2/10/2020
Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, UK: Speed Cameras Taking FireVigilantes throughout the world fought back against speed cameras last week.
On Wednesday, the combination red light camera and speed camera at the intersection of Melton Road and Watermead Way in Leicester, England, was wiped out after it failed to prevent an accident. The driver of an automated speed camera van in North Yorkshire, England, complained on January 31 that he was injured by a passing motorist who directed a laser pointer into the van. The van was issuing tickets on the A168 at the time, according to North Yorkshire police.
In Italy, vigilantes on February 8 set fire to the speed camera on the Via Baracca in Onara and then blinded the automated ticketing machine on the Via Sommavilla in Tombolo with spraypaint.
On Sunday, vigilantes in Poiseux, France, destroyed the speed camera on the D977 by setting it ablaze. On Thursday, the turret speed camera on Boulevard Strategique in Verdun suffered the same fiery fate. On Wednesday, a pair of speed cameras on the D37 in Joue-les-Tours were incinerated with burning tires. On Tuesday, the speed camera on the D656 in Wasquehal was blinded with black spraypaint and an anarchy symbol. Speed cameras on the D1019 in Proyart and on the D1017 in Eterpigny were blinded with black spraypaint.
Vigilantes in Toronto, Canada, grabbed four portable speed cameras from city streets, thwarting city officials who were depending on the automated ticketing revenue generated by Redflex Traffic Systems of Australia. The devices had been located on Brimorton Drive, Crow Trail, Falmouth Avenue and Jameson Avenue. In Belgium, sixty-one speed cameras were disabled in 2019.