2/27/2011
Mother Nature, Vigilantes Foil Traffic CamerasSpeed cameras attacked in England, France, Germany. Cold weather keeps them from working in Poland.
![Taped camera](/rlc/pix/tapedcam.jpg)
In Poland, the popular Fotorapid brand of speed camera is being defeated by cold weather. The fixed units are designed to function at temperatures as low as -30 Celsius (-22 F) when optional heaters are installed in the housing. On the other hand, the mobile units are only rated to work at -10C (14 F). That means in cities like Warsaw where the weather forecast is calling for a low of 12 F, portable speed cameras cannot be used, Onet.pl reported.
At 9:30pm Tuesday in Shropshire, England an attempt to burn the speed camera on the A5 between Shrewsbury and Owestry failed, the Shropshire Star reported. A tire and a gas can placed in a trash bin was used to accelerate the blaze, but damp grass kept the device from catching fire.
In Bouloc, France vigilantes targeted a speed camera on Tuesday at 11:30pm before the device on departmental road 4 had a chance to issue its first ticket. Police have no idea who might be responsible for setting it on fire, La Depeche reported.
In Wuppertal, Germany vigilantes destroyed a traffic camera on Markischen road near the A46 on February 15. At around 1:50am, the case of the automated ticketing machine was cut open and an incendiary device thrown in. Residents heard an explosion that marked the destruction of the camera, Westdeutsche Zeitung reported.