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, September 23, 2015
France: Drivers Win Right To Post Speed Trap Warnings On Facebook
Fourteen French motorists who had been convicted of the crime of posting speed trap locations on Facebook were relieved Monday to learn of their acquittal on Monday. The Montpellier Appeals Court overturned the December 3, 2014 lower court decision that had found the leaders of a Facebook group guilty of violating a law banning radar detectors by regularly reporting on the locations of police ticketing traps.
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Texas Appeals Court Upholds Public Right To Ban Red-Light Cameras
Red-light camera companies will now find it much more difficult to block public votes over automated enforcement in Texas. The state Court of Appeals on Thursday struck down the last-ditch effort of American Traffic Solutions (ATS) to save Arlington’s traffic camera program after sixty percent of voters opted at the ballot box to send the Arizona-based company packing. ATS initially filed a lawsuit to block the referendum from ever happening using the name of resident Jody Weiderman as plaintiff.
Monday, September 21, 2015
France, Germany, Italy: Speed Cameras Disconnected, Disabled
In Ravenna, Italy, vigilantes disabled a speed camera near San Vitale on Wednesday by cutting the power. The pair of cables feeding the automated ticketing machine were neatly severed. Provincial authorities tried to keep the incident secret for fear that others would copy the simple attack method, Il Resto del Carlino reported. In Benevento, vigilantes knocked out the glass windows of a roadside box used by police officers to set up speed camera traps on the highway to San Giorgio del Sannio, according to Otto Pagine. In Rome, the police officers manning a mobile photo radar trap in Casilina feel asleep. Blasting News reports that passing vigilantes seized the opportunity to grab the automated equipment, sparing passing motorists from being ticketed.
Friday, September 18, 2015
Iowa: Federal Judge Upholds 1 MPH Traffic Stop
A federal judge on Wednesday told Mark Eugene Fuehrer that he would stand trial after being pulled over for driving an alleged one mile per hour over the speed limit. The stop itself was planned in advance. The Dubuque County, Iowa Sheriff’s Office suspected Fuehrer was involved in dealing drugs, so deputies had been tailing his GMC Jimmie. On January 11, 2015, Deputy Sheriff Adam Williams set up a radar trap on Highway 151, after being told that Fuehrer would soon pass.
Thursday, September 17, 2015
Federal Judge Exonerates Potty Mouth Speeding Ticket Recipient
A federal judge last week chastised Liberty, New York for arresting a man who wrote a profane comment while paying a speeding citation. On May 4, 2012, William Barboza, who was 22 at the time, was nabbed in a speed trap. Since he lives in Connecticut, he decided to pay rather than challenge the ticket.
