Paradise Valley Caught In $193k Ticket Fraud

From TheNewspaper.com:

A group campaigning to eliminate photo enforcement in Arizona has forced Paradise Valley to admit that it has been shortchanging drivers. A volunteer with the group Camerafraud.com discovered the city used illegally short yellows at the intersection of Tatum Boulevard and McDonald Drive. The motorist was mailed a red light camera ticket for allegedly entering the intersection just 0.2 seconds after the light had turned red.

“I was nailed with a ticket at an intersection that left me very perplexed because I didn’t think I was going to get a ticket,” David K. wrote on June 16. “I thought I was close enough to the intersection to pass the limit line before the light turned red. Well, I thought wrong because the duration for the yellow light on a 40 MPH speed limit road was only three seconds…”

…Altogether, 1063 motorists issued red light camera tickets between May 6 and June 16 will receive refunds if paid or have their citations canceled. Most have not paid. This represents a loss of $193,466 in potential revenue to the city.

It’s important to note that less than a day after the whistleblower posted his video online and contacted the city, Paradise Valley quietly corrected the yellow light timing to the proper threshold. A video made by the driver before-and-after was the only proof of the misdeed, so you can be assured that without it the issue would have been quietly swept under the rug.

Redflex and Paradise Valley: Where perpetrating fraud is always about the money.

THAYER THE BETRAYER?

I did what?

6/30/09: UPDATED W/ Response from Verschoor, see below

Thayer Verschoor, R-(eally?) Gilbert was the lone wolf in attempting to reverse a proposed ban on automated ticketing that has been working its way through the State Senate.

Verschoor should know better than any legislator how unpopular photo enforcement is with constituents: his hometown of Gilbert is the only major city in the East Valley to not use the revenue-enhancing systems on their streets and roadways.

So why did he do it? We have no idea, but you’re welcome to contact his office and ask. Post the response you get, if any, in the comments section below.

Thayer Verschoor
Phone: (602) 926-4136
Fax: (602) 417-3220

Verschoor’s response:

This was Andy Biggs Bill. He drafted an amendment in my name to remove the Photo Enforcement Ban from his bill if it looked like the the Photo Enforcement Ban was going to cause his bill to die. The bill came up for consideration while I was in the House of Representatives reviving a bill of mine that had died the night before. The amendment was offered even though I was not there. Had I been there I would not have offered the amendment because his bill was fine and I do not support photo speed enforcement. Hopefully that is clear.

Thanks,

Thayer

We thank Thayer for his prompt response. In addition, Mr. Verschoor has agreed to be a guest speaker at our next monthly meeting.

Ban it, Ban it Not

The political petal-pulling continues as the Arizona State Legislature flip-flops on whether or not to end the state photo enforcement contract with scam-vendor Redflex.

If to be looked at as a whole, the decision process as a legislative body could only be described as neurotic: a bill from Sam Crump earlier this year failed to grow legs despite being passed in committee. Last week, a Glendale representative introduced a proposal to add points to photo enforcement tickets. Just in the past couple days, murmurs regarding a new bill to “end photo enforcement” have circulated… for September 2010.

No matter what, we can say with almost complete confidence that the following statements are true:

Waffles: Official Breakfast of the Arizona State Legislature

1. The legislature will never vote to end photo radar as long as it funds clean elections, which helps many of the reps get elected in the first place.

2. The legislature will never ban automated ticketing statewide, including deadly red light cameras, as the citizen’s ballot initiative proposes.

3. The legislature will never fail to close a revenue window without opening a door. Toll roads, anyone?

The cameras are coming down, but it won’t be thanks to those who caused the problem in the first place: the politicians who stand to lose far too much if such a cash-cow goes away.

DPS Veteran: “Ashamed of Agency”

A 34-year veteran of the Arizona Department of Public Safety has spoken out against the use of photo radar in a Tribune editorial, calling the blind enforcement of “11 over” the speed limit by cameras to be “ridiculous.”

I am ashamed of my former agency engaging in speed traps, something we used to accuse small departments of doing to boost a town’s revenue.

Redflex, American Traffic Solutions, DPS, City of Scottsdale, etc: It’s always all about the money.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words…

…But not if the Redflex camera is blocked by post it notes.