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 22, 2012
ACLU Seeks GPS Spying Documents From FBI
The American Civil Liberties Union is getting increasingly involved in issues related to motorist privacy. The left-leaning civil rights group on Thursday launched a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York in the hopes of forcing the Federal Bureau of Investigation to hand over policy memos that detail how the crime-fighting agency is implementing the US Supreme Court’s recent Jones decision curtailing the use of GPS devices to spy on motorists without a warrant.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Massachusetts: Police Cannot Search Nervous Motorists
For many drivers, being pulled over can be traumatic. A nervous reaction to the sound of a siren, flashing lights in the rear view mirror and a trooper at the window asking for license and registration does not, however, justify a search of that motorist’s automobile, according to the Massachusetts Court of Appeals.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Maryland, France, Israel, UK Speed Cameras Destroyed, Protested
More speed cameras have come under attack in Baltimore, Maryland. WBAL radio reports the automated ticketing machine at Cromwell Bridge Road had its lens spraypainted red, with the phrase “go to hell” and “thief” scrawled on the device.
Friday, August 17, 2012
Public Officials Upset Over Tolling
The governors of two states, the US transportation secretary and the mayor of Washington, DC on Tuesday blasted the governing body of the Dulles Toll Road in Virginia. Meanwhile, a group of six mayors in Orange County, California have banded together to lobby against a proposal to impose tolls on the Interstate 405 freeway.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
California: Redflex Wrote Changes to Red Light Camera Legislation
The California Assembly’s Appropriations Committee on Monday amended Senate Bill 1303, dropping pro-motorist provisions on behalf of red light camera companies and local municipalities. State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) initially proposed the legislation at the suggestion of a constituent to make the existing photo enforcement statute more motorist friendly. Internal documents show Redflex Traffic Systems, an Australian red light camera vendor, not a constituent, is behind the legislation’s latest iteration.
