TheNewspaper.Com: Front Page

top headlines:

Friday, November 06, 2009
Maryland Politicians, Judges, Bureaucrats Drive Toll Free

Among the 15,000 Maryland state employees who drive on area toll roads without paying are judges, lawmakers and powerful bureaucrats. The Maryland Politics Watch website used a freedom of information request in August to discover that 128 of 188 legislators took advantage of a perquisite giving officials a scrutiny and bill-free E-ZPass transponder -- despite already receiving a $600 yearly travel expense allowance from taxpayers. After being exposed, the General Assembly leadership moved to limit the fallout by abruptly canceling the program on September 25.
   "Currently, many members of the General Assembly have non-revenue E-ZPass accounts or E-ZPass accounts with non-revenue accommodations," Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller (D) and House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D) wrote. "This recession requires us to find efficiencies and reduce unnecessary spending wherever possible; therefore, we have asked the Maryland Transportation Authority (MdTA) to terminate the non-revenue E-ZPass program for the legislative branch. Individual lawmakers will continue to be eligible to submit for reimbursement for tolls incurred on official legislative travel."
   When Maryland Politics Watch informally attempted to learn the names of the politicians driving on toll roads at taxpayer expense, the MdTA initially claimed "privacy and security" concerns prevented disclosure. The agency then wrote to lawmakers informing them of the inquiry, allowing fifty-six lawmakers to cancel their accounts to avoid embarrassment before a formal request for the list of names was granted.
   Authority to issue the free rides came from section 6.15 of the MdTA's contract with bond holders, a document that received little public scrutiny. The hidden provision applies to, "officials and employees of the executive, legislative and judicial departments of the state." Ambulances and other emergency vehicles also receive a special transponder that allows free passage.
   Maryland Politics Watch author Adam Pagnucco slammed Democrats for taking advantage of the system.
   "Delegate Ben Kramer (D-19) is a millionaire developer who has dumped $220,450 of his own money into his last two political campaigns," Pagnucco wrote. "Does he really need a free E-ZPass? [In Montgomery County] one of our Senators and thirteen of our twenty-four delegates drive toll-free, including some of our most liberal members. We get no moral high ground this time."
   Pagnucco was equally harsh with the GOP.
   "Fifteen of the fifty Republicans in the General Assembly carry free E-ZPasses," Pagnucco wrote. "This is the worst hypocrisy of all. Over and over again, the Republicans have called for big spending cuts while jealously guarding their E-ZPerks."
   Last month, Senate Minority Leader Allan H. Kittleman (R) asked the Court of Appeals Chief Judge Robert M. Bell whether the judicial branch planned to give up free rides for judges.

Thursday, November 05, 2009
California Toll Road Refunds Excessive Penalties

California motorists hit with massive fines for minor, alleged toll infractions won a settlement last month from the Orange County Transportation Agency (OCTA) and Transportation Corridor Agency (TCA). The toll road operating entities agreed to pay $1.4 million in restitution and waive $41 million in unpaid toll penalties after a lawsuit alleged the fines were "excessive" and that the denial of due process to the accused was "unconstitutional."
   Over a dozen motorists sued in 2007 claiming that fines of up to $123,000 for skipping tolls were outrageous. In several cases, such as that of Stephanie and Brian Young, the violations were inadvertent. The couple racked up $580 in unpaid tolls in 2003 after the credit card linked to their toll transponder account expired. For this mistake, OCTA demanded that they pay $53,550 in fines. Similarly, Maria and Pablo Gonzalez allegedly failed to pay $60.14 in tolls and were billed $78,780.
   Under the settlement agreement, motorists who received a toll evasion penalty between January 1, 2003 and October 5, 2009 may be eligible for a share of the $1.4 million restitution payment and a 29 percent discount any unpaid toll penalties. The agencies also agreed to make a number of procedural changes designed to prevent future problems.
   E-mail will be used to notify toll road users of problems such as low account balances and a thirty-day notice will be given before an account suspension. The agencies promise to keep accurate records. Notice of an alleged toll violation must be mailed within ten days. Alleged toll road violations will be subject to hearings that will now be conducted in a fair manner.
   "The independent administrative hearing officer retained by OCTA and TCA to conduct administrative reviews will be advised that he/she should consider any fact which may tend to show that the violation was inadvertent; that the violation was the result of an innocent mistake; that multiple violations all arose from a single inadvertent cause, such as a lost, stolen, expired credit or debit or other payment card, or bank account that was canceled by the customer; that under all circumstances, the penalties imposed will cause an undue hardship for the person requesting the review; or any other circumstance which may bear on the culpability of the person seeking review or the cumulative amount of the penalties imposed," the settlement states.
   Additional details regarding the settlement may be found in a 150k PDF file at the source link below. Correction: OCTA and TCA in a statement denied that any of its actions violated the law.
Source:

