We should start doing this with the cars of a lot of busybody politicians and bureaucrats. What say ye?
Monday, December 22, 2008
Maryland teens using speed cameras for revenge on teachers, others
Slashdot has a humorous story about high school students in Maryland who have targeted those "speed cameras" there for clever abuse. The kids are finding people they don't like - such as their most-hated teachers - and using laser printers and glossy paper to create high-quality copies of their prey's license plates. Then they scram past the cameras at excess speed with the bogus plates on their cars and make the teachers or whoever get slapped with a $40 fine a few days later! From all appearances there is no oversight or investigation: the fines get sent out automatically.
5 comments:
I think that is a good idea. I see a lot of this happening in Reidsville by family members of certain officials and people of certain positions on a regular basis in regular areas.
You might remember that Greensboro, High Point and Guilford County experimented with these "Robo Cop" cameras.
Unfortunately, they didn't check a little-known state statute that stipulated that 90% of such fines collected from speeding must be given to the public schools.
Given that the jurisdictions didn't "own" those cameras or the technology that ran the system, but rather paid an outside technology firm a hefty commission to photograph the speeders and send the tickets, the police lost money on every one they fined.
That brought a quick end to the system, and so far no one in North Carolina has tried this scheme since.
Aren't you glad?
Ol' You-Know-Who
In early 2002 I got a ticket from one of those red light cameras. It was at the intersection of Pisgah Church Road and Battleground Avenue in Greensboro (at the Lowes Hardware Store). The thing is I had to go through the intersection to avoid getting rear-ended by another driver who was trying to beat the yellow light.
So a few days later the ticket came in the mail.
I told them that I want to appeal.
When I went in on the morning of the appeal, I told them that I wanted to take it to court, and I presented them with a copy of the subpoena that I was going to file and hit them with. The subpoena called for them to surrender the source code for the computer operating the camera. Since according to the Constitution I have a right to face and cross-examine my accuser in a court of law, legally this meant that I was entitled to examine the code for the software.
They dropped the case immediately.
'Tis one of the stunts that I'm most proud of :-)
Nice court stunt indeed. Good job.
Not good stunts on the part of the Maryland teenagers however. While their scam may be creative and effective, it'll come to a tragic end when their method -- literally running stoplights -- gets one of their own killed or another innocent driver killed. Not good.
A cam in a Eden Cruiser would be good for the Police here. Thy are reckless and just take a drive to Wentworth just before court starts and see how many cars with the blue lights on get. Their is a certain detecttive that might make it to NASCAR with his driving, not old enough to be a rum runner, but you would think so..lol
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