automated speed-trap camera proven to be inaccurate

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Jim Warren <jwarren () well com>
Date: March 17, 2006 5:05:21 PM EST
To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: automated speed-trap camera proven to be inaccurate

>  > Personal Tech Pipeline Newsletter
> >  www.PersonalTechPipeline.com
>  > <http://techweb-pipelines.com/trk/click?ref=zp7waa8wo_1- 
> fb5x3181dx11087>
>  > Friday, March 17, 2006
> ...
>  >
> >  Editor's Note: A Quick Note On Speed Cameras
> >
> >  NEWSLETTER EXCLUSIVE: We here at Personal Tech Pipeline
> >  Central encourage our readers to obey the law at all times.
> >  Don't engage in music, movie or software piracy, we say.
> >  Never remove those annoying fire-hazard warning tag things on
> >  your mattresses. Close cover before striking, etc.
> >
> >  However, it is also our duty to spot trends before the mass
> >  media grab hold of them, and give you early warning.
> >
> >  One story that is breaking very slowly, and will come out in
> >  the mainstream press any month now is the problematic nature
> >  of speed cameras -- those boxes mounted on light poles that
> >  "bust" you for speeding, photograph your crime and send you a
> >  ticket in the mail.
> >
> >  Speed camera errors are far more common that most realize.
> >  And it's likely that most of those errors go unchallenged.
> >
> >  After all, how do you challenge it? You get a ticket in the
> >  mail for exceeding the speed limit a month ago. Did you
> >  really speed? No human -- including you -- has any
> >  recollection of the event. Still, you pay the fine.
> >
> >  Sometimes, however, speed camera errors *can* be challenged.
> >
> >  Engineer Bryn Carlyon was issued a ticket by a traffic speed
> >  camera in Cardiff, UK, even though he wasn't speeding. He
> >  used multiple timed snaps by the camera, plus a little basic
> >  math, to prove in court that he could not have been traveling
> >  at the speed on his citation. The case was dropped "due to
> >  insufficient evidence" and he received an apology from the
> >  Mid and South Wales Safety Camera Partnership, but Carlyon
> >  won't drop it himself. He's working to overturn the decision
> >  for the benefit of mankind: "I need the verdict to say that
> >  this was not dropped through lack of evidence -- it was
>  > dropped because it was a false prosecution," he told a local
> >  reporter.
> >
> >  Welsh farmer Steve Crossman received a ticket recently for
> >  doing 85 MPH in a tractor that happened to have a top speed
> >  of 26 MPH. The camera probably detected a speeding car
> >  accurately, but ticketed the wrong vehicle. If he had been in
> >  a car, he would have had no case and probably would have been
> >  forced to pay the fine.
> >
> >  In addition to being prone to error, speed cameras are
> >  biased. That's right -- biased.
> >
> >  Approximately 10 percent of all cars on the roads can't be
> >  detected by fixed speed cameras because of bad shocks or
> >  unbalanced wheels, according to camera user manuals. If a car
> >  is moving up-and-down as it speeds through an intersection, a
> >  speed camera can't issue it a ticket. "Lowrider" cars with
> >  illegal hydraulics that can make a car bounce can also
> >  invalidate speed camera readings.
> >
> >  Conscientious drivers who keep their automobiles legal, safe
> >  and in good repair will be given speeding tickets by speed
> >  cameras, but those who let their cars fall to pieces or who
> >  add illegal hydraulics will not.
> >
> >  Eventually, the mainstream media will put all this together
> >  and cover the story: Speed cameras are prone to error and
> >  bias and should not be used to fine drivers.
> >
> >  In the meantime, if YOU get a speed camera ticket and believe
> >  you were not at fault, please let me know
> >  <mailto:mikeptp () elgan com>  the details!
> >
> >  PS: Like the Personal Tech Pipeline newsletter? Then you'll
> >  LOVE the blog
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>  >
> >  Mike Elgan
> >  Editor, Personal Tech Pipeline
> >  mikeptp () elgan com <mailto:mikeptp () elgan com?subject= 
> > [PTP]-03-17-2006>
> >  www.PersonalTechPipeline.com
>  > <http://techweb-pipelines.com/trk/click?ref=zp7waa8wo_1- 
> fb5x34878x11087>


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