Mobile speed cameras have long infuriated motorists, popping up sneakily and catching out drivers going a few miles too fast.
But one man was so fed up of living in fear of a whopping fine that he decided to take matters into his own hands.
Kristian Portugal, from Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, rolled his sports car right up behind a police van and opened his boot to block the radar inside so it couldn't scan the speed of passing cars.
Re: Speed camera solution.
Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2016 11:12 pm
by Long Run
Our vans have to have an officer inside to monitor and record/confirm all speeding pictures/tickets. Was the officer of this one taking a nap or out risking his life using a public restroom where he might cross paths with a transgender?
Re: Speed camera solution.
Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2016 4:21 am
by Burning Petard
Not too sure what is going on here. "Speed cameras' in the US are devices set up along the roadway that automatically record speed violations with time stamped pictures and locations. There is no police vehicle or even a police officer directly involved. The electronic data is sent to a central office, a notice is sent out with a copy of the picture, the fine listed and where to send payment. No human actually connected to the process. There are also instructions about how to go to a court and protest the whole thing. Usually it is too big a nuisance to appeal it. You send in the money. And because it is all automated, it is not 'a traffic violation conviction' and thus is not reported to any insurance agency.
The picture above seems to be more what we in the USofA call a 'speed trap."
snailgate
Re: Speed camera solution.
Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2016 4:43 am
by Scooter
This is a mobile speed camera unit - they can set up in different locations so drivers never really know where they are. When we had them on Ontario highways, that is how they did it, with several mobile units that could be anywhere along the targeted highways.
Re: Speed camera solution.
Posted: Mon May 02, 2016 2:36 pm
by oldr_n_wsr
Just another way to seperate people from their money.
We have a bunch of red light camera's here on Long Island. Mostly they get people making a right on red failing to stop for the "required" three seconds before turning right on red.
They say it's for safety, but in the end it's another money grab.
Re: Speed camera solution.
Posted: Mon May 02, 2016 2:45 pm
by Scooter
If such things are a money grab, I am happy to call them a stupid tax - break a law that you should be following and you will get dinged. Am I supposed to have sympathy?
Re: Speed camera solution.
Posted: Mon May 02, 2016 2:56 pm
by MajGenl.Meade
The driver of that car parked behind the law enforcement vehicle should be (and probably was) charged with obstruction or whatever they call it. He's an asshole.
Scooter's right - obey the freaking law or pay for it.
Re: Speed camera solution.
Posted: Mon May 02, 2016 4:32 pm
by Bicycle Bill
To my knowledge, we don't have speed cameras — either permanently mounted or mobile — in my area, but we do have these —
— which uses radar to display your speed alongside a sign with the posted speed. Frankly, I don't think it would be all that difficult to convert these to a speed camera (or to camouflage a legitimate speed camera as one of these) if they ever wanted to do it; the only question I would have would be as to whether or not the calibration is accurate enough to be used for law enforcement purposes.
I'm also waiting for the day when one of our local weisenheimers finds one of these and does something like this with it —
-"BB"-
Re: Speed camera solution.
Posted: Mon May 02, 2016 5:22 pm
by oldr_n_wsr
Nassau county NY tried putting speed cameras in school zones but the implementation was so screwed up and the up roar so loud they did away with them. Now they have a multi-million dollar hole in the budget that they are trying to fill.
But it was all about safety.
Re: Speed camera solution.
Posted: Tue May 03, 2016 1:01 am
by Jarlaxle
Scooter wrote:If such things are a money grab, I am happy to call them a stupid tax - break a law that you should be following and you will get dinged. Am I supposed to have sympathy?
They are openly crooked. One camera in DC gave out THOUSANDS of bogus tickets (it basically tagged EVERYONE for a day or two)...they were "forgiven", but if you had already paid, tough shit. Other places were caught shortening yellow lights.
The solution to speed or red light cameras is and remains a good match rifle, some match ammunition, and a stable shooting position.
Re: Speed camera solution.
Posted: Tue May 03, 2016 1:41 am
by Scooter
If you know that you didn't run a red, and you paid it anyway, that's another form of stupid tax, and again, no sympathy.
Speed Camera Solution
Posted: Tue May 03, 2016 2:27 am
by RayThom
Here's the real income generator. Who needs all that electronic shit?
Re: Speed camera solution.
Posted: Tue May 03, 2016 3:46 am
by Bicycle Bill
Interesting to see how the cop stacked up a couple of other charges, such as the 'no front plate displayed' and 'tinted windows'. I wonder if he did a check of the tires and other things to see what else might have been sub-standard before settling on these.
I'm also kind of curious to know how this played out in court. -"BB"-
Re: Speed camera solution.
Posted: Tue May 03, 2016 12:09 pm
by MajGenl.Meade
They missed the ticket for execrable taste in "music"
Re: Speed camera solution.
Posted: Tue May 03, 2016 3:44 pm
by BoSoxGal
Check the laws of your jurisdiction but in many red light tickets and speed trap camera tickets aren't enforceable in law so often technically do not need to be forfeited because the state will not pursue unpaid tickets.
Re: Speed camera solution.
Posted: Tue May 03, 2016 3:57 pm
by oldr_n_wsr
BoSoxGal wrote:Check the laws of your jurisdiction but in many red light tickets and speed trap camera tickets aren't enforceable in law so often technically do not need to be forfeited because the state will not pursue unpaid tickets.
I remember the tickets being challenged early on "facing ones accuser" grounds. They didn''t win.
Don't know what states one can get away with not paying without any kind of penalty. Certainly not in NY.
Yes I have gotten a red light camera ticket. I didn't remember the circumstance, but they sent me the pictures which showed me going through the light. My only problem with it was they sent the ticket about 3 months after the fact. I paid. At least there were no points on my license.
Re: Speed camera solution.
Posted: Tue May 03, 2016 3:59 pm
by BoSoxGal
In New Mexico they don't stand up in court so payment is totally voluntary. I learned that the hard way after getting two tickets for turning left on red (I was visiting and unfamiliar with the light) and paid both before realizing I could have tossed them in the garbage.
Re: Speed camera solution.
Posted: Tue May 03, 2016 5:44 pm
by oldr_n_wsr
In New Mexico they don't stand up in court so payment is totally voluntary.
Red Light Cameras
New Mexico has no law authorizing the use of red light cameras – devices that photograph drivers running red lights and automatically issue tickets. However, several municipalities have utilized them and state law requires counties and municipalities using camera enforcement to post a warning sign and a warning beacon.
So it's not the state that issues them, it's the municipality. Don't see how even that doesn't stand up in court.
Sure you can blow off the city, but still, if you are stopped by that cities police force, there could be a warrant out.
And I found this but the website was blocked by work filter.
Residents of Las Cruces, New Mexico with outstanding red-light-camera traffic tickets are in danger of having their utilities shut off.
Re: Speed camera solution.
Posted: Tue May 03, 2016 5:51 pm
by MajGenl.Meade
New Mexico no state law specifically authorizing automated enforcement; NMDOT has banned red light cameras and mobile enforcement vans on state and federal roadways; state law requires counties and municipalities using camera enforcement to post a warning sign and a warning beacon
Scooter wrote:If you know that you didn't run a red, and you paid it anyway, that's another form of stupid tax, and again, no sympathy.
So...take a day out of work, pay to park (can easily be more than the ticket), pay the nonrefundable "court fees", and hope the judge doesn't just say, "Shut up and pay it or I'll triple the fine. Next!" Yeah, that makes sense. Even beating the ticket will usually cost MORE than just paying it!
