Loma Linda, CA Shuts Off Red Light Cameras, Extends Yellow Light Times

In a rare moment of sanity for easily manipulated City Council members, those in Loma Linda decided that, well, “enough was enough” with red light scameras.

Not only did they shut them off, but incredibly, in the name of actual safety, a full second was added to all yellow light times where the cameras were removed.

Pretend safety “experts,” Redflex Traffic Systems, who ran the Loma Linda spy camera ring were taking home the lion share of the money from the citations that were in excess of $500. And you thought your $181 ransom note from AZ DPS was profitable for the Australian operation!

Undoubtedly, just like everywhere else that yellow light times are extended and overall traffic signal timing is improved, Loma Linda is sure to see a dramatic decrease in accidents across the board. Congrats to the people of that city who will surely be happy with the exit of Redflex.

Anti-Camera Sentiment Hits Silver Screen

The Problem

Growing frustration over the intrusion of automated ticketing machines is showing up more often in the arena of entertainment.

A big-screen remake of 1930s superhero “The Green Hornet” is set for release in January of 2011, and the producers of the film are using the violent destruction of a “red light camera” as the ending action sequence (video) in a 2 minute 30 second trailer available on YouTube.

The Reaction

The “superheros” find themselves snapped by what appears to be a Hollywood adaption of the infamous “Redflex scamera head.”

Response to the “cash flash” is swift, as a missile is launched from the vehicle which subsequently dispatches the scamera to a fiery, explosive demise.

The Solution

The highly-rated BBC program “Top Gear” recently used a similar, real-life sequence to terminate the existence of a Gatso lookalike.

The tables were turned in the 2008 action-thriller “Eagle Eye,” in which a rogue central computer named “ARIAA” used red light cameras and license plate recognition to locate and scramble missiles against a driver and passenger who were attempting to shut the system down.

Actual removal of the ticketing devices around Arizona is proving to be much less entertaining. Observers report that the Redflex – DPS cameras on the US-60 have started to come down, with cameras in the highway median being removed first.

Redflex’s piezo in-ground sensors will remain in place, becoming the property of Arizona Department of Transportation. They will likely remain unused as ADOT has their own network of sensors to anonymously monitor freeway traffic speeds.

Baytown, TX Red Light Cameras Exceptionally Dangerous

That title actually should come with an asterisk because Peoria, AZ saw similar numbers at many of it’s intersections after installation of surveillance ticketing devices.

If the city of Baytown, TX wanted to drive the accident and injury count WAY up in its intersections, they picked the right way to do it: Install red light cameras.

Numbers about to be released to the local media in the city just East of Houston show an alarming increase in collisions, up to 400% in several intersections. CameraFRAUD has been sent and advance report.

Press Release From Saferbaytown.com

Saferbaytown.com has been fighting for a November vote on banning the system outright, but with the current danger these devices pose to the public, their city council should move swiftly to have them removed before more crashes and injuries occur due to the driver distraction they pose.

Here are some of the alarming statistics from the report, compared with the previous numbers available at the Texas Dept of Transportation website (TxDOT):

Measurement	Report 1 2009	Report 2 2010	% Change
Total accidents	50	70	+40%
Red Light related	18	20	+12%
Injury crashes	8	14	+75%
Red Light T Bones	11	15	+37%
Rear End accidents	23	42	+83%
Injuries	13	18	+39%

Some intersections have seen a dramatically large increase in certain types of accidents, most notably three that have seen a 300%, 350% and 400% respectively.

What would you call allowing this trend to continue after being given the figures that point to sharp increases in accidents? Profit over safety? Absolutely. Gross negligence and public endangerment? There is an argument to be made.

Whatever it is, Baytown, take down those cameras! The public shouldn’t be subjected to even one more day of the danger they pose. We all know the public vote will end the program, but why wait 2.5 months to do the right thing?

Houston Added to List of Cities Voting on Scameras

The 4th largest city in the country is going to vote on a photo ticketing ban. This can’t sit well with scam vendors Redflex and ATS. That list of cities is growing rapidly, but Houston, TX sticks out because it would be a dagger to the heart of the aforementioned fraud peddlers.

TheNewspaper.com covers the saga in at length in their latest article:

“The effort was able to take advantage of a high rate of voter interest and anger at the city’s red light program,” initiative campaign manager Philip Owens told TheNewspaper. “In some neighborhoods where we gathered signatures going door to door. We had a success rate of 90 percent — meaning nine out of every ten contacts signed the petition. That’s a staggering rate and shows this is a people-driven campaign.” The group now will focus its efforts on driving voter turnout in November and refuting the claims made by the paid spokesmen for ATS regarding the effect cameras have had on collision rates (view independent studies).

Also in the Lone Star State, Baytown and Port Lavaca are ready to vote on scameras. Stop Baytown Red Light Cameras turned in the needed signatures to compensate for some that were invalidated by the city. Quoted from their website,

“The Arizona camera company(ATS) gets paid a bounty of 55% of each ticket collected in return for installing the cameras for free. source; Baytown Sun 3-27-10″

If it “isn’t about the money,” ATS sure has a funny way of showing it based on that last stat.

Outside of Texas, Mukilteo, Washington has won their court battle with a front group funded by scamera companies and that Seattle suburb will be voting on a photo ticketing ban.

The great state of Ohio is next on the radar screen with the cities of Garfield Heights and South Euclid, OH having their signature count validated recently. Both city councils are going to review them.

The Cleveland Camera Removal Team is still working on their petition. They are shooting for a special election in February 2011.

CameraFRAUD volunteers will be taking on Paradise Valley, where the scam started almost 25 years ago. Watching these other cities jump on the scamera-ban bandwagon should be plenty of motivation to up our own efforts.

