TheNewspaper

South Carolina Legislature Shuts Door on Photo Enforcement

TheNewspaper Editor — 2012-01-27T01:32-08:00

The South Carolina legislature put the final nail in the coffin of photo enforcement earlier this month. Both the state House and Senate last year had unanimously approved legislation making it clear that automated ticketing machines were illegal in the state. As part of a compromise, state Senator Tom Davis (R-Beaufort) dropped his opposition to the bill in exchange for the creation of the South Carolina Traffic Enforcement Commission, which he hoped would draft a report he could use to convince his colleagues to give photo ticketing a second chance.

The nine-page report dated January 13 had no interest in restoring the speed trap that had operated in the town of Ridgeland in defiance of state law. The commission included the top members of the legislature and judicial branch along with representatives from police agencies and the legal profession. The composition of the committee, set by Davis in his amendment language, did not invite any members of the public to participate. The body was asked a series of twenty questions, most of which presumed photo enforcement would return.

"Assuming that traffic enforcement camera systems are used to enforce uniform traffic laws, is there a way to ensure that traffic enforcement camera systems are being used to improve road safety, and assuming that their use improves road safety, rather than maximizing government revenues resulting from violations of uniform traffic laws?" one of the legislated questions asked.

The commission's members did not accept the loaded questions' premise. Once the members finally met they agreed that private, for-profit law enforcement was not a good idea.

"Pursuant to item (4) commission recommends no changes to the existing law concerning the use of traffic enforcement camera systems," the commission concluded.

Existing law expressly forbids the use of red light cameras and speed cameras. In rendering its judgment, the commission focused on the many legal and constitutional problems with photo enforcement.

"No matter who was driving the car at the time, the owner of the car is assumed to be guilty," the committee report stated. "This violates a major tenet of our legal system: innocent until proven guilty... The commission concedes that, properly calibrated and properly operated, photo radar systems may be accurate. However, photo radar, like any radar, can generate false readings, and similar cases are contested and litigated all the time. While technological improvements are likely, the system will never be completely without flaws."

The group found fault with the notion of mailing tickets to vehicle owners because by the time they receive the notice, they may not remember the incident, putting them at a disadvantage if they wish to challenge a photo ticket.

A copy of the report is available in a 100k PDF file at the source link below. Source

Peer Reviewed Study Questions IIHS Red Light Camera Report

TheNewspaper Editor — 2012-01-26T00:58-08:00

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) grabbed headlines last February with a self-published study claiming installation of red light cameras nationwide would have prevented 815 deaths (view study). The Florida Public Health Review, a peer-reviewed journal, published a systematic critique yesterday that found the methods used in the IIHS report were sloppy and inconsistent, reflecting a bias towards the insurance industry that IIHS serves.

University of South Florida Professors Barbara Langland-Orban, Etienne E. Pracht and John T. Large noted that IIHS did not study individual intersections that had cameras but rather used city-wide data that ignored other engineering variables that could have explained increases or decreases in accidents from year to year. Worse, the study did consider variables such as "land area" and "persons per square mile" which have never been shown through scientific research to have any correlation to motor vehicle crashes. The way these unexplained variables were used introduced other difficulties in the IIHS report.

"Assuming that the dependent variable for each model is defined as reported, some variables are included more than one time, making them redundant," the USF researchers wrote. "For example, population is the denominator in both outcome measures reported (e.g., fatalities per 100,000-population), as well as a numerator in the variable 'population per square mile.'"

The critique noted the most troubling issue was the dissimilarity between the cities chosen to represent camera enforcement and the camera-free cities. Almost a quarter of the camera-free cities had between zero and two red light running fatalities in the "before" period. It is impossible for a city with zero fatalities "before" to improve in the "after" period. By contrast, nearly all the camera cities had 7 or more fatalities, leaving far more room for improvement.

"The fact that the two groups have a large difference in fatality rates in the 'before' period reflects bias in the selection of the comparison group, which jeopardizes the validity of the findings," the USF researchers noted.

