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, September 10, 2014
France: Facebook Users Stand Trial For Anti-Speed Camera Posts
Fifteen Facebook users in France will have to wait until December to find out whether a criminal court judge deems them to be illegal radar detectors. A packed courtroom in the southern town of Rodez heard the case against the leaders of the 10,000-member page “The group that tells you where the police are in Aveyron on Tuesday. Officials were infuriated by the memes posted on the page mocking automated ticketing and warning members where speed traps in the area are lurking. The charges were filed in May in the unique complaint.
Tuesday, September 09, 2014
DC Inspector General Blasts City Over Bogus Camera Tickets
Speed cameras, red-light cameras and parking tickets generate big cash for the District of Columbia. The city’s inspector general on Monday issued a report questioning the diligence of city officials and private vendors in ensuring that the 2,398,136 tickets issued in 2013 — nearly four tickets per resident, worth $171,680,640 — were valid.
Monday, September 08, 2014
Federal Appellate Judge Slams Justice Department Over Immigration Checkpoint Detention
The Fifth Circuit US Court of Appeals on Tuesday heard a Justice Department official argue that agents have the right to indefinitely detain “uncooperative” motorists at border roadblocks far from the actual border. US Air Force Major Richard Rynearson was stopped on March 18, 2010 when he came to an immigration checkpoint on Highway 90 in Uvalde, Texas, 67 miles from the border with Mexico. The Justice Department attorney got off to a bad start with the three-judge panel.
Sunday, September 07, 2014
France, Saudi Arabia: Speed Cameras Shot, Spraypainted, Scorched
A 20-year-old man opened fire on a speed camera in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia last week. According to Al Jazirah, the speed camera van, called Saher, was shot by a passing vehicle. The driver of the camera van was not injured. Two other camera shooting incidents are under investigation.
Friday, September 05, 2014
Canada: Speed Cameras Change Misses Revenue Target By $47 Million
Tired of dealing with the corruption scandals of photo enforcement vendors, the city council of Edmonton, Canada decided in 2007 to go it alone. Instead of sharing a cut of every ticket with Dallas-based Affiliated Computer Services (ACS), the Edmonton plan was to do all the work and keep all the revenue for itself. The move proved to be much less lucrative than expected, the city auditor found in a report issued last week.
Thursday, September 04, 2014
California Court Denies Sampling Of License Plate Information
A California Superior Court judge last week denied privacy advocates access to a sample of data that are collected by automated license plate readers (ALPR, also known as ANPR in Europe). The plate-scanning technology has spread rapidly throughout the country largely from the availability of federal grant funds, but the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) argue the public needs to know in much greater detail how the information collected from motorists through these cameras is being used.
