8/2/2009
Louisiana, Poland, South Africa and UK Express Anger Toward Speed CamerasPeople in Zachary, Louisiana; Poland; South Africa and Swindon, England choose different methods to strike at photo enforcement.
In Zachary, Louisiana a man battered a Redflex speed camera van after it had flashed him, WBRZ-TV reported. The suspect used a jack handle to smash the van's equipment, doing $10,000 in damage. Police used the van's video of a passing pickup truck to identify and arrest on Friday the suspect that they believe is responsible for the attack.
Vigilantes hijacked the website of the South Africa's Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), which is responsible for running the country's speed camera program. According to IT Web, the RTMC website was replaced with the slogan, "Greed Fines -- Not Speed Fines!" A new link directed visitors to the GreedFines website. The RTMC had failed to renew its Internet domain name and the vigilantes simply bought the name when it expired. The RTMC has now reclaimed its domain.
In Swindon, England a speed camera was completely destroyed by fire at 2:35am on Wednesday. The device had been located on the A420 near South Marston, the Swindon Advertiser reported. After a long delay, Swindon is now deactivating its fixed speed cameras on the grounds that it has found "more effective" road safety solutions.
In Poland, vigilantes continue to use stickers and paintball guns to defeat photo enforcement, Polskie radio reported. Officials are upset, however, about losing a speed camera worth 120,000 zloty (US $40,000) after it was recently set on fire. It is also upset when vigilantes wreck the camera poles worth 20,000 zloty (US $6800).