Traffic Ticket Cams Coming to Colo Spr

[rondog]

Those stupid Nazi cams SUCK! And you can bet your ass they're ALL ABOUT generating revenue! There's a mess of them at I-25 and Lincoln, the exits for Parker and Highlands Ranch/Lonetree, and those bastards are flashing all the time. You don't even THINK about pushing your luck with 'em.

[funkfool]

http://www.atsol.com/about-us.html
A few things of interest from the ATS Site:

Weigh In Motion - Overweight Vehicle Enforcement
Overweight trucks create noise pollution and destroy roads, increasing costs for everyone. The Axsis™ WIM-300 assists governments to enforce weight limits on their roadways, which translates into less damage and expense to repair public roads and highways and addresses neighborhood complaints about unwanted truck traffic noise. True to our history as the innovation leader, the WIM-300 system is the first high-resolution, multi-lane weigh in motion photo enforcement system in the industry.

The system uses a combination of state-of-the-art quartz weight-sensitive piezo sensors in conjunction with vehicle classification logic to isolate heavy vehicles. When an overweight vehicle passes over the sensors, the computer logic in the Axsis™ system compares the detected weight measurement with the selected weight threshold. If the threshold is exceeded, a high-resolution 12.4 megapixel still image and a full-color and full audio video clip of the vehicle are captured and transmitted electronically to the processing center. The audio is valuable and unique, and allows the reviewer to see and hear the large vehicle crossing the detection zone.


Time-Over-Distance Speed Enforcement
The patented* Axsis™ POINT TO POINT™ speed cameras system enables effective speed detection and enforcement of extended road segments. POINT TO POINT™ speed cameras utilize the time-over-distance principle to measure and enforce speeding on dangerous stretches of road not easily enforced by police personnel or other types of standard automated photo enforcement. ATS is the exclusive patent* licensee of the POINT TO POINT™ speed cameras system in the United States. This license also covers ATS’s POINT TO POINT™ speed monitoring services which it offers on a contract basis.

Public Finance
Revenue Advancing™, an innovative program offered by the Public Finance Solutions Department of ATS, provides a way for communities to convert their past-due receivables into cash, services or equipment before the receivables are collected. The cash then can be added to the general fund or converted into additional direct services by the municipality, including red-light or speed enforcement programs, parking meters or other equipment. From parking, court fees, fines, ordinance violations, judgments, photo enforcement and other public safety related collections, ATS Public Finance Solutions convert a community’s receivables into a cash advance while letting the municipality share in the upside of future collections.
ATS also provides customized leasing and lease purchase programs for photo enforcement needs. The programs provide flexible service offerings tailored to a community’s needs at the lowest possible cost.

Sweet - loansharking to municipalities...
Wonder if there are any laws....

Also - a link from the ATS site -

http://blog.pos.org/2009/05/poll-sho...light-cameras/

Poll shows strong national support for “red-light cameras”

Posted on May 19, 2009, 1:45 pm, by Public Opinion Strategies, under Neil Newhouse, POS National, Survey Results.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: NEIL NEWHOUSE
Neil@POS.org / 703-836-7655
Click here for a PDF version of this release
POLL SHOWS STRONG NATIONAL SUPPORT FOR “RED-LIGHT CAMERAS”
May 19, 2009, Alexandria, VA – In a recent national survey of voters, Public Opinion Strategies found that fully 69% of Americans support the use of “red-light cameras” at the most dangerous intersections in their states, while just 29% oppose them.
Those voters “strongly” supporting red-light cameras outnumber those who strongly oppose them by a wide 45%-18% margin.
Neil Newhouse, one of the founding partners of Public Opinion Strategies, noted that “support for these red-light cameras is not only very strong nationally, but cuts across all demographic and attitudinal groups, including men and women, young and old, Republicans and Democrats, and conservatives and liberals.”

Especially if you trick the participants by carefully wording the questions.

The survey also showed that while support for red-light cameras is very high, voters believe that their support is not shared by others. By a 47%-41% margin, voters believe that most residents in their state oppose red-light cameras, providing evidence of a “disconnect” between voters’ actual attitudes on the issue and their perception of how other voters feel.
“This is a stunning result. Rarely in public opinion research do you find voter attitudes so at odds with what they believe others think. These red-light camera supporters are truly the ‘silent majority,’ while opponents might be described as a vocal minority.”
The national survey was based on telephone interviews with 800 likely voters, conducted April 19-22, 2009. The results are subject to a margin of sampling error of approximately plus or minus 3.46 percent.
Public Opinion Strategies (POS) is a national political and public affairs research firm. Headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, POS is the Republican partner for the NBC/WSJ Poll and was named “Pollster of the Year” by the trade publication “Campaigns and Elections.”
###
N1. Do you support or oppose the use of red-light cameras to detect red-light runners and enforce traffic laws in your state’s most dangerous intersections?
45% STRONGLY SUPPORT
24% SOMEWHAT SUPPORT
11% SOMEWHAT OPPOSE
18% STRONGLY OPPOSE
2% DON’T KNOW
* REFUSED
69% TOTAL SUPPORT
29% TOTAL OPPOSE
__________________________________________________ ____________________________
N2. And, setting aside your personal opinion of red-light cameras, do you think that most residents in your state support or oppose the use of red-light cameras to ensure traffic safety?
41% MOST SUPPORT
47% MOST OPPOSE
12% DON’T KNOW
* REFUSED

It really is HOW you ask the question...

[funkfool]

Looking just a bit deeper...

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/31/3123.asp
Florida Legislature Bails Out American Traffic Solutions, Goldman Sachs
Traffic camera firm gamble on running red light camera programs in Florida pays off with legislative approval.