Tonight’s Mission: Paradise Regained.

Updated – Governor Brewer: Turn Off Those Sensors

What exactly is going on here? It appears the deflection technique is in full effect at the Governor’s office, DPS and ADOT.

CameraFRAUD volunteers have been inquiring about Redflex’s continued operation of speed sensors after their contract expired with all three offices. We have evidence that nobody is taking ownership of the issue.

In an AZCentral “article,” it was stated that until the equipment is required to be completely removed, Redflex will still be operating their speed sensors and capturing our data for their use.

The contract states that they have 120 days to remove their equipment after it expires, but nowhere does it say that they can continue to collect data. These are public roads that Redflex littered with their mechanical heaps and they’d have to have some type of permit or contract for the continued operation of them.

Is anyone in charge here in AZ? The governor’s office emailed us and said it was false information being passed around. Maybe they need to make a phone call to Redflex and politely tell them that they’ve over-stayed their welcome.

Unless they want to use that data to make a case that Shoba, Redflex’s Master of Panic, is right. She predicted that “dangerous and aggressive driving” will be on the uptick. We’re still unclear about how those sensors can detect dangerous and aggressive driving. Maybe they can let us in on that.

Leaving the camera piezo sensors on to supposedly just collect data is a sham: our freeways are already equipped with intelligent traffic system sensors, which monitor the speed of traffic every one half to one mile. The boys from down under are up to no good.

But Governor Brewer’s spokesman has been very public lately in saying that she still wants a citizens vote on Photo Ticketing for the entire state.

We have 120,000+ names of AZ voters that agree with that sentiment.

Actions speak louder than words Governor Brewer. You’ve seen that work mightily in your favor lately.

Let’s vote on it.

**UPDATED**

ADOT has responded to our inquiry by posting a comment. Here it is:

Tim Tait, ADOT says:

July 22, 2010 at 8:05 pm

Just to provide a bit of clarification, when the photo enforcement program ended, ADOT ensured that the power was off at all camera locations and that all in-pavement loop detectors were disconnected. ADOT has independent sensors (in-pavement and acoustical) that help to count cars and track general traffic flow; these sensors provide data that computers convert into the traffic maps and the travel-time estimates. ADOT’s system and that installed for photo enforcement are totally separate.

ADOT will continue to monitor the process of removal of the camera infrastructure to ensure that it is done safely and within all standards, just as we would do for any other project.

I hope this helps to provide some clarity.

– Tim Tait, ADOT
ttait@azdot.gov
602-712-7070

If the power has been shut off to Redflex’s fixed cameras and loop detectors (speed sensors) the info provided for this article was false:

“The Redflex Mafia”

This time it wasn’t us who gave the scamera operator it’s newest nickname. No, it was the suddenly very quotable State Senator Frank Antenori. His words, when asked about a basically worthless piece of legislation were “The Redflex Mafia got it” and “That would have been a significant hit to their bottom line.” Those remarks were seen yesterday in the Yuma Sun online.

Antenori had hoped for the original measures in the bill to pass, but the struggling Redflex Traffic Systems lobbyists pared it down to a law that we already have. Antenori’s version would give a one second grace period before Red Light Cameras would flash still images of motorists in the intersection when the signal has turned red. This buffer would have lessened the anxiety level for many drivers entering from the “dilemma zone,” where Redflex Surveillance cameras are in place.

Once those measures were scrapped, the law that was eventually signed provides that all intersections in the state must have at least 3 second long yellow lights, which was already law. One has to wonder what the point of signing the bill actually was.

SB 1018, which EXPANDS photo radar and what it can be used for in Arizona is still unsigned by the Governor, so there is more time to let her office know how we feel.

Fox News Channel with Douglas Kennedy

The video is finally up and ready! Sorry about the delay.

Enjoy!

Monthly Meeting Tuesday

It’s not time to celebrate but we’ve had another great month and captured the spotlight again. This is the most critical time in our ballot initiative effort. We now have LESS THAN 120 DAYS to collect signatures for the BAN PHOTO RADAR IN AZ initiative.

The opposition is still waiting to take their best shot, if history is any indication.

Tactics Employed by Redflex/Go Media. Photo Courtesy of AZCentral.com

We’ve been on local news, we’ve been in the national press and now we’ve been on National Cable Television News.

There will be a couple exciting announcements that you don’t want to miss.

Tuesday, 7 p.m., you know the place, check the Meetup and RSVP.

This Talivan Has a Tale to Tell

Sooo what happened here folks?

Smashed Talivan in Redflex Parking Lot

We know some Talivan drivers like to drink on the job. We’re pretty sure he got fired, but did they need to hire him back on?

In all seriousness, this looks severe and makes one wonder about where this Scam Van was when it sustained this type of damage.

Could it have been parked on the side of the road, causing temporary blindness of a motorist due to the scamera flash and was rear-ended?

We’re putting out a CameraFRAUD APB to anyone who saw what caused this damage.  Scameras are known to make the road more dangerous and this smells like another dirty little Redflex/DPS secret.

**UPDATE**

The below picture was taken earlier in the afternoon from a different angle, courtesy of PhotoRadarScam.

Taking It To The Streets! (Sign Wave)

CameraFRAUD volunteers are planning to hit the scamera companies where they live, again! This time it’s a sign wave at the corner of Rural Road and University Drive. This has been one of our more popular locations in the past and it’s littered with fraudulent automated ticketing machines. Thursday February 25th is the date and 5 p.m. is the time.

We’re always well received by the University crowd, as you can imagine. $181 could pay for a lot of books, but Redflex is just out to funnel everyone’s money to Australia. Let’s get together and tell them how we feel about it.

Get out there and be heard Arizona!

(check the meetup for details)