9/11/2023
Europeans, Canadians Continue To Resist Speed CamerasAttacks on photo radar and license plate reader cameras multiplied last week in Canada, France, Germany, Italy and England.
By Richard Diamond/Staff Reports
In Baden, Canada, vigilantes on Friday cut down the pole-mounted speed camera on Snyder's Road. In Mannheim, Germany, an unidentified pedestrian grabbed the mobile speed camera that had been issuing automated tickets on Neckarauer Strasse and smashed it into the ground on Friday, September 1.
UK motorists continued their fight against the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) congestion tax that is enforced with license plate reading cameras last week. A report by former surveillance camera commissioner Tony Porter found fake license plates or "ANPR-defeating material" (devices to obscure the license plate) were being used by one out of fifteen drivers. If that proportion holds to the broader London population, hundreds of thousands of drivers are evading the daily tax on driving in the city.
Vigilantes in Faverges, France, on Thursday damaged the speed camera on the RD1508 by setting it on fire, but the flames were extinguished before the device could be eliminated. In Noyon, the turret speed camera on the Route de Guiscard was destroyed by placing a cart under the camera's pole and torching it. In Lachapelle-sous-Gerberoy, the turret speed camera was cut down and set on fire on Monday August 28. The speed camera in Pont-les-Moulins on the RD50 was consumed by flames after having been replaced a few months ago.
Italian motorists have been trashing the orange "Velo OK" photo radar units across Umbria. In Citta di Castello, the speed camera on Via Luigi Galvani was decapitated. The camera in Tifernate was cut open, and the camera in Promano was painted gray.