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 03, 2013
Iowa City Traffic Camera Ban Petition Filed
Residents of Iowa City, Iowa are one step closer to a vote on banning red-light cameras, speed cameras, and other surveillance technologies. On Tuesday, the group Ban Cams and Drones in Iowa City turned in a box containing 3322 signatures to city officials. Organizers believe it will be enough to qualify for the November ballot.
Tuesday, April 02, 2013
New York: Judge Rules Against Use Of X-Rays During Traffic Stops
A motorist cannot have his car taken to a border station to be x-rayed based on a window tint violation, a federal judge ruled on Friday. US District Judge Richard J. Arcara allowed a lawsuit to proceed against the Niagara County, New York Sheriff’s Department in the wake of an April 28, 2009 traffic stop where motorists who had done nothing wrong were detained by police for more than three hours.
Monday, April 01, 2013
Arizona: Longer Yellow Reduced Accidents
Increasing the duration of the yellow signal at eight intersections in Chandler, Arizona reduced accidents, according to six years’ worth of data collected by the city. In June 2007, the city increased the yellow at the intersection of Alma School Road and Ray by just 0.5 seconds. Officials were pleased to see a big drop in collisions, so timing was extended from 4.0 to 4.5 seconds at seven additional locations in November 2008.
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Maryland, France, Italy: Speed Cameras Painted, Burned
Vigilantes in Frontignan, France disabled a speed camera early in the week. The automated ticketing machine on the RD612 toward Montpellier was covered in thick, red coat of paint, Midi Libre reported.
Friday, March 29, 2013
Florida: Politician Takes Camera Cash, Guts Camera Reform Bill
An attempt to rein in the use of red-light cameras in the Florida state Senate has fallen flat. A senator who has taken money from red-light camera vendors converted a bill that would have cracked down on abusive practices by municipalities into legislation that will enable them to issue even more photo citations. A dispute erupted on Facebook over the weekend as to whether state Representative Jeff Clemens (D-Lake Worth) gutted the legislation because he took $1000 in campaign cash from American Traffic Solutions.
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Louisiana: Jefferson Parish To Refund Red-Light Camera Tickets
Officials in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana are moving forward on plans to refund $4.7 million in red-light camera tickets. Council Chairman Chris L. Roberts put forward the motion on March 13 to put an end to “a long chapter of questionable dealings” with Redflex, the Australian company that issued the tickets. On Wednesday, Sheriff Newell Normand said he would follow the council’s lead on the issue.
