Each Wednesday, we’ll publish quick summaries of the articles from the last week on TheNewspaper.com. We’re doing this because these articles are often strongly connected to the issues that National Motorists Association members are interested in.
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Florida: Yellow Light Refunds Highlight Engineering Failure
The Orange County, Florida Board of Commissioners agreed on Tuesday to refund $41,080 worth of red-light camera citations. American Traffic Solutions, the county’s vendor, issued the tickets at the intersection of Hiawassee Road and Clarcona-Ocoee Road between August 2012 and May 2013. Motorists only had 4.0 seconds of warning time, even though the state minimum for the intersection type was 4.3 seconds.
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Florida Counties Caught With Uncalibrated Radar Guns
For most speeding tickets, the readout of a laser or radar device provides the only evidence of an offense. In Lee County, Florida, officials cannot prove that those readouts are accurate. As a result, Lee County and other jurisdictions throughout the state face the potential for substantial refunds from a federal class action lawsuit filed last week.
Monday, May 18, 2015
Canada, France, UK: Speed Cameras Burned, Bashed
Vigilantes torched a speed camera in Aberdeenshire, Scotland after midnight on Thursday. The device on the A90 was destroyed in the blaze, according to the Aberdeen Press and Journal.
Friday, May 15, 2015
Australian Territory Orders More Speed Cameras Despite Accident Increase
Serious accidents increased where speed cameras were used in the Australian Capital Territory according to a report released Thursday by ACT officials who cited the finding as a reason to install more cameras. The much delayed evaluation examined accident records at 121 locations, half with and half without automated ticketing machines, from 1994 to 2012.
Thursday, May 14, 2015
Illinois Appellate Court Defends Short Yellow Times
The second highest court in Illinois intervened last Friday to reinstate a red-light camera ticket issued at Chicago intersections with illegally short yellow times. Bohdan Gernaga received a pair of $100 tickets in the mail after Redflex Traffic Systems of Australia photographed his car in 2010 and 2011. He challenged each ticket in an administrative hearing run by the city.
