Free Republic

"AutoVu introduces AutoFund, the world's first Mobile License Plate Recognition system, designed to read license plates from a moving vehicle. It can read virtually any plate - up to 1,000 per hour - and store all the information...GPS for reliable vehicle location...Many law enforcement applications are possible with this system."

<p>A surprising vote by the House last night to repeal traffic camera enforcement of speeding on state roads and highways was the final blow to the much-maligned program. After learning of the vote, Gov. Ben Cayetano today terminated the program, effective immediately.</p>

AS Gabe Leonard drove home through Beverly Hills after midnight one evening, lights flashed as he went through an intersection. He knew instantly he'd been photographed by a traffic camera. Mr. Leonard tried to recall where his wheels were when the yellow light turned red. He thought he'd beaten the light. But 12 days later he received a summons – including photos of his car, incriminatingly in mid-intersection. The freelance artist fought the $271 fine in court – and, surprisingly, won. "I decided to fight on principle," says Leonard. "[A red-light camera] presents itself as some sort of infallible process."...

NMA LAUNCHES $10,000 TICKET CAMERA CHALLENGE (An open letter to all communities in Virginia and Maryland and Washington DC that employ red light ticket cameras) The National Motorists Association is wagering $10,000 to prove that our engineering approach can cut red light violations better than any ticket camera installation. We have spent more than a year exposing the unethical exploitation associated with the use of red light ticket cameras. For example, we know that counterproductive government policies and government actions have largely created the increase in red light violations. This is not speculation, vague suspicion, or an educated guess. This ...

HAGERSTOWN, MD FEBRUARY 27 - The debate on red light cameras heated up in Annapolis as a local senator took strides to knock them down. Senator Alex Mooney introduced legislation to put the breaks on installing red light cameras in Maryland. The intersection at Franklin Street and Potomac Avenue is one area where drivers frequently run red lights. They won't be caught on camera if Senator Alex Mooney's legislation passes. Senator Mooney said the cameras are intrusive big government. He said they remind him of Cuba, his mother's native country, where there's constant surveillance from government. Senator Mooney admits ...

<p>DENVER — The city temporarily suspended its photo radar program Wednesday and dismissed all pending tickets issued under the system.</p> <p>"We have decided that the appropriate thing to do is to void these tickets," city attorney Jim Thomas said. "We want to review the program to make sure that we have an appropriate program in operation."</p>

&nbsp; ----- Original Message ----- From: Independence Institute &lt;IndependenceInstitute@i2i.org&gt; To: &lt;&gt; Sent: Thursday, February 21, 2002 6:20 PM Subject: Don't Fix, Scrap Photo Radar; I.I. Newsletter Hello Friend,Monday's going to be a busy day for us. Dr. Merrill Matthews, directorof the Council for Affordable Health Insurance, is going to be in town.We're taking him, along with our own health care babe Linda Gorman, tothe Capitol for a briefing with legislators. You can meet him thatevening here at our offices where he'll unveil a prescription drug planfor Colorado's seniors. That's Monday the 25th, reception at 5:30,presentation at 6:30. Free for ...

<p>WASHINGTON -- A camera mounted on the roof of police headquarters here peers down at pedestrians approaching the steps of the Capitol half a mile away. Then it zooms in on a couple who are climbing the stairs, unaware they are being watched.</p>

Critic-at-Arms: ENFORCED BY RADAR by Keith R. Wood 02.06.02 &copy; 2002, all rights reserved A few years ago, &quot;Speed Enforced By Radar&quot; signs invoked the image of Gary Burghoff standing at the roadside, clipboard in hand. Today, however, Robo-Cop is with us. It arrived several years ago, in the form of &quot;Photo Radar,&quot; and in those automatic cameras which snap images of people who run red lights at intersections. On the face of it, there should be no problem -- the honest man will say that anyone who isn't speeding or blasting through red lights has nothing to fear, ...

---...--- If I find a credit card statement showing that Al Gore bought gas in Atlanta GA at 11:30 and again 100 miles further north in TN at 12:30 ..... Do I have to SEE his car driving at 100 MPH (complete with a photograph of him driving) to charge him with speeding? ---...--- Then when his lawyer claims that "He wasn't speeding....because it was 12:30 the next day.... and I remmeber fishing with him under the bridge that night in the Chatahoochie River..... Sorry old chum you're lying." Until I tell that lawyer that it was 11:30 am and ...

EDITORIAL &#149; August 9, 2001 For-profit photo radar      It&#39;s bad enough that Big Brother is watching us Now, however, he&#39;s getting a helping hand from a private, and very-for-profit company – Lockheed Martin IMS. Under a cooperative venture launched this week with the government of the District of Columbia, photo radar units supplied by those public-spirited folks at Lockheed Martin IMS have been snapping pictures of the license plates of &#34;speeders&#34; and sending them automated pieces of &#34;payin&#39; paper&#34; – up to $200 – out of which Lockheed Martin IMS gets a cut of $29 smackers. &#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;It&#39;s a nice ...

