11/20/2017
Colorado, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Switzerland: Speed Cameras DisabledSpeed cameras all across Europe fell to vigilantes last week while a photo radar van was taken out in an accident in Denver, Colorado.
In Denver, Colorado, a photo radar van was involved in a serious injury crash on 41st Avenue on Friday. According to Denver police, the road had to be shut down near Lowell Boulevard to clear the wreckage.
In Limoges, France, vigilantes placed a for sale sign on a speed camera. According to France 3, the used money generating machine was "in very good condition and has been little used" and could be had for 67,000 euros (US $79,000). "The reason for the sale," the ad explained, was the current location was "not profitable enough." In Beaufort and Gevingey on Saturday, bright yellow spraypaint disabled two cameras along the RD1083, Voix du Jura reported. Officials in Eteaux wrapped the speed camera at the top of the Evires pass in black plastic after the device's glass lenses were smashed. According to Le Messager, this camera does not go more than a week without vigilantes knocking it out of service.
In Ricken, Switzerland, Le Nouvelliste reports that two teenagers applied stickers to a speed camera lens, preventing the device from issuing automated tickets last week Sunday. They were fined 100 francs (US $101).
In Coesfeld, Germany on Wednesday, a man walked up to a photo radar van on Schapdettener Strasse and began shouting at the van's driver, Coesfeld Polizei reported. After finishing his ticketing shift, the van driver was about to drive away when he realized the man had slashed one of the radar van's tires.
On Tuesday, Italian vigilantes disabled a pair of speed cameras on the Via Grandi in Molteno, according to Casate Online. One of the bright orange radar columns was tossed into a ditch on the side of the road. The other was dragged away and placed inside someone's gated yard. In Cagliari, a pair of tires and a propane cannister was used to set fire to the speed camera on the Asse Mediano di Scorrimento on Saturday, Youtg.net reported.
Also on Tuesday, vigilantes in Riga, Latvia burned a pair of speed cameras on the Jelgava Highway, Delfi reported, bringing the total number of destroyed radars for the year to six.