatment of his left eye which showed significant swelling from the attack. A sign language interpreter was available, but she would only translate for hospital business, saying the police could get their own interpreter.

Bahl was taken to jail and booked for "obstructing with force." Since the man could not make a phone call, he asked to be able to email his girlfriend (now his wife) for help. The officers refused, saying he could use a TTY machine, something that would not work to reach his girlfriend. Later, when Bahl thought of someone he could contact with a TTY, the jail staff denied the request, saying he would have to wait until the next morning.

The next day, Saturday, St. Paul Police Sergeant Bryant Gaden came to the jail to interview Bahl in writing. Bahl asked for an interpreter and signed a form that spelled out his Miranda rights. After doing so, Sergeant Gaden said the city's case did not justify hiring an interpreter.

When Sunday arrived, Bahl asked for a TTY. He was told, "After noon. See what we can do." Bahl finally used another inmate to make a call that got word to his family that he was incarcerated (something not allowed by the jail's rules). By Monday, was charged with bail set at $6000 and released.

Bahl filed suit against the city and county under the Americans with Disability Act claiming he was excluded from the benefit of public services because he was deaf. A district court judge threw out these claims.

"Bobrowski's decision initially to try to communicate with Bahl using gestures and lip reading before leaving Bahl alone to retrieve a pen and paper were objectively reasonable and lawful," US District Judge David S. Doty ruled in December 2010.

The court also found no problem with the jail's denying the use of email or a TTY machine.

"As an initial matter, email is not a modification of a telephone call; it is an entirely different service," Judge Doty wrote. "Even if it were a modification, Bahl offers no evidence that email or Internet access were available on a computer in booking or the officer's desk in the cell area, or that Ramsey County could, over the weekend, make that service available."

The US Court of Appeal for the Eighth Circuit agreed, saying it would not second guess Officer Bobrowski's actions, particularly because Bahl should have known he was to produce his license when pulled over. The appellate panel, however, found that an interpreter should have been provided when the Miranda warning was provided.

"Unlike an arrest or a speeding ticket, a custodial interrogation with an interpreter would have afforded Bahl certain benefits, including the right to ask questions and tell his side of the story, which arguably could have affected the charging decision," the three-judge panel ruled in March 2012. "Under these circumstances, we find the post-arrest interview to be a covered 'service' or 'activity.'"

Because it lost on that point, the city was persuaded to settle by agreeing to extensive policy and training changes to ensure a greater availability of services for the deaf. Bahl will receive $20,000 and Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid will receive $73,450 in attorney's fees. Source

Nebraska Supreme Court Upholds A Little Weaving

TheNewspaper Editor — 2013-05-09T00:20-08:00

Police officers who want to stop and interrogate a motorist often claim he "weaved within his lane" as justification. Until now, this common pretext has generally been upheld by the judges around the country. The Nebraska Supreme Court, however, expressed its doubt on Friday.

"Upon our independent review, we find ourselves confronted by the rare case where the law enforcement officer's testimony completely undermines the existence of a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity," Justice William B. Cassel wrote for the court regarding the case of Doan Q. Au.

In the past, the state Supreme Court had upheld stops consisting of as few as two "weaves" that do not cross the center line or lane divider. The justices affirmed these cases on the understanding that it is reasonable to suspect a drunk or sleepy driver was behind the wheel. That assumption changed on Friday when the high court reviewed comments made by Officer Kristopher Peterson of the Douglas County Sheriff's Department.

"In each of those cases involving weaving vehicles, we were not confronted by testimony admitting that the observed behavior 'happens all the time' with unimpaired drivers," Justice Cassel wrote.

Officer Peterson made his observations, confirmed by dashcam video, when he stopped a car with out-of-state plates on Interstate 80 on September 22, 2010 just after 10pm. The vehicle's tires were seen continuing over the left-hand divider line for several hundred feet after passing an uneven stretch of pavement as the highway curved to the left. Cars were merging into the vehicle's lane just before the car drifted to the left a second time. The prosecution insisted this drifting violated the law, and therefore constituted reasonable suspicion to conduct a traffic stop. During the trial, however, Officer Peterson admitted this type of weaving was common, and the Supreme Court justices took note.

"Peterson's own testimony demolished his claim that he had a reasonable suspicion that the driver was intoxicated or fatigued," Justice Cassel wrote. "On cross-examination referring to vehicles touching the lane divider line, he admitted that 'this happens quite a bit' and that it 'happens all the time by people [who] are driving [and who] aren't under the influence or fatigued.' He did not attempt to explain how the circumstances in the case before us differed from what 'happens all the time' with unimpaired drivers."

