Atlanta's Installing Five New Traffic Cameras

This week the city of Atlanta will join other cities across the nation for "National Stop on Red Week." The Department of Public Works (DPW) will be distributing literature on red light running at community meetings to recognize the event.

To curb the amount of drivers that run red lights, five red light cameras are being installed at various intersections throughout Atlanta. Warning signs are also being posted and a 30-day warning period for all violators will be in effect. At the end of the warning period, citations will be issued, according to a notice posted in Atlanta's City Newsbytes newsletter.

"This is a valuable program that's going to make driving in Atlanta safer for motorists and pedestrians," Public Works Commissioner David Scott said. "Red light runners are a leading cause of crashes and camera enforcement has been proven to reduce those crashes."

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Technocrati: red light cameras surveillance traffic tickets police state big brother

New and Nearly Invisible Speed Cameras

Nearly invisible speed cameras mounted in the pavement will soon begin issuing speeding tickets in Malaysia. Officials there have announced plans to install a relatively new speed camera technology placed in the raised reflective pavement markers known as Botts' Dots or cat's eyes.

A pair of the "Intelligent Studs" sit in between lanes raised just 4mm from the ground, virtually indistinguishable from other lane markers in the road. One stud measures speed and another houses an infrared camera that photographs license plates at speeds up to 150 MPH. Together they can also be used to track the location and times of all passing vehicles through Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) software. Each device includes an automatic self-cleaning system to remove dirt and road grime regularly.

Malaysia already allows anyone with a cameraphone or other digital camera to issue speeding tickets to strangers, friends and enemies by uploading a picture to a police website. Yesterday, officials announced the first forty tickets had been issued under the new program.A limited version of Botts dots technology designed to illuminate foggy roads has been tested in Scotland and New Zealand.

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Technocrati: red light cameras surveillance traffic tickets police state big brother

Florida Jumps On The Profitable Red Light Camera Craze

After four public hearings and much deliberation by the Gulf Breeze, FL City Council, Ordinance 01-05 was approved providing for ‘Photographic Enforcement of Red Lights’ within city limits.

“This action was suggested by our Traffic Safety Task Force,” explained Mayor Lane Gilchrist to the Council, “and recommended by staff. Its sole purpose is to improve safety on our streets.”
Photographic enforcement of traffic light rules is not new, according to City Manager Buz Eddy. “The system we are employing from Traffic Pax Company is working successfully in the suburbs around Dallas and Houston. The tickets are issued automatically as a civil infraction, captured electronically. No points are added to the driver’s license.”

Though photographic enforcement has been a controversial issue nationwide, the proposed ordinance provoked little concern at the public hearings. Three of the five intersections in the city which have traffic control signals are immediately adjacent to public schools and see extremely high traffic flows. Nearly 3,000 students are transported through these intersections daily..

According to the Attorney General’s Office, the use of unmanned cameras to record violations is not precluded by law, “and represents an innovated approach to detect and deter the dangerous conditions created by drivers who disobey traffic signals.”

Nationwide, studies have revealed red light traffic violations as the number one cause of urban motor vehicle collisions, and that penalizing the owner of a vehicle for violations has proven extremely effective at reducing red light violations and traffic accidents.

“We’ve always been on the forefront of safety, and we are willing to employ this system at no cost to the city to help enforce traffic rules at our intersections,” Eddy says.

According to City Attorney Matt Dannheisser, “If Traffic Pax moves as expeditiously as possible, we can have this system up and running within about six to eight weeks.”

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Obviously, they must have read the studies on how much money the city can take from you & not the actual safety studies....

Photoblocker License Plate Spray Illegal in the UK

According to Photoblogger...

Photoblocker Spray could save your license, but you WILL NOT be able to buy
it after 2006! The Government in the United Kingdom is so worried over the threat Photoblocker Spray poses to the millions they earn every month in speeding fines, that on MARCH 10TH 2005, legislation was announced that would make the spray ILLEGAL.

I thought law enforcement is claiming that Photoblocker does not work? I wonder why they would go through all that time & money to outlaw a product that doesn't work?

Don't Let Them Take Your Hard Earned Money!
Protect Yourself With...
PHOTOBLOCKER
Spray That Will Make Your License
Plates Invisible To Traffic Cameras

Red Light Cameras Are Coming To Houston, TX

Run a red light and pretty soon your license plate and car could be caught on camera.

Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt said the department is in final talks with the company that will put up the cameras at select intersections around town.

The first few will go up within two months.

The chief said drivers caught running red lights during the 30-day trial would get warning letters in the mail. After that they'll be slapped with citations.

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