Avery v. Orange County Transportation Agency (California Superior Court, Orange County, 10/5/2009)

Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Photo Enforcement Defeated at the Ballot Box in Texas, Ohio

Voters in three cities sent a clear message to local lawmakers yesterday by adopting charter amendments that ban photo enforcement. In addition to kicking two camera supporters from the city council, 72 percent of those voting in Chillicothe, Ohio approved a total prohibition on the use of red light cameras and speed cameras. In College Station, Texas the vote was much closer, but at the end of the night 52 percent wanted the red light cameras to come down. In Heath, Ohio 51 percent voted against the cameras. A total of nine cities nationwide have used the initiative process to ban camera enforcement since 1991, with camera proponents never having won a public vote.
   The triple defeat for the photo enforcement industry came despite a well-funded public relations effort in each of the cities. In Chillicothe, Redflex Traffic Systems sent a glossy mailer to every voter while the mayor demanded that the Ohio Supreme Court ban the public from even voting on the issue -- a move high court justices swiftly rejected. Citizens Against Photo Enforcement (CAPE), the group responsible for the ballot measure, claimed an additional victory as voters elected camera opponent Bruce Arnold, who won the seat of council president, Jeremy Siberell, who won the fifth ward and Dustin Proehl, the only incumbent to have voted against cameras. CAPE leader Rebecca Valentich told TheNewspaper that she was thrilled with the outcome.
   "We came together as individuals, and we united as a community," Valentich said. "The people have spoken, and very clearly. Our voices have been heard and thanks to the people and their strong voices, the cameras will be coming down. It is a huge victory, and one that we can all be proud of. And although our mayor has gone on record saying that he will fight the will of the people, his fight against the rights of the people will only bring a stronger united front from the community."
   In College Station, Texas the city's automated ticketing vendor American Traffic Solutions (ATS) bankrolled a front group to conduct mass mailings and push polling in an effort to save the program that would have earned the company more than $11 million over the life of the contract. The ATS-funded group reported raising $71,240 in contributions, but not one dollar came from anyone living in the local community. To supplement the vendor's effort, the city allocated taxpayer money to send red light camera promotional material to every voter. College Station activist Jim Ash, who led the fight to put the issue on the ballot, watched the results with a large group of supporters.
   "It has been nothing but celebration here," Ash told TheNewspaper minutes after the results became final.
   In Heath, voters were bombarded with the same advertisements from Redflex, but they failed to persuade a majority. Voters also defeated Mayor Richard Waugh who had introduced photo enforcement as the signature issue of his administration.
   "You can fight city hall and win, when you have a passion for what you believe in," We Demand a Vote spokesman Lori Lyons said in a statement.
   Yesterday's results are consistent with previous public votes on the topic. In April, eighty-six percent of the votes in Sulphur, Louisiana rejected speed cameras. In 2008, residents in Cincinnati, Ohio rejected red light cameras. Seventy-six percent of Steubenville, Ohio voters rejected photo radar in 2006. In the mid-1990s, speed cameras lost by a two-to-one margin in Peoria, Arizona and Batavia, Illinois. In 1997, voters in Anchorage, Alaska banned cameras even after the local authorities had removed them. In 2003, 64 percent of voters in Arlington, Texas voted down "traffic management cameras" that opponents at the time said could be converted into ticketing cameras.

Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Maryland Cities Create School Zones for Speed Camera Use

Maryland cities will create brand new "school zones" in an attempt to issue speed camera tickets on roads that previously had no need of the designation. When the state legislature authorized speed cameras six months ago in response to a $690,506 lobbying campaign from photo ticketing and insurance companies, lawmakers mandated that the cameras could only be used within a half mile of a school zone. Baltimore is among the first to admit that it will bypass that restriction.
   "You asked if the locations for speed cameras were all pre-existing school zones," Baltimore engineer Rainna P. Strauss wrote in an email exchange obtained by the StopBigBrotherMD.org website. "No they were not."
   The city's plan is to take a number of roads that are within the legally required distance to a school but are in areas where children do not regularly walk. Baltimore will install "school zone" signs on these roads for the sole purpose of meeting the legal requirement that the speed cameras be used only in a school zone. The new zones include Charles Street at Lake Avenue, Northern Parkway at Greenspring, Pulaski Highway at Monument Street and Roland Avenue at West Cold Spring.
   Baltimore is not alone. In New Carrollton, two of the five proposed speed camera locations were not in actual, existing school zones.
   "Speaking as a parent of two small children myself," the editor of StopBigBrotherMD.org wrote, "if these were legitimate locations for school zones we might ask why public officials put the safety of children at risk by not bothering to do the inexpensive bare minimum step of marking the locations as school zones and alerting drivers to the presence of a school nearby... until there was a revenue motive for doing so.
   The following videos document the lack of school zone signs using Google street view: Baltimore locations. View New Carrollton locations.
   The Maryland Department of Transportation also announced yesterday that it would delay the start of automated ticketing on Interstates 95 and 695 for at least another two weeks. These cameras are designed to ticket vehicles passing through the state in "work zones" where the speed limit has been lowered to 45 MPH but workers are not necessarily present. The majority of workers in work zones are injured by their own equipment, not by automobiles, according to accident reports.

Monday, November 02, 2009
Massachusetts: Red Light Cameras Proposed to Fight Deficit

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick (D) on Thursday outlined his plan to reduce the state's $600 million deficit and help struggling municipalities by, among several other revenue raising measures, installing red light cameras. The governor's proposed fiscal year 2010 budget amendments would eliminate an existing state law forcing police officers to issue traffic citations personally. Under the new legislation, any jurisdiction in the commonwealth could give private, for-profit companies the right to issue $100 traffic tickets.
   Although some lawmakers had proposed red light camera authorization bills in the past sessions, the measures have never succeeded. Patrick's quiet inclusion of the measure in must-pass legislation gives the proposal new momentum. Photo enforcement firms encouraged the move by giving lawmakers $10,245 in campaign donations. Australia's Redflex Traffic Systems gave $1800 to Patrick and state legislators, Affiliated Computer Services gave $7445 and Nestor Traffic Systems, now American Traffic Solutions, gave $1000. National Motorists Association researcher John Carr said that introduction of the legislation as part of the budget process was a sign that Patrick's primary concern is monetary.
   "Red light cameras have a long track record of making roads more dangerous," Carr told TheNewspaper. "The governor isn't even pretending this is about safety. He is risking the lives of the public out of no motive other than pure greed."
   In 2006, residents of Swampscott rejected red light cameras in a town meeting. The town had formed a special committee to investigate whether traffic cameras would benefit the town. It concluded that although such a system would generate $490,000 in revenue, the number of accidents would increase (view report). Patrick's proposal would enforce payment of the automated citations by suspending the driver's license and vehicle registration of owners who fail to pay after two tickets are sent to his last known address. The suspensions remain in effect until the tickets and late penalties are paid in full, in addition to a $40 reinstatement fee that is split between the municipality and the state. The proposal also allows localities to seize or boot vehicles for non-payment.
   Cities implementing a camera program would submit an annual report to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation detailing the number of citations issued, the number found guilty by an administrative hearing and the amount of revenue generated by the program.
   Patrick's proposal must be approved by the state House and Senate before becoming law.

This is a journal covering motoring issues around the world from a political perspective.

search tips | about us | site map

Subscribe
Receive free email or RSS news updates.

Key Documents
Documents, studies and memos about camera enforcement.

Archives
View previous news items.

Feedback
Contact the editors.

View Main Topics:

Popular Stories

-Missouri Cop Harassment Video

-Photo Enforcement Bans

-Most Popular Stories

Popular Studies

-Red Light Camera Study Roundup

-2007 Virginia DOT: Cameras Increase Injury Accidents

-2005 Washington Post: Accidents Doubled with Cameras

-2004 North Carolina: Red Light Camera Study (Burkey-Obeng)

-Majority Leader Armey Red Light Camera Report

-Longer Yellows Reduce Crashes (TX Transportation Institute)

-HOV/Carpool Lanes Cause Accidents

Since 1999, Washington, D.C. cameras have issued 4,019,023 tickets worth $305 million (as of 8/31/09).