The justices noted there were several factors that could explain the drifting that had nothing to do with impairment, including the uneven pavement surface, the curve in the road, merging vehicles, the dark of night and the driver's unfamiliarity with the area.

"When we subtract all of these circumstances from the bare touching or crossing of the lane divider line, all that remains is an inchoate and unparticularized hunch," Justice Cassel wrote. "That is not enough."

The court went on to explain the driver did not violate the state law regarding lane changes. The same legal language is used by most states.

"A vehicle shall be driven as nearly as practicable within a single lane and shall not be moved from such lane until the driver has first ascertained that such movement can be made with safety," Nebraska Revised Statutes 60-6, 139 states.

The justices explained the use of the phrases "practicable" and "as nearly as" mean the provision cannot be read as an absolute prohibition on any deviation from a straight line path. A police officer must explain how the driving conduct deviated from the norm and why under the road's particular conditions such driving should be considered unreasonable.

"The district court erred in treating the mere touching or crossing of a lane divider line as a traffic violation," Justice Cassel concluded. "Consequently, the court erred in determining that probable cause existed for the stop."

The appeal was brought not by an impaired driver, but a passenger whose cocaine was discovered after a drug dog was used to search the vehicle. Because the stop was suppressed, the state has no case against the passenger.

A copy of the decision is available in a 170k PDF file at the source link below. Source

California: Privacy Groups Sue LAPD Over License Plate Readers

TheNewspaper Editor — 2013-05-08T00:09-08:00

Privacy groups are upset that law enforcement has been using cameras to track the movements of motorists who are not suspected of any wrongdoing. To investigate how this information is used, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) last year formally sought information on automated license plate recognition cameras (ALPR, also known as ANPR in Europe) from law enforcement agencies around the country. The Los Angeles, California Police Department (LAPD) refused to hand over some related documents, so the ACLU joined on Friday with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) in filing a lawsuit to compel disclosure.

Police agencies and politicians claim the high-speed tracking cameras are only used to find stolen cars, but the machines in Los Angeles have already collected 160 million pieces of information on the public, including individuals not suspected of having committed any crime. The ACLU and EFF sought last August to obtain a sample week's worth of the actual data LAPD collected so that the public could judge for itself.

"Location-based information like license plate data can be very revealing," EFF attorney Jennifer Lynch said in a statement. "By matching your car to a particular time, date and location, and then building a database of that information over time, law enforcement can learn where you work and live, what doctor you go to, which religious services you attend, and who your friends are. The public needs access to the data the police actually collected to be able to make informed decisions about how ALPR systems can and can't be used."

In September, LAPD refused to hand over the sample data, claiming it "contains official information" and was part of an investigative file exempt from the public records law. The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department was even less responsive, refusing to disclose the number of vehicles on the "hot list" and the generic reason why individuals would ever be added to it. The sheriff's office even lost track of the information it was denying on "investigative" grounds by sending information to EFF that it refused to provide to ACLU. The groups point out that the right to obtain government documents is enshrined in California's constitution.

"The people have the right of access to information concerning the conduct of the people's business, and, therefore, ...the writings of public officials and agencies shall be open to public scrutiny," Article 1 Section 3 states.

Neither the LAPD nor the sheriff's department has filed a formal response. A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge will decide whether these agencies should be forced to hand over the information. Source

Australia: Another Toll Road Goes Bankrupt

TheNewspaper Editor — 2013-05-07T00:59-08:00

Transportation officials in the United States and around the world remain fascinated with tolling public-private partnerships as a method of financing roads, but tolling continue to prove itself an unreliable choice. Last week, the Rivercity Motorway Group's bankruptcy administrators began soliciting bids for the Clem7 toll road in Brisbane, Australia. The 4.2 mile tunnel links five major area roads at a cost of $8.10 per round trip -- a proposition few residents found worthwhile. A bankruptcy judge with the Federal Court of Australia explained the problem.

"I have before me evidence, which I am satisfied discloses the following in relation to the tunnel business and its assets," Justice John Alexander Logan wrote. "Initial modelling and forecasts suggested that the average daily traffic which flowed through the tunnel in or around December 2010 would have been around 90,000 vehicles per day whereas the actual flow in that month was around 25,000 vehicles per day. The value of the tunnel business was written down in the corporate group's financial report for the year ended 30 June 2010 to $258 million."

