Article from: www.thenewspaper.com/news/69/6945.asp

7/6/2020

Speed Camera Troubles Resume Worldwide
Automated ticketing machines around the world failed or were disabled last week. Camera in Italy accused Ford Focus of speeding at 436 MPH.

As virus scare lockdowns have eased around the world, attacks on photo radar speed traps have resumed. The organization that represents speed camera van drivers in Australia, the Community and Public Sector Union, is complaining about the placement of automated ticketing machines. The union claimed a man wearing a hoodie used a hammer to smash a speed camera van's window on Wells Road in Melbourne last week. The union does not want the vans parked in "hot spots" where members of the public tend to slash the tires of the van or exhibit other signs of displeasure with their use. The group singled out locations at Nepean Highway, Wells Road, Wellington Road, and on the Baxter-Tooradin Road.

Police in Toronto, Canada, remain baffled after vigilantes swiped a total of five speed cameras. In the latest incident on June 12, an 800 pound automated ticketing machine was removed from Jameson Avenue near Queen Street West. Another four devices were swiped in February before they had a chance to generate any revenue. Ticketing with fines of up to $718 began on Monday, July 6.

In Zambia, the government removed all of its speed cameras in light of an ongoing corruption probe involving the private contractor Intelligent Mobility Solutions (IMS) and the Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA). An auditor general report in 2019 found the public agency responsible for the cameras diverted the fines to a private account and the cash disappeared.

In Osimo, Italy, a woman received an 847 euro (US $952) speed camera ticket in the mail that alleged she had been driving her Ford Focus 703km/h (437 MPH) on the Via Jesi on April 24. Former city councilman Giovanni Strologo posted a copy of the ticket on Thursday.

"The municipal police have a responsibility to check the citations they issue," Strologo wrote on Facebook. "Now I recommend that the offender appeal because she will have to pay the 847 euro fine."

On Saturday, vigilantes burned the speed camera on the RN165 in Sainte-Anne-sur-Brivet, France. Vigilantes in Tonnay-Charente torched the speed camera on the RD137 on Friday. Around the same time, the newly installed speed camera on the RN13 near Caen was blinded with white spraypaint. On Thursday, the speed camera on the RD928 in Audincthun went up in flames. In Chapelle-d'Huin two women on Wednesday blinded the speed camera on the RD72 with spraypaint.

In Luxembourg, a vigilante who parked his BMW behind a speed camera on the N2 in Remich and prevented it from issuing tickets for forty minutes is fighting charges in Luxembourg City's court. A verdict is expected on July 23.

On Tuesday, vigilantes set fire to the speed camera located on Al-Fatiha Road on the way to Aseer Province in Saudi Arabia. Another camera located on the 273 between Al Khurma and Turbah was blinded with white spraypaint on Saturday.

A laser speed camera trap on the Sigmundstrasse in Nuremberg, Germany, sparked a violent collision on Sunday. The driver of a black Nissan 350Z convertible braked sharply to avoid being issued an automated ticket. A 21-year-old woman following in a white Mercedes sedan was taken by surprise and rear-ended the Nissan. The vehicles were totaled, and the two drivers and one passenger were treated for minor injuries.