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, February 3, 2016
State Lawmakers Take Up Traffic Camera Bans
State lawmakers throughout the country are having second thoughts about the use of controversial red-light cameras and speed cameras. Last week, a federal jury handed down a guilty verdict in the Chicago, Illinois red-light camera corruption scandal, and Redflex Traffic Systems announced on Monday that the Australian Federal Police had opened a corruption investigation into the Melbourne-based firm. Thanks to the industry’s troubles, critics of automated enforcement have never been more emboldened.
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
Ohio Appeals Court Green Lights Class Action Against Speed Cams
The speed trap town of New Miami could end up paying back the speed camera citations it illegally issued under a ruling Monday by the Ohio Court of Appeals. Since 2012, the village has allowed a private, for-profit company to set up automated ticketing machines on US Route 127 and issue more than 12,000 tickets, nearly six times the population of the village. Optotraffic kept 40 percent of the ticket amount and deposited the rest in the village’s account.
Monday, February 1, 2016
France, Germany, UK: Speed Cameras Knocked, Blocked
Vigilantes in Maidenhead, England last week disabled a pair of speed cameras. According to the Maidenhead Advertiser, the camera heads on Braywick Road and Gringer Hill were both bent so that the devices are now only able to photograph the ground.
Friday, January 29, 2016
Companies Fear Association With Redflex Corruption
Firms that do not wish to be associated with the taint of bribery and corruption are dumping Redflex Traffic Systems as clients. On Thursday, Redflex informed Australian investors that the accounting giant Ernst and Young had submitted its resignation. The photo enforcement company did its best to put a positive spin on the high-profile split.
Thursday, January 28, 2016
EFF: Plate Readers Turn Texas Cops Into Mobile Debt Collectors
Vigilant Solutions, one of the country’s largest brokers of vehicle surveillance technology, is offering a hell of a deal to law enforcement agencies in Texas: a whole suite of automated license plate reader (ALPR) equipment and access to the company’s massive databases and analytical tools — and it won’t cost the agency a dime.
