The Pima County Board of Supervisors are set to decide on creating a new (and very lucrative) contract with American Traffic Solutions on January 6th.
The potential 1.5 million dollar deal would call for 10 stationary and 10 mobile revenue devices to be placed throughout unincorporated areas of Pima County with profit– not safety– as the only true motivation.
Not content with the traditional red light and speed camera fines, which approach $200.00, this deployment would also “be capable of capturing violations of the state’s new ban on plate covers that obscure the word “Arizona” at the top of the license plate” for an additional fine of $130.00.
We’ve warned you that “all they want to do is take your money.” Government proponents of photo enforcement have even told you that they want to raise “bucketfuls of money.” Honest law enforcement professionals say photo enforcement is “corrupting law enforcement.”
ACTION ALERT: Call Pima County NOW and tell them enough is enough: no more photo enforcement fraud!
Pima County Board of Supervisors Receptionist: (520) 740-8126
Richard Elías, Chairman, District 5: (520) 740-8126
Ann Day, District 1: (520) 740-2738
Ramón Valadez, District 2: (520) 740-8126
Sharon Bronson, District 3: (520) 740-8051
Ray Carroll, District 4: (520) 740-8094
CameraFRAUD.com - The Cameras are Coming Down 
These crooks need to be voted out of office.
Wow… And these folks think that Arizonans will simply roll over and accept this?
If they escalate their use of cameras, the resistance will escalate as well. Then ATS and Redflex will long for the days of Silly String and Post-It Notes.
I sent the supervisor for my district, Ann Day, an email over the weekend asking her to vote against photo enforcement. I decided to call her this morning. I spoke with her secretary. She took down my comment, asked for my name, and she said, “oh, yes, Mr. Howard. You sent us an email yesterday, didn’t you? I will let her know that you called, too.”
So, that tells me that emails sent to her are read.
So, call and send, call and send, folks! Make your voice heard.
How exactly would they do it? Snap every single car and pour over the photos to see if ‘Arizona’ is legible? Or are the cameras so spohisticated that they can zoom in on every plate, make the determination that they are out of compliance, and then flash them?
Sounds strange.
These new RedFlex cameras are also capable of reading your license plate on the fly and running you through all known federal and state databases to determine if you are a person of interest. THIS MEANS YOU ARE GUILTY UNTIL PROVEN INNOCENT in the eyes of Pima County and the State of Arizona.
Who introduced RedFlex to Arizona? Janet Napolitano now Sec. of Homeland Security.
These cameras are super capable of watching your every more friends – and unless you pull the plug now, your every move will soon be monitored by “inquiring minds just looking to fine your or book you”
The stationary units take video, so they could basically review the tapes and pick out drivers who have plates that aren’t in compliance.
It’s also important to note that this law was buried by being, “attached the language to a House-passed bill dealing with creating new special license plates for the White Mountain Apache Tribe, the Arizona Diamondbacks and an organization that supports the families of fallen police officers.” ( http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/274306 )
This is pork barrel politics that our Senior Senator and Presidential Candidate John McCain has warned us against for years. If you’ve never seen legislation written, I would suggest you go down to one of your state/city bodies and watch it happen. It can be very frightening how votes are traded for provisions like this one.
If police are having such a hard time recognizing Arizona vehicles, maybe the MVD could simply scrap most of these license plate options that we have in this state. Again, it’s because these charities throw money the state’s way every time someone pays the $25 for a special plate.
I am all for the state making enough money to pay good people to run it and serve the public, but where does it all stop? You can only soak the public for so long before we will be out on the streets with pitchforks and torches. Study your history and you will see what I am talking about.
Ok Trolls, do your worst. I’m waiting…..bring the pain!!
My assumption is they’ll initially tack on the additional $130 to every notice they send for a speeding violation. However, I don’t think ATS, Redflex or the state would miss an opportunity to charge taxpayers for a nickel and dime violation. I’m sure there are a plethora of vehicle codes the lackeys at ATS & Redflex are researching to add to their camera systems as “options”.
Just remember, it’s all about safety.
