11/21/2010
Germany, Italy, UK: Speed Cameras Decapitated, Burned, GrabbedSpeed cameras are destroyed and confiscated throughout Germany, Italy and England.
A speed camera was cut down in Euskirchen, Germany early Monday. After making a clean slice through the middle of the metal pole, vigilantes made off with the the 60,000 euro (US $82,000) automated ticketing machine, ensuring the device could not be put back into service, Kolner Stadt-Anzeiger reported. Police have no idea who might be responsible.
On Thursday, a speed camera was set on fire in Vittoria, Italy, a town on the island of Sicily. Vigilantes smashed the lens of the camera on the Sp 17, poured in gasoline and set the device on fire, Radio RTM reported. Officials are upset at the loss of revenue and have no suspects.
A speed camera in Rovigo was destroyed by fire in Rovigo on November 13, just before 2am. The same device had burned in a similar incident last year, Il Gazzettino reported.
In Manchester, England, two men dressed as road workers entered a Highways Agency location in Oldham and drove off in a van on Tuesday morning at 11am. That van carried eight mobile speed camera units that were being used on the M60. The keys were left in the van's ignition, the Manchester Evening News reported.