Illinois Drivers Beware

[tomslik]

Looks like Colorado will start doing the photo radar in construction sites too:

The fines for moving violations like careless driving, driving in the passing lane and not using your blinker also increase.  Instead of a minimum $10 fine, starting July 1 it will be $150.

yeah, right......there's so many idiots in the fast lane (kinda)on cell phones, they have no idea WHAT lane they're in and that's the cops.
the civilian drivers are even worse...

[Carps]

Our road safety cameras as Frank has pointed out are a joke!  Nothing more than a means for the gummint to collect additional taxes.

The mobile versions are not operated by Police but private contractors who earn 'commission' on how much income they generate.  So do you think thay are going to be obvious to drivers and park where they may slow people down in danger zones?  Of courser not, they park wherever they know they will be difficult to detect and can generate maximum income.  I've yet to see one of these parasites park their camera in a known accident blackspot.  AND, I've never seen a camera working in road construction zones, which is kinda surprising since the traffic usually flows thru these areas at well above the posted limits outside of peak traffic periods.

One of my favourites is our 'variable' zones.  In the tunnels thet run below the city the speed limit is normally 80 km'h.  However, between midnight and 5:00am, when there's no traffic on the road, it is changed to 60km/h and they make a motza.

I got a couple of tickets from the cameras Frank mentioned on the ring road and was told no debate, the camera is right.  For one case I lost ven after arguing in court, then a  month later I was refunded after the Datsun 12Y case.  The other was a car travelling in convoy with three other identical cars all having sequetial license numbers.  The operators were a little embarrased when it got to court, because the speed was based on the first car in the convoy's tripping the end clock and the last car tripping the start clock.  Somebody didn't look close enough at the license numbers and made the call based on a cursory glance.

I had the same problem with my '33, I got a ticket from a fixed camera on a road that the car has never been driven on.  The Ticket was for a blue Ford with the license number 00 1933 WTF?  So I challenged that one too.  Turned out it was a blue Ford Transit Van licence number OOI 933.  Took me six months to recover the costs for that one after it went to court.  Possibly my comment that if I murdered someone I'm innocent until proven guilty but if I own a car I'm guilty uless I can prove my innocence.

The red light cameras, yup, they are good, speed cameras in construction zones, yup, I'll support them too.  Mobile cameras where the operator is paid commission, I'll continue to treat with the utmost contempt.  Fixed caeras every couple of miles on the sfest multi lame highways in the countrry?  Refer to mobile cameras and commissions.  These things are an insult and a travesty, road safety indeed!  They are no more than a means to tax drivers, which again deserves contemt, especially when they are on roads where we are charged a toll for using them.      

[Crosley.In.AZ]

Looks like Colorado will start doing the photo radar in construction sites too:

The fines for moving violations like careless driving, driving in the passing lane and not using your blinker also increase.  Instead of a minimum $10 fine, starting July 1 it will be $150.

yeah, right......there's so many idiots in the fast lane (kinda)on cell phones, they have no idea WHAT lane they're in and that's the cops.
the civilian drivers are even worse...

I was laser'd in a construction zone ( 1 of 643 I passed through) in Colorado a couple years back while on a motorcycle ride...

My Passport RD set off on the laser .  My GPS indicated I was at 29 mph in a 30 mph construction zone.

[Crosley.In.AZ]

Carps....... the photo speed cameras in AZ are companies  with a contract with each city.

Our state governor has mentioned she likes photo radar  and even has a plan where she says the cameras would raise 90 million US dollars in 5 yrs ( I think) in Arizona

[enjenjo]

I read an article today, that said 85 percent of vehicle/worker accidents in construction zones are caused by vehicles involved in the construction.

[Carps]

Carps....... the photo speed cameras in AZ are companies  with a contract with each city.

Cheaper than having a cop on a motorcycle behind every billboard.

Our state governor has mentioned she likes photo radar  and even has a plan where she says the cameras would raise 90 million US dollars in 5 yrs ( I think) in Arizona

Our little state makes double that in 12 months.