I never understood the speed limit on freeways which were designed for cars moving at a median speed of 75 miles per hour. The Arid climate and clear blue skies of Arizona make such thing even more ridiculous. There are plenty of laws on the books which can be used to penalize reckless drivers even at 20 miles per hour. Why not to use those laws to keep Arizonan safe instead of making everyone a criminal and to official pick pocketing of public.
I got two tickets within a month. My friend got three tickets in a single drive on a mile and half stretch of I-10W, southwest of Sky Harbor. I do not think anyone of us endangered anyone while driving at a prudent speed. Go 2010 proposition against photo tickets.
@Graham:
The technology is already in place. DPS and a few valley police departments have these cameras that can read our license plates from most angles. That’s why we have these new, flat, reflective license plates on our cars. These cameras are attached to onboard computers that run the plate in an instant, and where an officer could at best run dozens of license plates in a shift, the number now runs in the hundreds.
Did I mention that these cameras are mounted in DPS vehicles? Right now DPS has a ton of data it doesn’t know what to do with. Basically it’s a bunch of license plate captures with associated times, dates, and location by means of GPS.
I suppose next year we’ll have to have license plates on the front of our vehicles as well as the rear, so these license plate readers can double the number of plates it captures.
So if you drive by 5 cameras with a bad license plate frame, do you get 5 tickets?
These cameras are worthless.
wow, they are quick.
It’s already well-established that they have no qualms whatsoever about recording every vehicle that passes by, whether speeding or not… I figured it was only a matter of time till this was included…but even I didn’t think it would be this fast. I figured they’d give John Q Public the time to get used to the cameras before turning up the heat… but maybe they’ve figured out that the cameras are going away so they better pile it all on now & get while the gettin’s good.
This should further make the case against everyone stating that these cameras were for the cause of safety. How on earth does having or not having a license plate cover have anything to do with safety? Yes, speeding is and always should be illegal. But shouldn’t our officials stealing our economic safety also be illegal?
DPS has statistics that prove that the new license plate law has totally stopped all accidents and fatalities on the roads. A person who had a heart attack on the road was actually revived due to this new license plate law. So the new law has brought fatalities down to negatives to -1%!
Right on jgunn!! Lol! That’s probably with their article, “How to Revive Your State Economy by Sending Money to Australia.”
Well, the Pima County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 for photo enforcement. Thank Ann Day and Ray Carroll for voting against it.
Too Late Ladies & Gents! Freedom Theft occurrs again by fiscally irresponsible politicians…Here’s th score…Pima Co. Chair Richard Elias, District 2 member Ramon Valdez, & District 3 member Sharon Bronson voted YEA for the new orwellian additions to the scameras. District 5 memebr Ann Day & District 4 member Ray Carroll voted FOR FREEDOM by voting NAY! Mrs. Day & Mr Carroll get “Raisin’ Pie” with Redi Whip! elias, valdez & bronson get removed from office & run outta’ town on a rail! Remember…F R E E D O M ! ! !-Doc from Prescott
Funny how we haven’t seen any pro-camera comments on this article today.
Could it possibly be that Marci might have an issue with this? Has she finally discovered the capacity for rational thought?
Naw, she just hasn’t been on the board today, lol!
Richard Elias http://www.pima.gov/bos/dist5/contact.html
Ramon Valdez http://www.pima.gov/bos/dist2/Ramon.html
Sharon Bronson http://www.pima.gov/bos/dist3/Contact.html
This is a fake issue……
DPS never requested this law. They were not consulted on it.
In Florida there are over 100 different plate styles. Ranging from “Save the Florida Panther” to all the “Low Power Radio”. Florida Highway patrol nor any county or local government ever had nay complaints about all the plate styles on the road. This is Redflex Scamera legislation no doubt in my mind! They want to increase the ticket flash to ticket issue ratio more in their favor. This law was not for the cops, it’s for the cams.
So I guess the real question is how many more of these examples it will take for the ‘just drive the speed limit’ crowd wakes up simply to realize what most of us have been saying all along?
Aw, mannnn!
