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, August 19, 2015
Missouri Supreme Court Delivers Three Strikes Against Photo Tickets
The highest court in Missouri on Monday struck down red-light camera and speed camera programs. In three separate cases, the high court judges found that the cameras unconstitutionally shifted the burden of proof by forcing ticket recipients to prove their own innocence. The judges also found that the creation of “civil” citations and administrative hearings for moving traffic violations violated state law.
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
Mississippi Supreme Court Busts Lying, Ticket Quota Cop
A Mississippi Highway Patrol officer who issued bogus traffic citations to meet his ticket quota was fired on Friday by the state supreme court. All nine justices agreed that the department was right to terminate Sammy William Ray and that the state Court of Appeals was wrong to intervene to give him his job back, with full back pay.
Monday, August 17, 2015
Saudi Arabia, France: Speed Cameras Crash, Disappear
In Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, a speed camera car, known locally as “Saher” flipped over after colliding with another vehicle yesterday. According to Al Riyadh, the incident happened on the road headed toward the University of Tabuk.
Friday, August 14, 2015
Iowa Towns Ignore South Dakota Camera Law
Cities in Iowa are stretching the rules of evidence to issue tickets to residents of South Dakota. Last year, lawmakers in South Dakota prohibited the state Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) from releasing driver’s license information to any city looking to issue an automated ticket. Cutting off access to this information has not stopped a few Iowa cities from issuing red-light camera and speed camera tickets to South Dakotans.
Thursday, August 13, 2015
Traffic Signal Pioneer Warns Of Overly Short Yellow Lights
Transportation officials gathered in Hollywood, Florida last week for an Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) conference. They were surprised to learn that one of their leading members says they are doing signal timing wrong. Alexei Maradudin, an original author of the ITE yellow signal timing formula first developed in 1959, wrote a letter urging the organization to reform the most recent revision of its signal timing procedures.