A recent study concluded many tolling projects suffer from the same optimistic forecasts. Here, it resulted in creditors being owed $1.4 billion, as the latest traffic numbers still hover in the 25,000 range. Bids on the road will be taken until May 13.

"There is every reason to expect, in the context of a sale in respect of companies in liquidation, that very substantial losses indeed loom in prospect," Justice Logan wrote.

Bankrupt toll roads have become a lucrative business for PPB Advisory, the company tapped to run the road until it can be sold. Administrators proposed in 2011 that they be paid $425,000 for their services, given the firm has a great deal of experience with failed public-private partnerships. In February, BrisConnections Group, operator of the Airportlink toll road, went bankrupt. In 2010, Connector Motorways Pty Limited, operator of the Lane Cove Tunnel toll road, went under. In 2007, the Cross City Tunnel toll road went bust.

The same phenomenon is common in Europe. In Spain last year, ten toll concessions, including the Madrid-Toledo highway, became insolvent. The Spanish government provided more than a billion euros in bailout money to the tolling firms Abertis, Acciona, ACS, Bankia, Cintra, OHL and Sacyr Vallehermoso.

Failures are equally common in the United States, beginning with the toll lanes on the 91 freeway in Orange County, California which had to be bought out by county taxpayers in 2003 for more than the original cost of construction. San Diego's South Bay Expressway went bankrupt in 2010 and was also bought out by county government. In South Carolina, the Greenville Southern Connector went bankrupt in 2010. Transurban, the Australian company that runs the Pocahontas Parkway in Richmond, Virginia, wrote down the toll road as having a value of $0 last year. Source

Iowa Supreme Court Approves Use Of Tinted License Plate Covers

TheNewspaper Editor — 2013-05-06T00:02-08:00

Motorists can use a license frame with a tinted cover, the Iowa Supreme Court affirmed in an April 26 ruling. The court considered the case of Tommy Tyler Jr. whose white Cadillac Escalade was stopped at 2am on October 13, 2010 as it was driving along Merle Hay Road in Johnston. Officer Brad Lowe, who was waiting in the parking lot of Dragon Car Wash, recognized the Escalade that he had pulled over two days earlier over its plate cover.

"It appeared the vehicle had a tinted license plate cover on the front of the license plate," Officer Lowe testified. "I then pulled out behind the vehicle and also noticed that it had a license plate cover obstructing the view of the plate on the rear as well."

Before getting out of his squad car, Officer Lowe called in the license plate to dispatch, showing he could easily read the plate number and see the registration stickers. Iowa allows traffic stops to occur if, from the standpoint of an objectively reasonable police officer, a traffic violation was committed. Here, Officer Lowe cited Iowa Code 321.37 as the sole basis for the stop, arguing that the state banned tinted plates. The justices ruled this a mistake.

"In fact, the cited code section does not proscribe tinted license plate covers. Rather, it proscribes placement of any frame or cover 'which does not permit full view of all numerals and letters printed on the registration plate,'" Justice Bruce B. Zager wrote for the court. "Officer Lowe told Tyler during the stop that he had pulled him over because of tinted license plates. Tinted license plates are not a violation of Iowa law, and the state does not contend otherwise."

State prosecutors attempted to provide several arguments in their briefs suggesting the traffic stop was reasonable. One argument suggested there could have been dirt on the license plate that made it unreadable from a distance. The court brushed these aside.

"Again, the evidence is to the contrary as the videotape shows no foreign materials on the plate," Justice Zager wrote. "It is not Tyler's responsibility to prove a negative -- that there was no conceivable reason for a stop."

At trial, Tyler brought in expert witnesses to prove his plate was clear and readily visible at night. The high court was persuaded that the trial court was wrong and that Officer Lowe could read the plate, contrary to his claim at trial.

"The officer's testimony that there was a 'glare' and that the plates were occasionally 'blurry' does not indicate any difference between Tyler's covered plate and an uncovered license plate," Justice Zager wrote. "If we were to hold that an officer's mistaken conclusion that any plate that gave off a glare or was blurry in the intermittent brightness of street lights at 2:00 in the morning had an illegal cover, we would be giving law enforcement officers carte blanche to pull over any motorist at any time, as sunlight could also cause glaring and blurriness on an uncovered plate. We decline to extend the authority of law enforcement officers to execute traffic stops based on the facts as described in this case."

