10/9/2018
France, Italy, Norway, Taiwan, UK: Speed Cameras Blinded By Paint, ExplosivesMore European speed cameras were taken out of service last week with colorful and explosive attacks.
Vigilantes in Gassino Torinese, Italy, did not wait long after speed cameras were installed to ensure they would never issue a ticket. According to Nuova Periferia, ten cameras were installed along SP590 and SP97 less than a month ago. Last week Sunday, they were blinded with black spraypaint. In Frosinone, explosives were used against a pair of speed cameras over the past two months, and Il Messaggero says the municipality has decided to rent rather than purchase replacement cameras to maximize ticketing revenue.
A Peugeot 207 slammed into the speed camera on Longbridge Road in Grimsargh, England, last week Monday. The Gatso-brand speed camera littered the ground in twisted wreckage after it failed to prevent the accident. According to Lancashire Constabulary, the 32-year-old driver was taken to Royal Preston Hospital with serious injuries.
In Oslo, Norway, vigilantes rammed a long metal rod through the lens of the speed camera on Kirkeveien last week Saturday, Budstikka reported.
Red paint was used to blind the speed camera on the RN580 in Bagnols just days after it had been returned to service after having been painted red in a previous attack, Midi Libre explained. From the account by L'Alsace, the same shade decorated the photo radar unit on the RN 66 in Bitschwiller-les-Thann last week Saturday. Dark red paint blinded the speed camera on the RD670 in Saint-Sulpice-de-Faleyrens, Le Resistant reported. Green paint decorated the camera in Allinges, according to Le Messager. White paint was used in Maisnil-les-Ruitz to disable the camera issuing tickets on the D301, according to La Voix du Nord.
A vigilante in Tainan City, Taiwan, last week Monday set fire to the area's first speed camera. UDN explained the automated ticketing machine on Yongcheng Road -- the city's most profitable camera -- was destroyed with gasoline and a burning tire.