The USF researchers then used the IIHS data in an attempt to replicate the IIHS statistical analysis. The critique concluded that IIHS failed to disclose results that contained negative values for red light cameras.

"Thus, cities using cameras are estimated to have a 25 percent higher red light running fatality rate in the 'after' period relative to cities not using cameras, despite the greater reported percent reduction in the former," the critique found.

To account for the bias, the USF researchers pointed out that in several states, insurance companies make money by charging higher premiums to drivers who get photo tickets. Contrary to the common wisdom, insurance companies do not earn less money when accidents increase.

"Insurance companies are able to gain approval from state regulators to raise insurance premiums to cover higher losses, making them indifferent about loss prevention, since increased losses justify increased premiums, passing higher crash costs on to drivers," the USF report stated. "Second, automobile insurance companies earn more profit from investment income (investing premiums collected from drivers) than from underwriting activities."

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

Texas: Federal Appeals Court Defends Anti-Camera Referendum

TheNewspaper Editor — 2012-01-25T00:50-08:00

The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Tuesday rebuked a lower court judge who had taken extraordinary measures to protect the red light camera program in Houston, Texas. A three-judge panel ruled that US District Court Judge Lynn N. Hughes erred last June when he blocked the organizers of an anti-camera referendum from participating in the court proceedings that Hughes used to nullify the election results (view ruling).

Houston had hired American Traffic Solutions (ATS) to operate issue red light camera tickets on the city's behalf through May 27, 2014. The program was one of the largest in the country until Francis and Randy Kubosh gathered enough signatures to place a charter amendment on the ballot banning automated ticketing machines. Voters approved the measure in November 2010.

Houston officials, who sought to keep the cameras running despite the vote, filed a lawsuit against ATS, which also sought to keep the cameras running. They brought the case before Judge Hughes, who has served along side the father of ATS General Counsel George Hittner for the past twenty-five years. Last year, Hughes insisted that he would be able to detect whether Houston made any attempt to lose the case to ATS intentionally and denied the right of the Kuboshes to defend their ballot measure. The appellate judges tore apart Hughes' reasoning, especially after ATS and Houston's lawyers sat together at the same table during oral arguments.

"There is no federal authority nor state law prohibiting intervention of right in this type of case," Chief Judge Edith H. Jones wrote for the appellate panel. "These intervenors are unique because they engineered the drive that led to a city charter amendment over the nearly unanimous, well funded, and longstanding opposition of the mayor and city council... They have raised substantial doubts about the city's motives and conduct in its defense of the litigation with ATS. Without these intervenors' participation, the city might well be inclined to settle the litigation on terms that preserve the adverse ruling on the charter amendment and thus preserve its flexibility to reinstate red light cameras in the future. This is no matter of simply defending city policy of one sort or another: it involves millions of dollars of revenue to city coffers during a period of considerable economic uncertainty."

The prediction that the city would rush toward an adverse settlement turned out to be correct. On Friday, the city agreed to settle with ATS for $4.8 million in a move that would allow the cameras to return at any time the city council chooses. The appellate court complained that it only recently had learned about this settlement "via the newspaper."

The appellate ruling focused solely on the question of whether the Kuboshes should have been parties to the litigation between Houston and ATS from the start. The panel ordered the issue should be reconsidered at a new trial where the Kuboshes would be able to defend their initiative. The appeals court signaled with their language that they did not share the view that the public vote merely meant "people in Houston want to run red lights," as Hughes said in proceedings on November 26. Instead, the court referred to the "haste of the litigation" that Judge Hughes placed "on a fast track" in a way that suited "the city's pecuniary motives." The sponsors of the initiative vowed Tuesday to ensure Houston officials can never bring back cameras.

"ATS just must have said to Houston, 'Whatever you do, do not allow the election results to stand,'" Citizens Against Red Light Cameras spokesman Philip Owens told TheNewspaper. "It ended today with the court ruling because the Kuboshes aren't going to stop until those election results stand. That's it for ATS. They lost."