The court noted that Officer Lowe admitted he was targeting the Escalade because he had stopped it before. Tyler suggested he was stopped for driving while black. The court let that slide, because with no objectively reasonable fact suggesting the plate was obscured, the evidence from the traffic stop was suppressed leaving prosecutors with no basis to maintain Tyler's drunk driving conviction.

A copy of the decision is available in a 125k PDF file at the source link below. Source

Israel, Poland: Speed Cameras Attacked

TheNewspaper Editor — 2013-05-05T01:26-08:00

Vigilantes near Lodz, Poland painted a speed camera pink on Monday, Polskie Radio reported. The device had been issuing tickets on the road between Gmina Sieradz and Zdunska Wola.

A woman about to join the Israeli Defense Forces burned a speed camera in Haifa, Israel last July. She admitted to the act and was sentenced this week by a district court judge. According to Ynet News, she was sentenced to 500 hours of community service and a 25,000 sheckel (US $6970) fine. Source

Florida Increases Maximum Red Light Camera Ticket Fine To $408

TheNewspaper Editor — 2013-05-03T01:26-08:00

The Florida Legislature on Thursday gave final approval to legislation limiting the due process available to recipients of red light camera tickets and increasing the potential penalty for those challenging a fine to $408. The changes were included in a 220-page omnibus transportation bill which saw more than sixty amendments considered. The final package was adopted unanimously in the state Senate and with only one dissenting vote in the state House.

Earlier in the day, the House had approved language that would have entirely banned right turn on red tickets, which remain a major source of revenue for municipalities. This was stripped out and replaced with a less significant provision forbidding municipalities and red light camera companies from issuing limit line "gotcha" tickets that are mailed to drivers who did not stop at the arbitrary painted stop bar but, instead, at the edge of the intersection to look left to check oncoming traffic.

"A notice of violation and a traffic citation may not be issued under this section if the driver of the vehicle came to a complete stop after crossing the stop line and before turning right if permissible at a red light, but failed to stop before crossing over the stop line or other point at which a stop is required," House Bill 7125 states.

Another change gives vehicle owners sixty days to contest a violation instead of thirty days, but the rest of the bill's changes were authored for the benefit of municipalities and red light camera companies. The bill states if a ticket is dropped in the mail, it constitutes proper "notification," even if the photo ticketing company mails the notice to the wrong address. Instead of having cases heard by judges, cities and counties can set up hearings run by city staff.

"Formal rules of evidence do not apply," the bill states.

If the designated city or county staff member decides the photo ticket is valid, he can impose $250 in costs on top of the $158 ticket for a total of $408. If someone who files a challenge later decides it is not worth the risk, he will be automatically fined $50 on top of the $158 ticket cost.

Under the bill, Florida will suspend the vehicle registration renewal for anyone who fails to pay or never receives a red light camera ticket. The law specifically forbids a challenge to the validity of the underlying ticket from individuals who learn of a the alleged violation while trying to renew a license plate.

The new provisions will become law on July 1 if signed by Governor Rick Scott (R). A copy of the bill is available in a 900k PDF file at the source link below. Source

Opinion: Chicago Mayor Makes Parking Meter Deal Worse

TheNewspaper Editor — 2013-05-02T00:54-08:00

By The Expired Meter

Chicago, Illinois Mayor Rahm Emanuel may have done the impossible. He may have actually made Chicago's reviled parking meter lease deal even worse.

At a press conference Monday morning Emanuel announced a settlement in the ongoing legal battle between the city and Chicago Parking Meters, LLC (CPM). Initially, it sounded like the city had indeed arm twisted some mild improvements to the universally despised deal out of CPM, but as details of the proposed settlement emerged, Emanuel's allegedly new and improved parking meter lease deal looks like it could make things even more challenging and expensive for Chicago drivers.

The mayor wants to allow Sunday drivers to park for free, evoking the idyllic image of church-going Chicagoans driving to worship early Sunday morning. At his press conference, the mayor conveniently left out the important fact that meters still must be fed Sunday downtown in the Central Business District.

Since traffic and parking volume is lowest on Sundays, this is not much of a concession on CPM's part. Emanuel also agreed to extend meter enforcement by one hour at most metered spots so that drivers must feed meters Monday through Saturday until 10 PM. Adding even more salt to the wound, the mayor targeted the River North entertainment district and wants to allow CPM to charge for meters until midnight seven days a week -- a three hour increase.

While City Hall estimates CPM will see an $8 million loss from allowing free Sunday parking, it says the company will make up $7 million of that amount up with the extended meter hours. Overall, Chicago drivers will not be seeing any benefit from these changes.

