8/23/2009
Arizona, Poland, UK Resist Speed CamerasFire, spraypaint, punches and peaceful protest are used to resist photo enforcement in Arizona, Poland and the UK.
On August 11, vigilantes climbed a ten-foot pole in the town of Zamosc, Poland to render a speed camera incapable of issuing citations, according to Kronika Tygodnia. The camera housing was bent so that the lens focused on the ground, locks securing the device's inner workings were broken and the lens was covered in red paint. Local officials, who have no idea who might be responsible, claim the machine is beyond repair.
A pair of speed cameras in Dorset, England were set on fire within the past few weeks. On August 15, a speed camera on Ringwood Road in Verwood was set on fire. On August 8 another camera at Horton Road in Three Legged Cross was torched after 3:30am, the Salisbury Journal reported. Both devices were completely destroyed. Another four cameras have been attacked this year, but police have no suspects.
In Gilbert, Arizona a man knocked out a process server who, as an employee of AAA Photo Safety, had been attempting to deliver a photo radar ticket to his wife. The man was sentenced to community service and a $500 fine for the attack, KNXV-TV reported.
A less violent form of protest took place on Friday in Mesa and Tempe, Arizona. Members of the group CameraFraud.com used flash mob techniques to gather at 7am for an unannounced protest directly in front of speed camera vans. With the camera blocked and motorists aware of the trap ahead, no tickets were issued and the vans eventually left the area. By moving to other known enforcement locations in the area, the group was able to minimize the number of citations issued that day. View video of the protest.