A copy of the interlocutory ruling is available in an 85k PDF file at the source link below. Source

Houston, Texas Settles Red Light Camera Lawsuit

TheNewspaper Editor — 2012-01-24T00:19-08:00

The city of Houston, Texas announced Friday that it would pay American Traffic Solutions (ATS) $4.8 million to settle the lawsuit the company set up after voters rejected red light cameras in November 2010. Upon approval by the city council Wednesday, the Arizona firm will receive $2.3 million up front with another $2.4 million provided as the company collects on unpaid citations over the next three years.

ATS was able to extract this sum from the city for two reasons. First, former Mayor Bill White removed an early termination clause from the red light camera contract in an attempt to save the camera program through the year 2014 in the event the state legislature passed legislation outlawing cameras. As a result, ATS demanded the share of ticket profits it would have received through that date. Second, ATS had an ally in US District Court Judge Lynn N. Hughes, who overturned the election results and sided with ATS at every step. For example, when ATS lawyer Andy Taylor complained in a November 26, 2010 hearing that the city required ATS to take down its cameras, Hughes came to the rescue.

"I can cure that," Hughes said, ordering the city to keep the cameras up.

The city council did have the power to stop the red light cameras from issuing tickets, so it ordered the systems deactivated on August 24, 2011. Houston came back to Hughes asking him to modify his order so that the cameras could be permanently removed, pursuant to a city ordinance requiring them to come down.

"The city of Houston's motion to compel American Traffic Solutions to remove the red light cameras is denied," Hughes ruled on January 16, 2012.

Hughes has close ties with ATS, having served on the bench for 25 years with Judge David Hittner, the father of ATS General Counsel George Hittner. His ruling is now under review by the Fifth US Circuit Court of Appeals which heard oral arguments on January 3. Randall Kubosh and Francis M. Kubosh sponsored the anti-camera initiative and want to see the public vote upheld.

"Appellants argue that the Texas Election Code protects the right of Texas voters to intervene in defense of a measure election, a right subverted by the city's collusive filing of a declaratory judgment suit that gave ATS an opportunity to nullify the Proposition 3 election it would never have had without the city's help," the Kubosh attorney David A. Furlow argued in a Friday filing with the Fifth Circuit. "Denial of their right to defend the Proposition 3 election and the no-red-light-camera votes they cast in it would render their constitutional rights meaningless."

Houston and ATS came to a quick settlement in the hopes that this appeal would be dismissed as moot. Current Mayor Annise Parker insisted the multi-million dollar payment represents the best deal that could have been struck under the circumstances.

"I am thankful that traffic violators, not Houston taxpayers, will be paying for this," Parker said in a statement. "This is a reasonable settlement and I thank the city legal department for its diligence in getting it done."

A copy of Judge Hughes' January 16 order is available in a 40k PDF file at the source link below. Source

Washington: Judge Slaps Attempt to Block Anti-Camera Vote

TheNewspaper Editor — 2012-01-23T00:09-08:00

The Snohomish County Superior Court on Thursday found Monroe, Washington liable for a fine of up to $10,000 for denying photo enforcement opponents access to the ballot. Although two-thirds of voters in the city voted against the use of red light cameras and speed cameras in November, they were only allowed to consider a measure crafted by Mayor Robert Zimmerman. He asked voters whether they wanted to continue using cameras when the vendor's contract expires in 2013.

The citizens' group Seeds of Liberty had collected signatures from nearly half the city's active voters to place an immediate and binding camera ban on the ballot. Zimmerman sued to keep voters from considering that tougher language. In a letter ruling, Judge George N. Bowden said the city went too far, violating a state statute designed to stop "strategic lawsuits against public participation" or SLAPP.

"I am granting Seeds of Liberty's motion for costs and fees because of the following reasons: Washington's anti-SLAPP remedies are not discretionary," Bowden wrote. "Having secured enough valid signatures to place Section Three on the ballot, the city's lawsuit burdens the initiative sponsors with having to defend the right of voters to express their opinions and weigh in on a matter that will directly affect them. As such, the initiative concerns an action involving public participation and the inherent rights of citizens to petition their government."