Radar cameras not a windfall for all cities The Washington Times www.washtimes.com Radar cameras not a windfall for all cities Daniel F. Drummond THE WASHINGTON TIMES Published 8/10/2001      Cities across the country have teamed up with Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin IMS and used its photo radar camera services to help slow down speeders -- but few municipalities have embraced electronic law enforcement like the District.       Mesa, Ariz., and Portland, Ore. have used the photo radar technology for more than five years, but neither city has seen the sort of financial windfall the District expects. The District&#39;s contract with Lockheed, ...

<p>The District has issued automated speeding citations to more than 160,000 drivers and collected more than $5.3 million in fines since it began its photo-radar camera program in August.</p> <p>According to figures provided by the Metropolitan Police Department, the city has collected through Dec. 27 $5,326,922 from 74,228 of the 161,322 drivers who have been cited since the automated traffic-enforcement program began Aug. 10.</p>

Gary joins national trend with night-vision photography in a bid to catch environmental crooks GARY - At night, the industrial wetlands at the Cline Avenue service road and 9th Avenue on the west side of town feel pretty remote. The occasional 18-wheeler rumbles through; dogs howl in the distance; and bats and frogs fill in a high-pitched melody. One would think this would be an easy place to have some privacy. One would think it would be a good place to get away with a friend and quietly break a law or two. One would be wrong. One could ...

Denver suspends photo radar Judge puts program in doubt on grounds that officers don't prepare citations By Kevin Flynn, News Staff Writer Denver has suspended its multimillion-dollar photo radar speeding enforcement program until it gets a clearer picture of how to run it within the law. Because of a Denver County court judge's ruling that photo radar tickets aren't legal because they aren't prepared by police, but by a private civilian contractor, the city will delay operations until it can restructure the program. "We are stopping the photo radar ticketing operation effective immediately until we have a chance to review ...

CHARLOTTE -- Camera crews atop freeway bridges will photograph the license tags of some 400,000 vehicles next week as part of bi-state study of travel patterns in the Carolinas. Using 43 video cameras in seven counties, researchers will photograph and track every car that passes on stretches of U.S. 74, and Interstates 77 and 85 during a 12-hour period on Tuesday. They hope the resulting data will help them analyze freeway travel and predict future air-pollution levels and highway needs. But a Duke University constitutional scholar says the pictures pose a privacy risk as long as they exist. The ...

GREAT SPEED CAMERA RIP-OFF Hanger Lane hang-up ... cash-grabbing camera targets London-bound drivers By BRIONY WARDEN and CHARLES YATES TODAY The Sun exposes the speed camera scandal that puts fines before lives. Police are ignoring SAFETY guidelines so they can trap more drivers and rake in more cash. Cameras are meant to be there to deter speeding motorists - and should be highly visible so that drivers see them and slow down. http://www.thesun.co.uk/news/13845166

London-- POLICE WILL ISSUE UP TO TEN MILLION TICKETS A YEAR IN A MASSIVE CLAMPDOWN ON SPEEDING MOTORISTS. WITH THE NUMBER OF SPEED CAMERAS EXPECTED TO TREBLE, THERE WILL be no escape from the prying electronic eyes. For the police, it will mean a gold-mine in fines thanks to the decision to allow forces to keep money raised from fixed penalties. Until now, many of the 4,300 cameras across the country have been ineffective because police cannot afford to stock or process the film. But the potential to raise revenue has given them a powerful incentive to extend and improve ...

Camera fines may top $160 million The Washington Times www.washtimes.com Camera fines may top $160 million Daniel F. Drummond THE WASHINGTON TIMES Published 7/26/01      The District expects to collect more than $160 million in traffic fines by 2004 from automated law-enforcement cameras designed to nab red-light runners and speeders, according to contracts obtained by The Washington Times. &#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;The city&#39;s contract with Lockheed Martin IMS, which designs and operates the systems, indicates the District is counting on sending out an estimated 80,000 new speeding tickets a month by the time the program is fully operational on Aug. 1. There were ...

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Police departments in Maryland and Virginia routinely divulge statistical information about their automated law-enforcement efforts, but D.C. police refuse to say how many speeders its new photo-radar cameras have caught. Top Stories •&nbsp;Chinese rebuff senators' queries•&nbsp;GOP sees woes with Mexican amnesty•&nbsp;Lockheed selling its radar revenue to ACS•&nbsp;Dollar plummets against euro, yen after Fed report•&nbsp;Marines remains are coming home•&nbsp;Panel exceeded authority with boycott&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In addition, the District is the only jurisdiction in the region whose police do not perform quality-control checks before red-light-camera citations are issued.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The city's photo-radar program officially began Aug. 6, when five specially equipped Ford Crown Victorias started patrolling ...