Each Wednesday, we’ll publish quick summaries of the articles from the last week on TheNewspaper.com. We’re doing this because these articles are often strongly connected to the issues that National Motorists Association members are interested in.
Wednesday, April 02, 2014
Indiana: Officer Testimony Overrules Video Evidence
Videotape evidence can be overruled by the testimony and after-the-fact interpretation of a police officer, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled last week. In a 6 to 1 decision, justices overruled the state Court of Appeals which reviewed dashcam footage of Joanna S. Robinson driving her Chrysler PT Cruiser at around 1am on October 15, 2011 in Elkhart County and found no evidence of a crime.
Tuesday, April 01, 2014
Photo Enforcement Company Sales Continue To Dwindle
The shrinking US market for automated ticketing machines continues to hit photo enforcement companies in their bottom line. South Dakota last week became the sixteenth state to ban the use of cameras, and Santa Ana became the sixtieth city in California to cancel its red-light camera program. The cumulative financial effect is visible in the financial statements of Brekford and Redflex Traffic Systems of Australia, the two publicly traded companies that focus on speed cameras and red-light cameras.
Monday, March 31, 2014
South Dakota Enacts Most Sweeping Photo Ticket Ban In US
Sixteen states ban the use of red-light cameras and speed cameras by statute or state court rulings, but none of these prohibitions are anywhere near as sweeping as a pair of bills signed into law last week by South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard (R). Not only are South Dakotans protected from red-light camera tickets within state borders, as of July 1 they will be immune to automated citations issued in most other states.
Sunday, March 30, 2014
France, Saudi Arabia Speed Cameras Disabled
In Amagney, France, vigilantes used gray spraypaint to disable the speed camera on the RD683 on Saturday, Ma Commune reported. In Strazeele, vigilantes spraypainted a pair of cameras on opposite sides of the A25 on March 18. According to La Voix du Nord, in one direction the camera was painted blue and in the other it was painted red.
Friday, March 28, 2014
Illinois Supreme Court: Cop Cannot Pull Over A Man Looking For A Woman
A police officer who pulls over a car he believes is driven by a wanted woman must end the traffic stop once he realizes the driver is actually a man. The Illinois Supreme Court came to this conclusion last week in deciding 5 to 2 that Derrick A. Cummings had his constitutional rights violated when he was stopped and arrested on January 27, 2011.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Australia: Territory Auditor Blasts ACT Speed Cameras
The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) has issued 721,802 speed camera tickets worth $106 million for the state government since 1999, yet a performance audit released Thursday questioned whether the ticketing operation involving 39 mobile and fixed photo enforcement cameras has any relation to improved safety.