Bowden followed the precedent set down by the Washington Court of Appeals in September that struck down the binding portion of an anti-camera initiative in Bellingham while clarifying that an advisory vote section of the measure could stand (view ruling). As a result, voters will have a chance in April to vote to tell the city council to take down the cameras immediately.

"We are thrilled with this court decision because it sends a clear message to other greedy politicians and sleazy red-light camera companies that such obstructionist tactics will not only fail, but result in substantial financial penalties," initiative co-sponsor Tim Eyman wrote in an email to supporters.

Although 68 percent of the Monroe's electorate rejected automated enforcement, city leaders have stuck by their decision to continue the camera program. Eyman believes the city should accept the inevitable and cancel its photo enforcement contract.

"When are Mayor Zimmerman and the city council going to get the message and take down all the ticketing cameras in the city of Monroe?" Eyman asked. "Every day they leave them up is a slap in the face of the people of Monroe."

A copy of the letter ruling is available in a 210k PDF file at the source link below. Source

Italy, UK: Speed Cameras Spraypainted, Scorched

TheNewspaper Editor — 2012-01-22T00:04-08:00

Vigilantes set fire to a speed camera in Lincolnshire, England on Tuesday. According to the Stamford Mercury, the automated ticketing machine on the A15 Bourne Road in Langtoft was burned some time after midnight, disabling the device.

Spraypaint was the weapon of choice Friday in Forli, Italy. Vigilantes covered the lens of a speed camera on the via Firenze toward Villa Rovere in red paint, Il Resto del Carlino reported. The incident was the fourth in a series of multicolored assaults beginning with black paint on October 7. On October 20, they used pink paint and after that, silver. Source

Florida House Backs Down on Red Light Camera Fight

TheNewspaper Editor — 2012-01-20T00:43-08:00

The Florida legislature came close to banning the use of red light cameras last year. The state House voted 59 to 57 in favor of overturning the 2010 statute permitting the use of automated ticketing machines, but municipal and traffic camera lobbyists were successful in blocking the bill in the Senate.

This year, the anti-camera effort has returned, but a vote last Wednesday suggests photo enforcement opponents face an uphill battle. The House Transportation & Highway Safety Subcommittee voted 10 to 3 to gut the Florida Motorist Rights Restoration Act, which would have offered a number of protections for the owners of vehicles accused by a red light camera.

The measure would have required unannounced, third-party testing of the camera's accuracy every six months. Currently, there are no procedures in place for verifying the accuracy of a camera. The private, for-profit vendors who own and operate the machines self-certify the accuracy of their own products. The bill would have established a $500 penalty against any city or traffic camera vendor that issues a ticket from an inaccurate, untested device. The prosecution would also have the burden of establishing the guilt of the accused.

Subcommittee members were not interested. They stripped all of the motorist protections and replaced the measure with one that deals with rare cases of a vehicle owner filing an affidavit claiming someone else was driving the vehicle. The bill ensures the second recipient would get a "notice of violation" instead of a traffic citation carrying court costs.

Groups like the National Motorists Association supported the original version of the bill, although it wanted a provision mentioning speed cameras struck out.

"Short of a full camera ban, this act will at least help to curb the inevitable abuses that occur when government agencies focus more on revenue generation than on protecting citizens' rights," the group wrote in a message to Florida activists. "We support this legislation and encourage you to as well."

Camera opponents, nonetheless, were divided because of a line stating that photo radar devices would be subject to the testing requirement. Because speed cameras are not authorized under Florida law, the language would be seen by the court as the legislature's approval for their use, which is the very technique used by Tennessee lawmakers to bring red light cameras and speed cameras to the state.

