Article from: www.thenewspaper.com/news/33/3390.asp

1/30/2011

Missouri, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia: Speed Cameras Painted, Pelted
Missouri speed camera crashes into a bridge. France, Germany paint cameras. Saudi Arabia stones them.

Vigilantes in Dortmund, Germany painted a traffic camera entirely gold on Thursday, according to Ruhr Nachrichten. Locals have called the automated ticketing machine on the B54 the "Golden Blitzer," as other cameras in the area have been painted red and bright pink. Officials quickly re-painted the camera olive green so that it would be harder to spot from the road.

In Auvergne, France vigilantes chose favored a darker look for their January 20 operation. The automated ticketing machine on the RN102 in Salzuit was sprayed completely black, Le Progres reported. Police have no idea who might be responsible.

In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the operator of the mobile speed camera system has been forced to install iron bars in the rear windows of its photo radar vehicles because so many have been smashed by vigilantes, SABQ reported. Just such an incident took place in Tabuk where three teenagers were spotted hurling rocks at a pair of "Saher" vehicles. According to the Saudi Gazette a third speed camera car was pelted in Makkah.

In Sugar Creek, Missouri officials on Monday voted to spend $6220 to repair a speed camera that crashed into a bridge. The city's private contractor uses a mobile device that places a camera high atop a pole so that it can look down the highway. When moving the speed trap last year, a police officer forgot to lower the mast and he crashed it into the bridge, The Examiner reported.