Article from: www.thenewspaper.com/news/09/978.asp

2/23/2006

Arizona May Jail Man Who Flipped Off Speed Camera
Scottsdale, Arizona wants to jail a man who showed disrespect toward its new freeway speed camera.

Police in Scottsdale, Arizona have arrested Matthew Cain, 20, for allegedly speeding after he made obscene gestures toward a speed camera on the Loop 101 freeway. Cain faces six months in jail, even though the only police evidence is a series of photographs and Australian vendor Redflex's assertion that Cain's 1971 Oldsmobile convertible was traveling 82 MPH in a 45 MPH zone at the time.

Cain was booked for reckless driving at the Maricopa County jail after police looked at a photograph that showed him extending his middle finger in the direction of the speed camera. Police have set out to use Cain as an example, publishing several photos and releasing his driving record. He must appear in court next Wednesday.

Scottsdale's cameras generated at least $79,128 yesterday in its full ticketing debut -- a level that, if maintained, would generate $28 million in revenue a year. Redflex is paid $42.48 for every citation it can issue.

In December 2004, another Australian vendor that had been paid on a per-ticket basis was discovered to have ticketed innocent motorists. The state of Victoria, Australia was forced to refund 165,000 inaccurate speed camera citations. Scottsdale itself refunded 1964 citations at the beginning of the year after a complete lack of human review allowed defective tickets to be mailed out.

Source: Police Catch Alleged Radar Camera Joker (NBC news, 2/23/2006)

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