Many are skeptical about the city's math. Alderman Scott Waguespack thinks its possible CPM could actually end up generating even more revenue from these changes.

"It's essentially going to be a wash or we're going to be paying more," said Waguespack. "Restaurant patrons, bar patrons, they'll all be paying more. That would probably make them (CPM) a lot more (money)."

Initially, Emanuel's refusal to pay CPM for street closure bills last year seemed like a brilliant bargaining tactic that would allow the mayor to fulfill a campaign promise to force CPM to renegotiate the meter deal. It could have been a rare chance to make needed changes to the scheme former Mayor Richard M. Daley left behind for Emanuel to clean up.

The most glaring example is the meter rates themselves. Emanuel was unable or unwilling to find a way to lower Chicago's parking meter rates which are far and away the nation's highest. Chicago's current three-tiered rate system could have been exploited to lower rates overall. That is because the inflexibility of the current rate structure keeps meter rates artificially high and most likely limits CPM's revenue.

Under the current rates, someone parking in the low-income Austin neighborhood pays the same as the driver in Wrigleyville who finally snags a parking spot after circling the block for twenty minutes.

Perhaps the only positive aspect of what Emanuel is proposing is the concessions from CPM on the tens of millions in street closure bills the company submitted. The mayor claims the company agreed to slash the tab from $49 million to just under $9 million. Going forward, he says his administration was able to convince CPM to change the way street closure claims are calculated saving the city $20 million a year or over a billion dollars over the next 71 years left in the term of the lease.

The Emanuel Administration, however, is not providing details or any data to support their claim. At this point, no one really knows for sure if any of these savings will actually materialize in the long run.

From the driver's perspective, Emanuel's plan makes little sense. Given the mayor's reputation for being a tough as nails negotiator, the supposed concessions he has gotten from CPM are only impressive in how pathetic they are.

Is it possible Mayor Emanuel got outmaneuvered by Chicago Parking Meters? It certainly seems so.

Detailed coverage of Chicago motoring issues can be found at The Expired Meter. Source

France: Report Identifies Most Outrageous Speed Traps

TheNewspaper Editor — 2013-05-01T00:01-08:00

Motorists in France are arming themselves against what they consider predatory speed traps. The pro-driving group Forty Million Motorists on Monday released a 32-page report detailing the country's most underhanded speed camera locations. The group compiled the list by sorting through the 67,000 results they received after asking the public to, "Tell me about your radar."

"Every trap is a counter-productive in terms of acceptance of road safety policy," the report explained. "That is why we hope that the selected stories will alert public authorities to the inconsistent and tricky situations motorists identified."

The report classified the testimony they collected under ten general types of speed trap. The first, as represented by the camera on the D338 between Tours and Le Mans, relies upon inconsistency. One side of the road has a 90km/h speed limit (55 MPH) the other side has a 70km/h (43 MPH) limit -- only the 70km/h side has a speed camera.

The second type of trap is a camera placed where the speed limit is not appropriate. French motorists complained about cameras being stationed on four-lane, pedestrian free, well maintained highway with a limit of just 50km/h (31 MPH). The third trap is the camera stationed at the bottom of a downhill road, designed to entrap drivers as their speed increases slightly over the limit due to gravity.

Fourth is the hidden camera, where officials place the device behind bushes or other obstructions in a deliberate attempt to surprise motorists. Fifth is a photo radar unit placed inside a zone where the speed limit briefly lowers. French drivers complained that these devices were not targeting outrageous speeders, but going after honest drivers who may have missed the speed limit sign. Sixth is a similar situation where a camera is placed in a speed zone that is suddenly lowered, as the camera at Saint Avertin where motorists were used to driving legally at 100km/h (62 MPH), and the same speed a few days later resulted in a ticket. This happened to be the most profitable camera of 2012.

Seventh is confusing or insufficient signage. Cameras are often placed in locations where the speed limit sign is too far from the camera so motorists do not know how fast they should be driving. Eighth is the camera placed after, not before, known road hazards. Ninth is the camera in a passing zone, which tells motorists to focus on their speedometer rather than overtaking in the safest manner possible. The last type is the entry and exit points of a town where cameras are placed nowhere near homes on entry or right before the lowered speed limit ends upon exit.

The report recommends placing speed limit signs at the speed camera site, a national audit of cameras and their locations, clear rules on when lowering the speed limit is permissible and outlawing hidden speed cameras.

A copy of the report is available (in French) in a 1.5mb PDF file at the source link below. Source