I’ve been waiting all day seeing how the “it’s for the safety” crowd would spin this one, and…nothing. Cmon where’s dp(whatever-it-is)777, me, etc etc?
Cmon guys, I really need to have a good laugh… tell me it’s about the safety, not about the money, if I didn’t speed I’d have nothing to worry about.. something! Where you at? Don’t let me down like this! Or have your awesome powers of 8th grade persuasive writing class finally met their match?
I guess ya’ll forgot dps said it’s photoenforcment program wasn’t going to have anything to do with the license plate law. Nevermind the fact the law was passed in 2006… before the dps program. Anyways, the pima county is ATS’s game anyways…
Now, if ya’ll want to argue it’s a stupid law and $135 dollars is way to much, believe it or not, I’m with you. But I’ll still argue the general paranoia here… Just remember the lady in pinal said it ‘could’ be done, she didn’t say their photo radar was gonna be doing that. (can you imagine trying to watch video of people going by at 45+ trying to spy a tiny little license plate cover, that’s just stupid)
Oh got a good one for ya’ll
http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/274260
I have an idea. Why not just return to the old standard way of making each state’s license plates absolutely unique to their respective state (by background color and type color)? The old reddish-brown Arizona plate color was unique enough as to not require seeing the words “Arizona” in order to recognize it (even 1500 miles away). Likewise, it was easy to spot the plates of most other states going by color alone.
Multi-option “specialty plates” (a revenue generating idea OF the state) became so unrecognizeable that they spawned ANOTHER revenue-based “solution” to the problem they created. You get screwed in both directions.
i saw a really stupid thing today driving north on the 51 which is set at 55 for some mysterios reason (5 lanes wide with a 6th lane for carpoolers). at the spot where the radarvan was. both speed limit signs before and after were covered. i wonder if that was why they picked that spot? normally that whole stretch is 55. rite now its set at 55 because of construction that has been completed for some time now.
i meant 65(typo) in that area
It was voted in. Get ready for the fleecing to begin. I expect many, many, many tickets to be issued. Maybe I will see the Sheriff and his deputies actually stop a carload of illegals and bust them. BTW, this may free up more deputies to harass the bicycle riding public in this wonderful county (PCSO is being sued by several cyclists who were involved in an incident on March 1st of last year from rumor.) Seriously folks, cameras are here to stay. Redflex is in the money making business and Pima County is seriously in the red as is the fine City of Tucson. I’ve made suggestions on how to fix the problem: RAISE TAXES and get rid of the illegal LOTTERY. (The Constitution of this State states there will be no gambling anywhere within the state of any kind.)
Me- at least we’re beginning to agree on something.
As to the link you posted, let me just point out one small item. It says “The only information sought is your speed, and if that’s too fast, then your license plate number is recorded and a ticket is issued. If you weren’t driving, you can finger the person who was. ”
The only item is your speed? This is dead wrong.
First, they make it sound as if they are not recording your face (which makes me wonder if this article were written by someone new to the area because unlike some locales they always record your face here..). You are also under no obligation that I am aware of to “finger the person who was. [driving]”
Next, obviously pima county is looking at enforcing the license plate holder law with it (which has nothing to do with speeding). It is also no secret that there are plans to hook this into amber alert system, which (again) has nothing to do with speeding. (All a kidnapper would need do is not speed and they could make a getaway). As reported a few days ago, ShowLow is planning to hook it to criminal databases to look for “suspected” felons– again, nothing to do with speeding.
I’ve said it before, but a passive system that lies in wait for some speeder to trigger it is not NEARLY as repugnant as the system we’re actually talking about. The cameras will have the potential to always be on, watching recording and archiving every plate, every face, every vehicle that passes by– whether the person driving is breaking the law or not. Why on earth would we want to give anyone that ability ,muchless some private company? If I am not breaking the law, why am I going into some database? Why take that information to begin with, much less record it and archive it? That’s a lot of trouble to go through for something that will never be used— and if it is used, I’d like to know how, when and why it could be used- but I’ve heard squat on that score.
Leaving all that aside there’s technical issues with that article too, a “ticket” is not issued- it is a “notice of violation”– they cannot by law issue a ticket until you are served.
