6/5/2011
Iowa, France, Singapore: Speed Cameras Battered, Burned, PaintedSpeed cameras destroyed or disabled in a number of ways in Iowa, France and Singapore.
A speed camera in Carpiquet was beaten with a sledgehammer on Friday at around 3:30am. The device, located on the freeway headed toward Caen, was then set on fire by vigilantes who put a tire at the base to feed the blaze. The automated ticketing machine was completely destroyed, Ouest France reported. In Marne, a speed camera on National 4 near the Connantre bypass was covered in blue paint, unable to issue tickets, L'Union reported.
A speed camera was destroyed in Singapore at the intersection of Lorong Chuan and Serangoon on May 30. Asia One reported the device was rendered a pile of scattered debris with the camera's radar unit missing.
Other speed cameras were destroyed when they failed to do anything to prevent an accident from occurring. In Sioux City, Iowa on Wednesday, a distracted woman rammed her 2003 Oldsmobile into the automated ticketing machine that blocked the shoulder of Interstate 29, according to the Sioux City Journal. A speed camera in Yvelines, France failed to protect itself from an accident on May 29. The device located on national route 13 toward Pecq-sur-Seine was destroyed when it was rammed, TF1 News reported.