The Florida legislature gave final approval yesterday to legislation giving municipal governments permission to operate red light cameras in return for a significant cut of the profit generated. The state Senate voted 30 to 7 to adopt a bill that had been approved last week by the House by a 77 to 33 vote. Passage of the measure represents a significant victory for American Traffic Solutions, a firm that installed and operated red light cameras in violation of state law on the gamble that the legislature would eventually authorize photo ticketing.

"There are a number of providers of traffic infraction detectors in Florida," the official House staff analysis explained. "These providers and others may realize a significant positive fiscal impact, depending on how each provider structures its services and negotiates with a given the county or municipality."

Goldman Sachs, which invested heavily in ATS two years ago, also benefits significantly from the bill. ATS competitor Redflex Traffic Systems of Australia, the largest provider of automated ticketing machines in the US, had opted not to operate in Florida after it had been burned by operating cameras without authorization in Minnesota only to be forced by the state supreme court and a federal judge to refund the ticket revenue.

In Florida, the staff analysis suggests that $160.5 million in annual revenue was foremost in the minds of legislators. The estimated haul would be divided with $94.8 million going to the state and $65.7 million to municipalities. Citing documents obtained from TheNewspaper, the legislature's analysis raised doubts about the safety rationale commonly asserted by the cameras' advocates.

"Other studies, including a 7-jurisdiction study conducted by the Virginia Department of Transportation and a US Department of Transportation-funded study by the Urban Transit Institute at North Carolina A and T University, have reached conflicting results regarding crash reduction," the staff analysis explained (view studies).

In recent years, the primary purpose of red light cameras has also evolved beyond penalizing vehicle owners who "run red lights." Instead, the vast majority of citations are mailed to those who fail to stop behind an arbitrary line before making a right-hand turn. According to federal data, such technical violations rarely cause accidents (view study). The new Florida legislation vaguely prohibits ticketing a right-hand turn made "in a careful and prudent manner," but it maintains the troublesome legal definition of a "violation" as failing to stop behind an arbitrary line on the pavement. Nationally, automated tickets are often issued to people who do stop before turning, but not at the line.

Unlike laws regulating cameras in other states, Florida does not require that law enforcement officers review the accuracy of the citations generated by the private firm. Instead, the bill allows meter maids or "infraction enforcement" non-uniformed employees, to sign off on tickets. The private vendor can wait up to thirty days before mailing the $158 tickets to the registered owner. Of this amount, the state keeps $113 for tickets issued on state roads and gives $45 to the local government. On local roads, the state takes $83 and the locality $75.

Governor Charlie Crist (R) has already indicated his intention of signing the bill into law. A copy of House Bill 325 is available in a 170k PDF file at the source link below.

Source: House Bill 325 as enrolled (Florida Legislature, 4/27/2010)

[funkfool]

Colorado Springs Municipal Code....
Looks like they still need to update this...

10.17.114: OWNER LIABILITY FOR TRAFFIC SIGNAL CAMERA VIOLATIONS:
(Ord. 97-162; Ord. 01-42; Rep. by Ord. 02-50)

http://www.sterlingcodifiers.com/CO/...ings/index.htm

[Hannu]

Let me tell you about how this "red-light-camera" thing went in some European countries. First, there were just few red-light-cameras; no points etc. on your license, just small traffic misdemeanor fee (might have been 100 euros).
But that was just the beginning...
Now there are many highways and cities full of cameras, both stationary and moving. Last year, they started to give you a ticket if you go 1 km/h over posted speed limit. Yes, that is about 0.6 mph. "My speedo is not that accurate..." is not a valid explanation - just pay and get some points against your license.

Now they (for example) measure car brake temperatures - if it is too high when you are driving on highway, you are gonna get ticket because of brake failure. If your car has stability control that is using brakes, they do not care, as long as you pay. You might be extremely dangerous driver if stability control has to work...
And of course, you gonna have 4 points against your license. (in relative, but 3x the same offense = you lose your license).

If they would really want to improve safety, they would improve those "high collision risk" intersections and other areas. Problem is, to be able to do that they need lots of money instead of getting it.

My advice : STOP that traffic-camera-madness if you still can...

[Irving]

Hannu, your post makes me furious.

[TS12000]

Let me tell you about how this "red-light-camera" thing went in some European countries. First, there were just few red-light-cameras; no points etc. on your license, just small traffic misdemeanor fee (might have been 100 euros).
But that was just the beginning...
Now there are many highways and cities full of cameras, both stationary and moving. Last year, they started to give you a ticket if you go 1 km/h over posted speed limit. Yes, that is about 0.6 mph. "My speedo is not that accurate..." is not a valid explanation - just pay and get some points against your license.

Now they (for example) measure car brake temperatures - if it is too high when you are driving on highway, you are gonna get ticket because of brake failure. If your car has stability control that is using brakes, they do not care, as long as you pay. You might be extremely dangerous driver if stability control has to work...
And of course, you gonna have 4 points against your license. (in relative, but 3x the same offense = you lose your license).

If they would really want to improve safety, they would improve those "high collision risk" intersections and other areas. Problem is, to be able to do that they need lots of money instead of getting it.

My advice : STOP that traffic-camera-madness if you still can...

They also do things like this (make sure to look at the pic at the very bottom of the page as well):

http://www.speedcam.co.uk/gatso2a.htm

[Irving]

I expect that would also happen here. Unfortunately, the cameras in most locations here are high out of reach and shooting a rifle at one would be dangerous and stupid.

Perhaps a sling shot or pellet gun though....

[Hannu]

Northern Finland : Speed camera vs. ~1.5 lbs of cyclonite.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epPls1dyqy8

[rondog]

Welcome to Big Brother's socialism. I hope Americans will only take so much of that shit before we revolt against the bastards. Europeans can't SHOOT the damn cameras because they don't have any GUNS. I liked that explosion though!