Other legislation pending before the legislature would encourage longer yellow times as well as an all-out repeal of the red light camera authorization bill. Source

Missouri Town Cheats Camera Company Out of $50,000

TheNewspaper Editor — 2012-01-19T00:48-08:00

Earlier this month, photo enforcement vendor American Traffic Solutions (ATS) began sending out thousands of collection notices to vehicle owners who had at some point been accused by a red light camera in Arnold, Missouri. At least 1200 of those who received these notices in the mail had already paid or otherwise reconciled their fine. Arnold officials insisted yesterday that this was a harmless mistake.

"The city of Arnold Police Department has referred the account described herein as being delinquent," read one of the notices. "It is in your best interest to give this matter your immediate attention. If you fail to pay the notice you will be referred to a collection agency for the collection of this debt."

This particular letter demanded payment of $94.50 to close out an alleged red light camera violation that took place on Christmas Eve 2009. The vehicle owner knows that this debt was fully resolved because he fought his case in court and won a default judgment. The city admitted these notices should never have been sent out.

"Recently, a letter was sent from ATS, on behalf of the city of Arnold, in an effort to collect on tickets that were issued from 2005 to present and that remained unpaid," a city press release noted. "Unfortunately, a computer error caused a small percentage of those letters to be sent to persons who had already satisfied their cases."

Those affected will receive a letter of apology instructing them to disregard the bill they received, but at least one member of the city council remains upset at the city's conduct in the matter.

"This press release is nothing short of a lie," Councilman Doris Borgelt wrote to her colleagues. "It was not a computer error that caused this mess, it was a data entry error on the part of the city of Arnold. I do not consider 1200 out of 8000 or 15 percent a small percentage of people affected. Please correct this with the press."

Questions are now being raised over whether the data entry error was intentional. Under the contract between ATS and Arnold, the Arizona-based vendor receives $31.33 for every $24.50 collected in court costs on dismissed cases. By failing to enter these, the city saves money. Insiders suggest the city now owes ATS $50,000.

"We all know, there is certainly no honor among thieves, but it is both public safety and the public treasury that suffer ultimately as a result of the actions of both the city and American Traffic Solutions," former Arnold councilman Matthew Hay told TheNewspaper. "ATS may have entered into an agreement with the one municipality in the country more adept at obfuscation and manipulation than they are." Source

New Jersey: Camera Company Uses Deceptive Crash Footage

TheNewspaper Editor — 2012-01-18T07:04-08:00

Just two days before Christmas, American Traffic Solutions (ATS) released a video showcasing ten accidents that happened under the watchful eye of a red light camera. Dozens of media outlets seized on the dramatic scenes, some taking it as an opportunity to editorialize in favor of photo enforcement.

"Each year more than 100,000 people are injured and hundreds are killed in red light running related collisions," ATS wrote in the introduction to its video. "The following videos are just a few examples of red light running collisions and near misses from New Jersey intersections in 2011."

The 90-second video shows low-quality footage of incidents from Deptford Township, East Brunswick, Jersey City, Linden, Pohatcong, Monroe Township, Rahway and Union Township (link to ATS video). Each clip was meant to demonstrate the extreme danger involved in running red lights with the implied message that such incidents would happen less frequently with red light cameras installed -- even though all of the incidents happened at intersections where automated ticketing machines were operational.

The scene from a January 4, 2011 accident in Linden at 1:00 into the video stands out from the rest. It shows a white 1997 Honda CRV hurtling through an intersection into a gray 2010 Volvo S80 that attempted to make a left-hand turn. The incident happened at 12:18pm at West St. Georges Avenue and North Stiles Street, and we are supposed to assume from the video's context that the Honda was running a red light, as clearly happened in eight of the other clips.

Close inspection of the video footage shows, however, that the light was not red and the Honda driver had the right-of-way. The signal remained yellow as the Honda made its way more than halfway through the intersection. Linden's city clerk confirmed that no red light running citation was issued to either driver. The Linden Police Department's accident report cleared the Honda driver of wrongdoing.

