6/27/2022
Tennessee, Australia, France, Italy: Speed Camera Assaults On The RiseA half-dozen automated ticketing machines were taken out of service in Tennessee, Australia, Italy and France last week.
Vigilantes in Chattanooga, Tennessee on Thursday set fire to the speed camera that had been issuing automated tickets on Hixson Pike. The device had been "necklaced," a term used in the UK to describe placing a gasoline-filled tire over the camera and setting it alight, even though the camera sat atop a ten-foot pole. The camera was owned and operated by SensysGatso of Sweden, which operates under the name NovoaGlobal in the United States.
In Victoria, Australia, another unknown vigilante on Wednesday trashed a speed camera van, according to a Victoria Police statement. The Nissan X-Trail had been issuing fully automated tickets on Bellarine Highway in Point Lonsdale when a man approached and shattered its rear window. He also smashed the side windows and slashed all four of the vehicle's tires. A similar incident was reported a little over a week ago. In Perth, a photo radar device encouraged two young men to pull off a stunt displaying their disrespect for the automated ticketing machine. The 23-year-old driver of the Ford utility vehicle held his arm out the window to flip off the camera while his 31-year-old friend laid on top of the hood of the moving vehicle, also flipping off the camera. Western Australian police were not amused and the pair on Saturday faced a number of charges before Joondalup Magistrates Court for the October 23 incident.
In Lucca, Italy, vigilantes on Sunday grabbed the speed camera that had been issuing automated citations on the Via di Moriano. Vigilantes in Dourlers, France, disabled the speed camera on the RD33 by painting it green on Monday, June 20.