Posted on 05/02/2010 11:28:13 PM PDT by george76
People who ran a light recently at a South Seattle intersection known for red-light cameras have caught a break.
The camera ...was stolen earlier this month and police are still searching for it.
A police spokesman said they've identified a car they believe was involved in the theft, but the investigation is ongoing.
The camera is owned by American Traffic Solutions, the vendor that contracts with the city. Under normal circumstances, the city pays $3,750 per month for the camera service.
Between July 26, 2006 -- the first day a red-light camera ticket was issued in Seattle -- and May 27, 2009, the city issued about 57,000 tickets...
Last year Seattle and 23 other local governments drew a class-action lawsuit from area residents who contend the city-assessed fees go beyond what the Legislature intended when it approved the cameras in 2005.
Last week, protesters were out in Seattle opposing the red-light cameras.
(Excerpt) Read more at komonews.com ...
Whoever did this deserves to be honored with the key to the city, but they might already have one.
Not too long ago some kids from a Tennessee town were going around stealing license plates off of cars that were similar in size and color to their. Bolting the stolen plates onto their cars and riding around town, running every red-light they could find.
It caused a huge mess!
One guy ended up getting over 150 red light tickets in the mail. Another woman received about 30...
Also stolen were probably hundreds of thousands in red light violation fines, stolen from people who were surprised by a much quicker yellow light than usual.
If this city is like all the others, it shortened the time of the yellow lights, thus increasing revenues.
And increasing accidents.
The Orwellian bastards running Seattle won't stand still for this!
Each day without that damn camera means another day without extortion!
Huzzah for the citizens, and HISS to the tyrants!!!
I’ve often thought that vaseline would make for a good protective coating on the lens shields of red-light cameras.
What the hell are you talking about?
The way to get rid of these cameras is push for a public referendum on legislation that limits the amount the city takes in to the $3800 a month per camera. The rest is refunded to the tax payer as a whole.
This way we can keep safer streets because of the fines, but the government won’t see them as a revenue generator...or...if they do, they will be forced to admit it to the public.
Excellent idea.
You are speaking of a way to keep the peace. A peace officer was in your area. That is gone. You fill in the blanks, I’m your neighbor.
That’s one of the ones I used to go through every week after band practice before I quit that band a few months ago. I could get it to flash me every time by driving at the speed limit and then slamming on my brakes, but not making my tires bark, to stop just short of the stop line. It would anticipate that I would run the light and flash me.
I did some research on the Seattle cameras and found out that there are two red light cameras, both in West Seattle, that will send speeding tickets as well, but this one didn’t. The reason I was doing the research was that I went through it one time when it was green and it flashed me and I wondered if I had been speeding (I honestly don’t know). In the process I learned that the lions share of tickets written at such intersections are for making a California stop before making a free right turn. That is a “low danger” move and proves those cameras are for generating revenue.
I noticed that all of these cameras are on flimsy hollow aluminum poles maybe 6” in diameter. If a person wanted to take them out they could probably just use a good strike with an axe or maul and pull them down with a rope. I personally would not do it for a variety of reasons, not least of which is that as a Christian I do not believe the time for such action is justified - yet.
My solution to the problem was to buy property in a part of the country where I can roll back the clock a few decades, at least regarding this sort of stuff, which I did last year. i.e. a small farm in rural central Kentucky. Heck, I don’t even have to worry about breaking the law if I don’t wear a bike or motorcycle helmet. ;)
I do want to lift a pint to the “perps” when I read this though. Of all the cameras in the country, one that I used to “toy with” got yanked out by someone. That is seriously sweet.
I have an android phone. If you want to find where all the cameras are it’s easy enough with the internet, but when you install trapster on your phone, it tells you were pretty much every camera in the country is. I use it when travelling. I already know where they are in the Seattle area. :)
Tell me this Rob. If all of the city heads were wiped out how many left could understand the difficuly of its demeanor or value?
My bad. This one was the south facing camera. The one I had fun with was the west facing one.
I’m afraid I don’t understand the question.
I’ll bet it could be more fun if the plate doesn’t match the car. I used to have a plymoth reliant. One day I parked it in a pay lot and forgot to pay (seriously, I forgot. It’s a long story). Anyway, they sent me a bill with the correct license plate but describing a chevy of the same color. I said they had the wrong car because mine is a plymouth. Case closed...
“American Traffic Solutions”
The company, I believe, get a cut out of every ticket!
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