--- From: me at richard.org Subject: Speed camera accuracy challenged Date: Wed, 07 Jan 2004 21:20:12 -0500 (EST) Camera advocates love to say that the camera never lies. The latest news proves otherwise. (Full text of articles appear after the summary). 1. UK: A motorist uses science to prove a speed camera issued him a bogus ticket for going 51MPH when he was driving only 13MPH. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/01/07/ncam07.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/01/07/ixhome.html 2. Australia: A newspaper investigation finds 74% of speed cameras reported at least one fault over a six-month period. One camera "recorded data in German on May 5 putting all motorists at 80km/h" http://townsvillebulletin.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,7034,8325164%255E421,00.html 3. Australia: Speed camera goes crazy and flashes everyone. http://www.geelonginfo.com.au/readarticle.asp?articleid=9994 4. UK: Camera tickets are proving a multimillion dollar annoyance to ambulance chiefs forced to waste time and money fighting, in one chief's case, 150 tickets a week. http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2004001893,00.html 5. Even Bahrain is revolting against the cameras: http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/arc_Articles.asp?Article=70540&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=26288 Full text of articles: $$$ #1 $$$ Driver proves speed camera was wrong London Telegraph By Richard Savill (Filed: 07/01/2004) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/01/07/ncam07.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/01/07/ixhome.html A motorist who received a fixed penalty notice saying a camera had caught his van travelling at 51 mph in a 30 mph zone has had the penalty overturned after the film showed he had been driving at only 13.42 mph. Kris Haskins, deputy mayor of Portland, Dorset, was told to pay a £60 fine within 28 days or face prosecution but demanded to see the film from the camera. ... $$$ #2 $$$ Speed camera fiasco By Matt Sun and Kelvin Bissett Townsville Bulletin, Australia - Jan 5, 2004 http://townsvillebulletin.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,7034,8325164%255E421,00.html THE state's network of fixed speed cameras is plagued by more than 90 faults and glitches a month that frequently put them out of action, documents show. An investigation by The Daily Telegraph using official maintenance logs shows that 82 of the 111 cameras broke down or reported a fault at least once over a six-month period. The information, obtained from the Roads and Traffic Authority under Freedom of Information, means hundreds of motorists are being let off speeding fines every week. In one case, a speed camera outside St Patrick's Primary School at Kogarah "lost" 535 infringement photos on September 25 after 20 days of operation. ... $$$ #3 $$$ Not smiling for this camera Geelong Advertiser, Australia 1/7/04 http://www.geelonginfo.com.au/readarticle.asp?articleid=9994 SMILE YOU'RE ON CAMERA: The red light camera at the Princes Highway/Sparks Road intersection was yesterday snapping pictures of dozens of drivers, even when the lights were green. Photo: Photo: ALISON WYND Thursday, January 8 NICOLE MAYNE DOZENS of law-abiding motorists were flashed by a faulty red light camera at a busy Norlane intersection yesterday. VicRoads and the Department of Justice were yesterday afternoon investigating the fault at the corner of Sparks Road and the Princes Highway. A VicRoads spokeswoman said it appeared to be a minor problem with flash, although the exact cause was yet to be determined. Motorist Lee Howell said the camera was flashing every Melbourne-bound car when he passed through the traffic lights at 6am. He said this was despite the fact the light was green at the time. ... $$$ #4 $$$ 999 crews' spy cam fury The Sun, UK - Jan 5, 2004 By DAVID WOODING Whitehall Editor http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2004001893,00.html FURIOUS ambulance chiefs are being deluged with speed camera fines — costing taxpayers an estimated £3MILLION a year. Emergency crews are being sent up to six tickets per journey as they dash to answer 999 calls. One cash-strapped service gets 150 penalty notices a WEEK, forcing staff to spend hours on the phone protesting and filling in appeal forms. And taxpayers foot the admin bill at both ends — paying for police to send out tickets and ambulance staff to fight them. Last night an official in Staffordshire said it wasted £10,000 a year battling up to 7,000 fines. ... $$$ #5 $$$ Speed camera blaze warning Gulf Daily News, Bahrain 2 January 2004 By VINITHA VISWANATH http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/arc_Articles.asp?Article=70540&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=26288 Dangerous drivers and those who destroy speed cameras were given a tough new warning yesterday.General Directorate of Traffic traffic awareness and public relations supervisor Captain Mohammed bin Dayna spoke after a camera was set ablaze early yesterday morning. The incident happened at 2am near Jasmis Restaurant, Arad Highway. "While the traffic department is taking all measures to ensure the safety of the people and to avert major accidents, some people are all set to create confusion. If caught, they are bound to face severe prosecution. Anyway they will not escape every time," Capt Bin Dayna told the GDN. The camera was set on fire with petrol. But timely intervention by Muharraq firemen averted serious damage. ... _______________________________________________ Politech mailing list Archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Moderated by Declan McCullagh (http://www.mccullagh.org/)
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Mon Jan 12 2004 - 07:56:41 PST