No WhiteWash!

One thing that does bother me with photo enforcement is if someone borrowed my car tag and put it on another car which was just like mine.  Or take a picture of my car tag,  print a good quality digital reproduction and put it on a similar vehicle.  I can’t claim my car was reported stolen since they just borrowed my tag and returned it and I was not aware of it .  I can’t claim someone else was driving and it looks like I have no recourse.  I can just see the discussion now.  Is this your tag number?  Yes!  Do you drive a green 1951 Ford?  Yes!  Did anyone else drive your car on that day?  No, it was parked in my driveway all night!   Was your car stolen and did you file a police report?   No, when I went to sleep, it was in my driveway and it was there the next morning when I went to work!   In this case it you decide to take it to court and lose, then you get the points and higher insurance rates.

As the Kingsport BMA debates the future of red-light revenue cameras, I wonder how they would feel if the above happen to them.

See over 90 posts from this blog concerning Red-Light Cameras

Voters in College Station, Texas as well as Chillicothe and Heath, Ohio vote to ban automated ticketing machines.

Voters in three cities sent a clear message to local lawmakers yesterday by adopting charter amendments that ban photo enforcement. In addition to kicking two camera supporters from the city council, 72 percent of those voting in Chillicothe, Ohio approved a total prohibition on the use of red light cameras and speed cameras. In College Station, Texas the vote was much closer, but at the end of the night 52 percent wanted the red light cameras to come down. In Heath, Ohio 51 percent voted against the cameras. A total of nine cities nationwide have used the initiative process to ban camera enforcement since 1991, with camera proponents never having won a public vote.

Read more via Photo Enforcement Defeated at the Ballot Box in Texas, Ohio.

This is a sure way to not get re-elected and a recall of the mayor and the city council In Chillicothe Ohio.

Mayor of Chillicothe, Ohio demands that state supreme court intervene to prevent voters from deciding the fate of speed cameras.

An Ohio city is so desperate to prevent voters from having a say on the future of speed cameras that it filed a motion Monday asking the state supreme court to strip the public of its right to vote on the issue. In April, residents submitted more than double the number of signatures required to place a photo enforcement referendum on the November ballot (view initiative text). The move so infuriated Mayor Joseph Sulzer that he challenged the ballot with the Ross County Board of Elections earlier this month. Sulzer insists the board had no right to reject this challenge.

Read more via Ohio City Asks Supreme Court to Stop Camera Referendum.

Citizen referendum efforts put red light camera and speed camera companies on the defensive in Arizona, Ohio and Texas.

Camera referendum logosPetitions placing the fate of red light cameras and speed cameras in the hands of voters are circulating across the country. In November, photo enforcement bans are likely to be considered in three Ohio cites and two Texas cities. Every Arizona jurisdiction may have a chance to vote in November 2010.

Read more via Citizen Petitions Put Photo Enforcement Companies on the Defensive.

Members of the Tennessee General Assembly misled into voting to authorize state-run freeway work zone speed camera program.

Sen Tim BurchettThe Tennessee General Assembly on Tuesday gave final approval to legislation authorizing the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) and Tennessee Highway Patrol to ticket motorists on interstate freeway work zones using automated cameras. Although many members in the House and Senate expressed strong opposition to the concept of photo enforcement, the authorization measure passed by an overwhelmingly 80 to 10 margin in the House and 28 to 0 in the Senate. The support was due in no small part to the bill’s wording, which granted authority to deploy cameras in the guise of restricting them.

“No surveillance cameras shall be permitted on federal interstate highways except for Smart Way cameras, other intelligent transportation system cameras or, when employees of the department or construction workers are present, surveillance cameras used to enforce or monitor traffic violations within work zones designated by the department of transportation; provided, that such cameras shall be operated only by a state entity,” House Bill 1202 states.

Read more via Tennessee Authorizes Statewide Freeway Speed Camera Program.

Maine governor signs into law a total ban on red light cameras and speed cameras.

State Rep. Rich CebraMaine last week became the fourteenth state to ban the use of red light cameras and speed cameras. Governor John Baldacci (D) signed into law a bill introduced by Representative Richard Cebra (R-Naples) that prohibits the use of a "traffic surveillance camera to prove or enforce a violation" of traffic laws. Cebra’s measure sailed through the legislative process with almost no opposition at any stage of the process.

Read more via Maine Bans Photo Enforcement.

Italian police find 81,555 speed camera tickets worth $16 million were fraudulently issued.

Read more via Italy: Police Raid Speed Camera Company in Fraud Scandal.

The House approved 80-10 a bill that prohibits city and county governments from placing traffic surveillance cameras on federal highways, except where highway work is underway.

The bill (HB1202) would also require signs warning motorists of the cameras to be placed before intersections where they operate. It is scheduled for a Senate vote Tuesday.

Read more via House Approves Traffic Camera Restrictions | Humphrey on the Hill | knoxnews.com.

Montana added itself to the list of thirteen states where red light cameras or speed cameras are prohibited under state law.

Montana Governor Brian SchweitzerWhen Governor Brian Schweitzer (D) signed a bill banning red light cameras on Tuesday, Montana became thirteenth on a growing list of states that prohibit photo enforcement. The following list includes links to the full text of each statute or legal decision prohibiting the use of photo radar or red light cameras.

Some measures require explanation. In Arkansas, for example, state law authorizes police to use a photo radar gun if the officer personally delivers the ticket at the time of the violation. This does no more than allow a photograph to be used in conjunction with a traditional traffic stop and serves as an unconditional ban on automated enforcement. In Utah, the legislature has placed so many restrictions on the use of photo radar — specifically, banning outsourcing of the ticketing process to private, for-profit companies — that no city uses speed cameras. This serves as an “effective ban” on photo enforcement.

The list excludes states like Florida where photo enforcement is illegal but local jurisdictions ignore the law in the hopes that they will not be sued before the legislature retroactively approves their use of photo ticketing.

View List:

Read more via List of Thirteen States Where Automated Ticketing is Banned.

Legislation introduced in Louisiana would ban the use of speed cameras and red light cameras.

Reps. Arnold (left) and RichmondA pair of state lawmakers are looking to put an end to the use of red light cameras and speed cameras in Louisiana. State Representatives Jeff Arnold (D-Algiers) and Cedric Richmond (D-New Orleans) introduced legislation to outlaw photo ticketing following a referendum earlier this month in which 86 percent of voters in a Louisiana city ordered traffic cameras banned.

Read more via Louisiana Lawmakers Push to Ban Photo Enforcement.