So, “me,” sorry, but your little article is wrong on any number of levels and does not even begin to address the most basic of concerns on this issue. (This is of course other than the most basic concern of the issue, the tired old refrain of “obey the law and you have nothing to worry about.”)
I was half waiting to read “..and pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!”
I HOPE THEY PUT BETTER CAMERAS UP SO THEY CAN CATCH SOME ILLEGAL MEXICANS AND OTHERS WHO ARE HERE ILLEGALLY. ALL YOU CLOWS WHO HATE CAMERAS ARE THEY TYPES THAT CAUSE THE ACCIDENTS.
SIGN ME FOR IT.
no matter–
You’re absolutely right. More cameras will prevent illegal immigration, and you know why? Because people want to come to this country to enjoy the freedoms they have here– freedoms which are not available anywhere else in the world. Freedom is the reason they risk life and limb to get here, and consistently risk deportation to stay… and this very same freedom is the one being threatened by the cameras. Put up enough cameras, remove enough freedoms, and prettysoon we’ll be no better than whatever craphole Banana Republic they’re fleeing so they might as well stay put. Great thinking!
These cameras are extremely dangerous! The other night it had flashed apparently a driver next to me and though it was not me the camera “FLASH” was so bright that it caught me in the eyes to where I needed to refocus so not to crash! I think it’s a waste as it is releaving the cops from having to have to do their job that they are paid to do. It sure isn’t helping so that the cops are able to get to a call faster so not to have to monitor drivers. It’s also one thing for cops to monitor drivers that maybe breaking the law, but how about those that just for the Hell of it run your plates for no reason at all, they drive behind you and you can easily tell what the cop is doing as he stays behind you for the period it takes to run your plates, but as he keeps popping his head up and down you know that he/she is typing your plate in and watching you and watching the screen once it comes up that you done absolutely NO WRONG! You can’t win for losing anymore these days and this is a “FREE” country!
Well, now that we’re all going the same speed, how long before we are wearing the same clothes, eating the same food and driving the same government mandated vehicles?
Look at it this way: The Nappy Nikons are the latest monuments to the failed management of our state. We are broke! Like so many other states, Arizona is facing an unprecedented budget shortfall. Fees are being raised all over the state. Any of you going to ASU this semester? I’m sure you have been hit with the increases. It even costs you more to park you car over there
All this noise about safety is BS and we all know it. Traffic fatalities are down across the country and they are down in Arizona from 2007 to 2008 by 18%. That’s a big number. Fatality Rates across the country for 100 million VMT (vehicle miles traveled) is at an historic low of 1.37. What’s more, passenger car fatalities have been declining for 5 consecutive years. (NHTSA)
Anyone who commutes knows that the vast majority of accidents are low speed-low impact non-fatal crashes. And we also know that most of the fatal crashes are caused by the little chaos monkey’s also known as crackhead punks who bomb around, in and out of traffic, rushing to their next job interview.
Alcohol related fatalities are down 3.7% as well. If you are wondering what’s coming next, I can tell you. Are you ready? Motorcycle fatalities exceeded that of pedestrians by exactly 500. It’s crazy to think that walking around is almost as dangerous as riding a motorcycle but it’s a fact and it is something that Big Brother just won’t stand for. So, coming to a neighborhood near you; if you are caught outside without your PPD (pedestrian protective device i.e helmet) then you can be sure you will find yourself in the cross-hairs of an automatic PSAC (personal safety assurance camera) and the facial recognition camera will process your face in a millisecond and the money will be taken out of your bank account. No muss. No fuss.
Steve,
I hope it doesn’t come to that. Do you have a source for any of this information?
My question is, do we really need to try this hard to protect people from themselves? The answer is no. Let nature take its course. It’s a small planet and some lives are not worth saving. My apologies if you’ve had a loved-one killed by a car, cigarettes, Katrina, a slippery sidewalk, a Big Mac etc etc etc. Education is the key, not lawsuits and fines. Open your eyes.
Here’s hoping Nappy does not get confirmed now that the Brewer Team is ready to step in and end Photo Enforcement.