"After reviewing the video taken of accident 11000393 this officer has come to the conclusion that vehicle number one [the gray Volvo] was at fault, the video of the accident was placed as evidence and submitted to the records bureau," Officer Robert Bunk wrote. Source

Texas: Top State Senator Says Red Light Cameras About Money

TheNewspaper Editor — 2012-01-17T00:15-08:00

The most senior Texas state lawmaker admitted last week that he voted to save red light camera programs even though he knew they had no effect on public safety. State Senator John Whitmire (D-Houston), who was first elected to the legislature in 1973, appeared on KTRH radio's morning news program to discuss how public opposition to red light cameras persuaded legislators to devote some of the camera profit to trauma centers.

"People went to Austin protesting it, and so John Carona -- a senator from Dallas -- didn't want to eliminate them," Whitmire explained. "He said, you know, it's obviously a revenue source. Local communities try to sell it as public safety, cutting down on red light running. He and I and I think most people would realize it's really a revenue source. John Carona in Austin said, I'm not going to eliminate but let the state have half of that revenue dedicated to trauma care which is badly underfunded."

Though the money was promised to trauma care centers, over $40 million of this money has remained in the state's general fund and not been distributed to the trauma centers.

"The budget writers in an effort to find resources and money to balance the budget never sent that," Whitmire explained. "It's wrong. It's wrong."

Whitmire played an essential role in 2005 in blocking House legislation that would have banned red light cameras as well as an amendment that would have forced municipalities to obtain voter approval before instituting a red light camera program. The Senate voted 18 to 13 to against the referendum requirement. Whitmire explained that the mayor of Houston, a fellow Democrat, had pressed him for that vote.

"Bill White came to Austin and he had two issues," Whitmire said. "The next vote that came up was to try to repeal red light cameras. The vote was whether we'd take that away from the cities. And I don't think Austin ought to be trying to run the cities on a day-to-day basis."

Houston's cameras were ultimately shut down, but only after a heated legal and political battle. A federal judge even intervened to overturn the results of a public vote on the matter.

"It is a bad deal and the people acted on it and repealed it," Whitmire said. "The issue of red light cameras, I was always suspect about it. I never thought it was about public safety. The greatest number of red light citations are issued to people who don't come to a complete stop on turning right or similar violations. It's a civil ticket, that shows you how insincere they are about it." Source

Iowa Constitutional Amendment Would Outlaw Traffic Cameras

TheNewspaper Editor — 2012-01-16T00:06-08:00

Lawmakers in Iowa are kicking off the new year with a serious attempt to end the use of red light cameras and speed cameras in the state. A half-dozen cities use the devices even though the legislature did not grant local jurisdictions the authority to allow for-profit companies to issue traffic tickets through the mail. Instead, the Iowa Supreme Court in 2008 declared such systems could be used (view ruling).

To undo that ruling, state Representative Jeremy Taylor (R-Sioux City) on Wednesday introduced what would be the country's first-ever state constitutional ban on the use of cameras. The measure would have to be enacted by two consecutive sessions of the legislature before being placed on the ballot for the approval of a majority of Iowa voters.

"Automated traffic law enforcement systems shall not be used to enforce the provisions of law relating to traffic on the public roads of the state," House Joint Resolution 2003 states. "For purposes of this section, 'automated traffic law enforcement system' means a device with one or more sensors working in conjunction with an official traffic control device or signal or a speed measuring device to produce recorded images of vehicles being operated in violation of traffic or speed laws.

Taylor has the support of Governor Terry Branstad (R), who blasted the use of cameras at a Sioux City Rotary Club meeting Thursday. While taking questions from the audience, Branstad said it was "wrong" for Sioux City to borrow against future red light camera revenue and that he saw a problem with not allowing vehicle owners to face their accuser. Though the governor plays no role in the process of amending the state constitution, his position could create a hurdle for legislation passed by the House last year that authorizes cameras with $50 red light camera tickets and photo radar tickets of up to $625 each.

In 2010, red light cameras operating in five Iowa cities issued 56,312 tickets worth $5,475,092. The Dutch company Gatso and the Australian company Redflex Traffic Systems also issued a total of 87,828 speed camera tickets in the cities of Cedar Rapids and Davenport. The foreign companies each pocketed about 40 percent of the amount of revenue generated by the program.

