Photo Tickets

[Smokey Bear]

Just got my first one an I am fuming.... making a right turn on red which is legal in this State. There is even a video and I am clearly already in the turn when the light changes, going a whopping unsafe 10mph. The only way to contest is to take the day off work and go to court. What a sham. I lose more money fighting it than paying it. These things are a complete money grab scam - it has nothing to do with making the streets safer. After some research, I have purchased the photo-blocker spray and am hitting every vehicle this weekend. I might do every car on my block !

Has anyone else tried the spray or plate covers? 

[Troy]

As far as I'm concerned they are nothing more than a cash cow. The fines are kept low enough so that it's not worth it to fight them. Unfortunately, with falling tax revenue and out of control local government spending these things are becoming more and more popular.

Some interesting information here:
http://www.motorists.org/

Troy

[oldcarnut]

I have purchased the photo-blocker spray and am hitting every vehicle this weekend. I might do every car on my block !
Has anyone else tried the spray or plate covers? 

I believe mythbusters did a couple episodes to disprove it.
http://mythbustersresults.com/episode87

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Ya gotta admit they take some cool pics
Although for $50 bux I'd want only my car in the shot  

[bull]

Ya gotta admit they take some cool pics
Although for $50 bux I'd want only my car in the shot  

Shame, shame.

I agree with Troy, it's more about collecting revenue than it is enforcing the law. However, from what I've heard many govt. agencies are getting rid of them because they're not as profitable as they had hoped.

[NHCharger]

I just watched the mythbusters episode where they tried various methods to shield the license plate from the camera. The only thing that worked was a rocket propelled dragster. At 245MPH the car is quicker than the camera.

[Johnny SixPack]

Ya gotta admit they take some cool pics
Although for $50 bux I'd want only my car in the shot  

Chris, I'd take $50 over the $75 the City of Humble charged me as I was doing my best make it to IAH so I could catch my flight to PDX after the cab company flaked on me.

Still ended up missing the flight, and paid $105 to park at the airport, but I digress.   

[SG1022]

Ya gotta admit they take some cool pics
Although for $50 bux I'd want only my car in the shot  

Chris, I'd take $50 over the $75 the City of Humble charged me as I was doing my best make it to IAH so I could catch my flight to PDX after the cab company flaked on me.

Still ended up missing the flight, and paid $105 to park at the airport, but I digress.   

Why would ya want to come to portland? 

[Johnny SixPack]

Ya gotta admit they take some cool pics
Although for $50 bux I'd want only my car in the shot  

Chris, I'd take $50 over the $75 the City of Humble charged me as I was doing my best make it to IAH so I could catch my flight to PDX after the cab company flaked on me.

Still ended up missing the flight, and paid $105 to park at the airport, but I digress.   

Why would ya want to come to portland? 

The lil' woman woulda been peeved if'n I'd done the ring thing sans myself? 

Translation: I had to be there for Thanksgiving to put the ring on her finger. 

[Mike DC]

                              
 

The photo-ticket program would eventually be closed down if the public would just start radically shortening the lifespans of all the cameras.  

[FLG]

Ill be getting on in the mail shortly. Was cruising with the charger, doing 35ish on a big blvd. Was about 12am or so, completely dead out. Light turns yellow literally just before the "stop" line...no way in hell i could stop that fast so i sped up to get through it on the yellow...the yellow lasted all of .1 second because it got me JUST as i went through. So there was no way in hell i was stopping and the yellow lasted so short no one could possibly make it. They rig the damn things!

Luckily i was the only one on the road so i will be looking foward to the shot of just my car! 

[SG1022]

Ya gotta admit they take some cool pics
Although for $50 bux I'd want only my car in the shot  

Chris, I'd take $50 over the $75 the City of Humble charged me as I was doing my best make it to IAH so I could catch my flight to PDX after the cab company flaked on me.

Still ended up missing the flight, and paid $105 to park at the airport, but I digress.   

Why would ya want to come to portland? 

The lil' woman woulda been peeved if'n I'd done the ring thing sans myself? 

Translation: I had to be there for Thanksgiving to put the ring on her finger. 

Ahhhh well at least you got out!