That's why the gummint love 'em.

What * me off is that when it seems people have heeded the 'safety message' they lower the speed limits.

Fact is, they are no more than another revenue raising device for governements who think motorists should be paying everybodies bills for them.

[Carps]

I read an article today, that said 85 percent of vehicle/worker accidents in construction zones are caused by vehicles involved in the construction.

Funny that, and they are generally protected from the traffic by huge concrete barriers etc.

[river1]

from a local (phx az) independent newspaper

How To Beat a Photo-Enforcement Ticket

later jim

[38HAULR]

Hi Carps good to hear from you. The Gummint has also put in the budget, it,s anticipated revenue from the Eastlink Tollway yet to open.   ........Frank,

[Carps]

How To Beat a Photo-Enforcement Ticket

Hi Jim, some good tips there but the only on that's gunna work down here is "Don't speed".

Our uys thought of all that stuff in advance that's why they only take a photer of the car, no need for faces.

If the car is clocked and clicked the owner gets the letter.  If it wasn't the owner driving then the onus is on the owner to identify the driver.  If you don't you pay the fine, if you don't the registration is cancelled and the car impounded.  But it's not about the money.

Same thing applies to 'company owned cars' if you don't keep a record of who was driving what car when. then the company gets to pick up the tab for speeders.  However, somebody has to take the hit on their license points tally, so if there's no name, just a checque from the company, they'll send it back impound the car and cancell the registration.  Yup, it's about makin sure somebody is punished.        

The only way around the company owned car deal is if the company is a large multi national and the driver has gone back to their home country.  So now you need to identify them so if they return they can be duly processed on entry AND, the company gets to pay a bigger fine if they want to keep the car on the road.

[Carps]

Hi Carps good to hear from you. The Gummint has also put in the budget, it,s anticipated revenue from the Eastlink Tollway yet to open.   ........Frank,

Yeah, I saw that.  What was it?  Around $80million a year from a 29 kilometre stretch of tollway.  Isn't that called double dipping?

Build the safest road in the country, charge people to drive on it and then charge them again if they drive faster than what you think they should, regardless if it's a safe speed or not.

[38HAULR]

We have every Tom * and Harry telling us these are "safety cameras",and how much "road trauma" costs the community,yet the money from fines goes to consolidated revenue ,not one cent goes back to giving "safe drivers" a discount on their annual Transport Accident Commission premiums for having zero demerits or some figure of say less than three offences,each involving 1 demerit point. Instead we get continually slugged with indexed premiums,and pay our premiums based on the postcode where we live. Meanwhile the cameras click like cash registers,and we have no police on the roads catching the morons who tailgate/cut off by lane changing with no warning.  The camera will ping you for straying a small amount over the limit momentarily ,yet give you some 4 seconds going through a red light after the change before you are flashed,go figure what is the more dangerous act.........Frank.

[Fast.Fords]

I guess one of the bennies of living in the sticks, no such thing around here.  One "no right turn on red" camera at an intersection in Sioux Falls.  It's about 50 miles away, everybody knows it's there, and I hate going to the city anyways.....

Not that I'd ever do it, but I've been told that a hinge pin and a very light pressure spring on your license plate, the wind will fold it over at about 45 mph......

[Carps]

Hey Frank, just like the gummint, you seem to have overlooked the fact that despite cars being much safer nowadays and having more electronic driver assist aids, airbags etc. the road toll is up by 15%.

Suggests to me that maybe the tax cameras may be in the wrong spots or simply not doing their 'road safety' duty.  There was a time when if you got booked for speeding here you felt bad about it, now we just take it as given that most of the community, no matter how good a driver or how close you stick to the speed limits etc, will cop at least one camera fine per year , so we all treat it for what it is, just another stinking tax.

Also suggests something about the standard of driver training and the keeness of the gummint to allow anybody on the roads provided they can pay.  Who cares if they are skilled or intelligent enough?

[Learpilot]

Go to www.ebay.com look up number 260241248384 or License Plate Cover
That should help !