To get around this, some state lawmakers introduced proposals to reduce the financial incentive for cities to set up automated ticketing programs. House File 612 requires "one hundred percent of the fines collected" be spent on road construction or maintenance. House File 105 requires camera revenue be directed to lowering property taxes.

A copy of the proposed constitutional amendment is available in a 40k PDF file at the source link below. Source

Vigilantes Take On Cameras in Maryland, Australia, England, France, Italy

TheNewspaper Editor — 2012-01-15T01:49-08:00

A pair of speed cameras in Baltimore, Maryland were set on fire last week. The first mobile photo radar unit on Howard Street was hit Wednesday and the next was attacked Friday, WJZ-TV reported.

In Meuse, France, a photo radar unit was totally destroyed by fire on Monday. According to Est Republicain the insides of the camera on the Voie Sacree were completely melted by the intense blaze. On the same day, another speed camera in Bordes was also destroyed by fire, La Republique des Pyrenees reported. The device on the RD938 had previously been burned on December 22 before the cameras had even been activated.

Vigilantes swiped a speed camera from a parked police car in North Devon, England last year. The North Devon Journal newspaper learned this from a freedom of information request that forced Devon and Cornwall Police to reveal items that had been stolen from the force.

In Forli, Italy, the lens of the speed camera was spraypainted silver, rendering the device in Villa Rovere incapable of issuing tickets, Il Resto del Carlino reported.

Vigilantes in Western Australia shot several rounds into a Perth speed camera early Tuesday, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. The bullets shattered the camera lens but did not damage the inner workings of the device located on the Mitchell Freeway near the Karrinyup Road exit. Source

Canada: Group Battles City Over Speed Trap Warning Sign

TheNewspaper Editor — 2012-01-13T00:07-08:00

Motorists in Winnipeg, Canada became so fed up with the city's use of a confusing signage to boost the number of speeding tickets issued that they went to the expense of printing up their own speed limit warning signs. The group WiseUpWinnipeg has been needling municipal leaders over their failure to adhere by the country's legal standards for warning signs for over a year. The group finally decided to do something about it.

"It is appalling when citizens have to start taking public works matters into their own hands to promote vigilance against abusive public policies and enforcement," the group's co-founder, Todd Dube, said in a statement.

In the city's south end on Pembina Highway, there is a one-mile stretch of divided highway with a 60km/h (37 MPH) limit that the group argues is far too low based on the average, safe speed of traffic along the divided highway. As a result, the Winnipeg Police Service runs radar patrols for at least six hours a day, racking up hundreds of citations. WiseUpWinnipeg claims this route garners the most complaints from motorists.

The group also argues that there are not enough speed limit signs at the location, and the ones that are there violate the reflectivity and distance requirements of the Manual for Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Canada (MUTCD). As a result, drivers unaware of the limit receive an expensive ticket from the city. WiseUpWinnipeg's reflective sign prominently announced the 60km/h speed limit in large type, adding the warning: "Too slow and poorly posted, Unfair trap often ahead." This enraged local officials who took action just a few hours later.

"At 5:30pm three large trucks and a front-end loader appeared, departing at 6pm with the loaded sign" Dube said. "Isn't it ironic that the city can respond so quickly when something threatens their revenue generation yet ignore public pleas from taxpayers for over two years to adequately sign roadways."

The group insists the sign was on private property and the city had no right to take it. Source

Red Light Cameras Ticketing Drivers Who Stop at Lights

TheNewspaper Editor — 2012-01-12T00:45-08:00

Cities around the country have begun dropping the use of red light cameras,which were once touted as the best way to stop drivers from "blowing through" red lights. Disappointed municipal officials invariably point to the systems' failure to generate the promised amount of revenue as the reason for the change. To keep from losing more clients, the red light camera industry's latest move has been to ticket drivers who stop at red lights to boost the number of potential violations.