[69bronzeT5]

The cameras made my Jeep's paint look really nice. This picture cost $157 though! My dad was driving and trying to keep up with his girlfriend in the green Odyssey infront of us. I remember laughing majorly at the blue Ram with the chrome stickers all over it, it had spinners too!

[Troy]

                             
 

The photo-ticket program would eventually be closed down if the public would just start radically shortening the lifespans of all the cameras. 

And then you get nailed for destruction of public property and they just install more cameras with taxpayer money. Ask everyone in the UK how that works.

Ill be getting on in the mail shortly. Was cruising with the charger, doing 35ish on a big blvd. Was about 12am or so, completely dead out. Light turns yellow literally just before the "stop" line...no way in hell i could stop that fast so i sped up to get through it on the yellow...the yellow lasted all of .1 second because it got me JUST as i went through. So there was no way in hell i was stopping and the yellow lasted so short no one could possibly make it. They rig the damn things!

Luckily i was the only one on the road so i will be looking foward to the shot of just my car! 

One of the ways these things become "more effective" is by shortening the yellow light. Oddly enough, drivers tend to notice this and, in order to avoid a ticket, anticipate the light and jam on the brakes. Hence, more rear end collisions. Way to make the roads safer!

Troy

[RD]

we dont have this in Kansas, thank God.  sounds like the ticket nazi's love y'alls states though.

[Mike DC]

And then you get nailed for destruction of public property and they just install more cameras with taxpayer money. Ask everyone in the UK how that works.

In practical terms, yes.  

But the same line of reasoning says you wouldn't want a govt camera in your living room to get whacked either.


Just the raw principle of govt video surveillance in normal everyday life bothers the sh*t out of me.  IMHO the public as a whole just doesn't want its right badly enough these days.  

[oldcarnut]

So who gets charged with license points if the registered owner wasn't driving but instead another family member, friend, etc ?  Yeah they could pay the fine for you but that's much cheaper than insurance rate hikes from the points.  I was told that in some countries they have a pic of the driver too and sometimes it was a problem when the picture arrived in the home mail with their ummm errr passenger's pic beside them 

[FLG]

No points, just a 50$ fine ticket here.

[bordin34]

They just installed those cameras in my town and some neighboring towns a couple weeks ago. I would be fine with that but all the turns now have a "no turn on red" sign so if you are used to always turning right on red you get caught.

[Back N Black]

My wife got caught twice and i lost points of my licence both times because the car is registered in my name. 

[BB1]

Commifornia got me for $460 bucks. The yellow light was 2 seconds long. BULLSHITE 

[Troy]

My wife got caught twice and i lost points of my licence both times because the car is registered in my name. 

You can fight that - they have to prove you were driving to put points on your license. I don't believe most of the infractions here carry any points but I'd certainly fight that. The only way these things are going away is if it costs more to prosecute than it brings in. Fight everything - or fight with your vote at least.

Troy

[Arthu®]

And then you get nailed for destruction of public property and they just install more cameras with taxpayer money. Ask everyone in the UK how that works.

In practical terms, yes.  

But the same line of reasoning says you wouldn't want a govt camera in your living room to get whacked either.

Just the raw principle of govt video surveillance in normal everyday life bothers the sh*t out of me.  IMHO the public as a whole just doesn't want its right badly enough these days.  

I agree with you that it is getting out of hand every where. But destroying the camera's probably won't help much other than racking up the costs for the tax payer... If you're going to fight it there has to be another way. Such as making the public aware because I agree with you that most are not fully aware what effect these camera's can have on day to day life and the surveillance of it. In the Netherlands the tax authority uses license plate camera's to track people down that owe them money so they can be pulled over by the police... Big brother IS watching you all.

Arthur

[Mopar440+6]

Fight everything - or fight with your vote at least.

Troy

I agree 100%. I fight everything the law comes at me with (guilty or innocent) unless I know, without a doubt, that they have a watertight case against me. It is especially important with issues involving points on your driver's license. Even if the fine is only $50, depending on the type of violation your insurance premium may go up and stay at an elevated rate for years. Don't ever take a citation at face value, always think about how it may cost you in the future. The camera generated citations are a complete scam because they can be rigged...

[Mike DC]

 
(BTW, I don't seriously intend to walk around smashing out cameras.  I'm just shooting the bull in conversation.)