Speed / Red Light camera combos in 2010 California budget

[atomathics]

[quote="McFred"]
Here people have taken the cameras out with the paint markers, in some cases real guns, but nothing as dramatic as the UK where a favorite weapon is a used tire filled with a little gas to roast the innerds.
[/quote]

McFred -

That's one of the most beautiful pictures I've seen in a long time!!  Love it!  Ah, how it warms the heart...

And as for Arizona, they seem to be one of the most aggressive states in terms of photo enforcement.  Sounds like the citizens are ticked and are trying to get a ballot measure in place to outlaw the cameras statewide.  I wish them great success...

http://camerafraud.wordpress.com/

[DarthChicken]

Its always been interesting to me, that a government that is supposedly "for the people" pulls crap like this. 

[Mr.Woolery]

If they actually crop up, I think they'll become prime targets for teenage vandals...and I'll condone it.

[WorkingOnIt]

Well, it looks like a new technology battle, à la the radar/laser gun vs detector and jammer.
I don't really see a defense against determined libertarians with blacked out license plates and paint guns.  You can buy biodegradable paintball casings and fill them with whatever is most effective.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... ozers.html

[WorkingOnIt]

.

[DarthChicken]

I was gonna say.. you telling me my gun ain't gonna reach 13 ft?  Vandal proof.. that's just asking for trouble.

[atomizer]

nothing a can of black spray paint cant fix...(i.e speed camera)
or how about a paintball marker!

[WorkingOnIt]

Some good news
Communities put a halt to red-light cameras
"Red-light cameras have never survived a voter referendum," says Greg Mauz, a longtime camera opponent...
An Illinois lawmaker who helped bring red-light cameras to the state in 2006 says he'll introduce bills this year to sharply limit their use. "They were sold to us in a different manner than what they're being used for," says state Rep. Jack Franks

[McFred]

Bullsh¡t.  There is no "limit" once it's proven to generate revenue.  It's just a signature away from having them at every major intersection once established.

[benyeats]

[quote="The Masked Spaz"]
If they actually crop up, I think they'll become prime targets for teenage vandals...and I'll condone it.
[/quote]

Who pays to replace the damaged cameras ?

[McFred]

The first year in my city a half dozen speed/red light cameras "generated" over $6 million.  I think that they can afford to replace many subsequent damaged cameras.  After initial installation I think that the city has a maintenance contract on the actual camera units which are merely rented from the manufacturer (IIRC something like $4000  month).  It's the company's contract to provide the hardware.  I don't know if our system is different than other systems.

I'm all for vandalism if it leads to a net loss in profits for the program.  If it takes more money to operate than it collects it's more likely to become a canceled program.

[WorkingOnIt]

[quote="McFred"]
Bullsh¡t.  There is no "limit" once it's proven to generate revenue.  It's just a signature away from having them at every major intersection once established.
[/quote]

The Georgia legislature imposed minimum yellow light regulations.
When the law took effect Dec. 31, 2008, citations quickly plummeted. In February 2009, 125 citations were issued from Dalton's cameras [down from 624 the previous Feb.]  "That sort of exposed the myth of why they're there," says Mayor David Pennington, an opponent of red-light cameras.

And from the previous article:
• Voters in three cities — Chillicothe and Heath, Ohio, and College Station, Texas— passed referendums in November banning the cameras. "Red-light cameras have never survived a voter referendum," says Greg Mauz, a longtime camera opponent who has researched them extensively.
• Nearly 1,000 motorists in south Florida have filed 18 lawsuits against the cameras, saying the devices are unconstitutional....

[atomathics]

Governor Schwarzenegger's January 2010 budget had proposed adding speed-camera capabilities to existing red-light photo enforcement systems already in place throughout the state.

During the budget review process, this was removed, but has reappeared in the governor's revised May 2010 budget which is going through committee now with voting to happen sometime during the summer.

If you have a concern with speed cameras arriving in California (they are currently not permitted), now would be the time to contact your assemblymember and senator.  Best is to contact their Sacramento offices with a quick phone call, which is more effective than an email.

Also, a call to the chairs of the budget committees would be very worthwhile:

Assemblymember Bob Blumenfield, Chair, Assembly Budget Committee, (916) 319-2040
Senator Denise Ducheny, Chair, Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee, (916) 651-4040

Camerafraud.com has put some pressure on Arizona's speed camera program and the governor there has decided not to renew their Redflex contract in July.  That organization is promoting a ballot initiative and collecting signatures to make a permanent ban on photo radar in the state.

The State of Washington has its own group, too, bancams.com.

Interesting stuff.

[WorkingOnIt]

Los Angeles City Council Makes Exemption to Arizona Boycott for Traffic Camera Contract

" Los Angeles council members voted Wednesday to make an exemption to its self-imposed boycott of Arizona, opting to extend a contract with an Arizona-based company that operates enforcement cameras at Los Angeles intersections -- a program that earned the city $6 million last year.
....
Citing major safety concerns, council members argued that the red light camera program at 32 Los Angeles intersections should be exempt from the boycott.  "The boycott never intended to impede public safety," Los Angeles city councilman Richard Alarcon told the panel. "

Oh.....my.....gawd

There is at least one council member with a bit of integrity:
"Councilman Bill Rosendahl questioned the LAPD's [pro-camera safety] findings..."

[WorkingOnIt]

L.A.'s civilian police commission has voted to eliminate red light cameras.
The city council could still overrule them, but "I don't think anyone on the council wants to get up and be the proponent of bringing it back to life," [Councilman Smith] said. "No one's been a big fan over here."
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me ... 3615.story
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opi ... 8903.story

apparently, they haven't been the money-maker that the hacks hoped for:

"The camera program has often been touted by supporters as a service that paid for itself, although that claim came under scrutiny last year in an audit by Controller Wendy Greuel, who found it to be inaccurate."

"the city's portion of the ticket revenue the cameras generate doesn't make up for what it pays out to the private camera contractor, to the police who oversee the program and to the courts. In addition, many drivers don't pay their fines, and the city has little power to make them."