Several years ago the industry significantly increased its yield by transitioning away from ticketing vehicles for running red lights. Instead, camera focused on right-hand turn lanes so they could mail citations to the owners of vehicles that make slow, rolling right turns on red. In some jurisdictions, right-turn tickets account for 90 percent of all tickets issued -- even though national and local data suggest the maneuver is not dangerous. In some cases, however, right-turn tickets failed to be profitable when the public refused to pay citations -- as happened in Los Angeles, California -- or because of legislative restrictions on right-turn citations -- as happened in Florida.

Last April, the city of Denver became the first jurisdiction in Colorado to allow a private company, Affiliated Computer Services, to issue red light camera tickets to stationary vehicles. Issuing tickets to stopped drivers only required a simple software change, but it boosted the city's profit fourfold.

Newark, California is one of the cities where ninety percent of the $480 tickets issued by Redflex Traffic Systems of Australia go to the owners of vehicles photographed turning right on red. Through December 2011, the change has contributed significantly to the grand total of 41,575 tickets Redflex has been issued, worth $19,956,000.

One of those ticket recipients, who asked not to be identified, drove his Toyota Prius on August 27 at the intersection of Newark Boulevard and Jarvis Avenue. He pulled up to the intersection at a speed of 16 MPH with his turn signal activated. He came to a full stop and waited for several seconds for traffic to clear before proceeding. His front tire crossed the first line of the crosswalk, which Newark and Redflex contend is a serious violation of the law. At 9:42pm, there were no pedestrians visible anywhere near the intersection. Though the Prius driver was outraged at receiving the ticket, he decided to plead guilty before a judge known for reducing turning tickets to $110 rather than risk losing the full $480.

View the Prius driver's violation video on YouTube:
Source

Washington: Statewide Initiative Could Outlaw Traffic Cameras

TheNewspaper Editor — 2012-01-11T01:40-08:00

Red light cameras and speed cameras could disappear from Washington state if initiative guru Tim Eyman decides to bring the issue to voters. Eyman is known for his ability to place anti-tax measures on the statewide ballot that, more often than not, win public support. This year, one option on Eyman's plate is the statewide expansion of his successful city-by-city anti-camera votes.

"We're batting a thousand," Eyman told TheNewspaper in an interview.

In 2010, 71 percent of voters in Eyman's hometown of Mukilteo voted in favor of a ballot measure effectively banning the devices. Last year, the cities of Bellingham, Longview and Monroe followed suit by margins of between 59 and 68 percent. The statewide proposal, entitled "Let the voters decide on red light cameras," allows the use of automated ticketing machines only where residents favor their use. Jurisdictions would have to deactivate existing programs until city officials secure a majority vote.

"For-profit camera surveillance is simply taxation-through-citation," the proposed initiative states. "The people intend to limit the costs of for-profit camera surveillance by requiring the removal of automatic ticketing cameras that have not been approved by voters at an election... Any government and any for-profit company contracted by any government may not install or use automatic ticketing cameras to impose fines from camera surveillance unless such a system is approved by a majority vote of the governing body of the governmental entity and a majority vote of the people at an election."

The idea is to encourage state lawmakers to look at the election results and revise or eliminate the statutes authorizing traffic camera use.

"It illustrates to Olympia: hey, unless you guys tackle this problem, we're just going to take it directly to the voters," Eyman said. "We hope that gives us extra leverage when prodding Olympia to do the right thing."

Most of the cities used the courts in an attempt to deny local voters any right to overturn the decision of their city council through referendum. Eyman suggested the best way to address this problem was to push for an outright ban since it includes the principle of voter approval.

"When you're doing a statewide initiative, you don't have to pull your punches," Eyman explained. "If you're going to redraft the statute, why not get rid of it? We're going to say, unless these things are voter approved, take them all down."

Other possible initiatives include limiting vehicle registration taxes, reaffirming a two-thirds requirement for raising taxes, protecting the public's right to put initiatives on local ballots and a measure supporting government performance audits. Eyman will watch the legislature and speak with supporters around the next several weeks to decide which proposal to bring to voters. Source