Well done Arizona !
Hats off to Arizona for banning speed cameras. I wish London would follow suit...
The first American state to deploy speed cameras has banned them after a campaign of opposition from motorists.
Arizona today became the first to pull the plug amid concerns the cameras intruded on privacy and were mainly designed to raise money.
In echoes of the row in Britain, motorists had waged a sustained campaign against their use by martyring themselves in court and vandalising cameras.
In addition, less than a third of the 1.2million tickets issued were paid, and Arizona collected £45million in fines, far below the projected £80million annual revenue.
Motorists refused to pay the £120 fines to test whether or not they would actually be jailed, causing legal clerks to be overwhelmed by the paperwork.
They were axed by Republican Governor Jan Brewer who had made no secret of her dislike for them.
‘She opposed this program because it was designed primarily as a state revenue-generation tool,’ her spokesman, Paul Senseman, said.
‘She also is uncomfortable with the intrusive nature of the system.
‘Other critics were more vocal and said that the use of cameras amounted to the ‘government spying on its citizens.’
Source: Daily Mail
LOL colt!
I have three speed cameras within five miles of where I live.. The road is usually clear, yet people speed up, then slam on the brakes for the cameras and then carry on as normal :O)
Statistics have shown that there has been no reduction in accident rates since the cameras were introduced.
lol
yeh it is intrusion on privacy... ya see lotsa guys get head while driving in Az ;-)))
I don't agree with this. State gets the revenue only if you break the law. Intrusion on privacy with speed cams? I don't think so.
so since fines are so stiff, I just stick to the speed limit. I don't think this is a good move. It's just giving into people who want permission to break the law I think.
Jokes Apart...I agree with the decline in number of fatal accidents due to over-speeding. Infact, I personally feel the need of more radars at every 5KM on the highways. At times, it seems useless when a motorist reduce the speed for radar & then accelerate again. Mobile radars would be a more practical idea here...but then people will accuse them of generating revenue :P (and they'll follow Arizona's move)
I realise that in Doha, the speed cameras have actually reduced traffic accidents. However in the UK, the councils use them mainly to generate revenue.
A lot of people around would be so jealous of Arozonians now :P