Chicago, Illinois Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) is counting on a host of new fees and taxes on drivers to balance the city’s 2009 budget. To wit: a new contract took effect on Saturday authorizing private vendor Redflex to more than double the number of red light camera equipped intersections in Chicago to 290. The first phase of the program had already mailed 1.1 million tickets worth $110m using just 136 cameras, thanks to contract provisions that ensure a steady stream of revenue. “The Office of Emergency Management and Communications has developed and executed the industry’s most stringent performance metrics and key performance indicators,” the new contract states. “(These) include citation issuance minimum yields to equal 85 percent or greater and system uptime to equal 95 percent or greater… At a minimum, installed systems must maintain a minimum 85 percent prosecution rate.” So far, the prosecution rate has been 94 percent. Daley rewarded Redflex by approving a no-bid contract extension. Read it and weep…
Category: Crime & Punishment
Things must be really, really, really bad if someone goes on strike in China. But striking cabbies striking policemen? Unheard of. Speaking of which: Ever heard of China’s largest municipality? It’s Chongqing, population 31,442,300 (as of 2005, Buddha knows how many today). Yesterday, in Chongqing, the doomsday scenario unfolded. Hundreds of perturbed taxi drivers took to the streets (on foot) and smashed vehicles to protest “shortages of fuel and high fines for traffic violations,” as the official Xinhua News Agency has it. The enraged cabbies gathered on a business street, destroyed 20 vehicles, including three police cars. Scab cab drivers who refused to join the protest were pulled out of their cars, along with the petrified passengers. A spokesman for the Chongqing police bureau confirmed the violence, and said the situation was now “under control.” 800 cab drivers returned to work by Monday afternoon. Downtown Chongqing has 9000 taxis. American car drivers: Don’t try this at home.
A total of 199 attacks on speed cameras in the UK last year cost operators over £500k (US $800k) in repair cost. The figures, reported by the Mid Sussex Times in response to a freedom of information request, do not include the far more substantial amount of revenue lost before replacement devices could be put in place to resume ticketing. Most recently, a pair of cameras were destroyed in Cambridgeshire on October 25 at around 7pm. One of the devices issued tickets on the A605 Elton bypass while a second was stationed near Peterborough. This represents the third time the A605 camera has been set on fire in the past six months. In the past fiscal year, Cambridgeshire spent £93k (US $150k) repairing cameras. including replacing an automated ticketing machine at Stow-cum-Quy, after an April 14 attack. The replacement cost was £35k (US $55k). Other areas have seen smaller repair bills. Sussex officials spent just £16k (US $25,900) to resume ticketing after fifteen separate attacks. For example, activists in Crawley burned the camera located on the C406 Bewbush Drive in August 2007, while a March 2008 attack merely involved tampering with the lock on the camera housing.
So the big news on Long Island, NY was the grand opening of an 800k square foot Tanger outlet mall in Deer Park. It’s infuriating enough trying to negotiate the 20-minute wait to get out of the overcrowded lot. However, the real aggro’s found in the front of the parking lot. Normally, you’d expect spaces reserved for the handicapped. Instead, there are 30-some-odd spots set aside for “Parking for Low Emitting and Fuel Efficient Vehicles Only” (a la the ‘Expecting Mother’ spots reserved at the supermarket). So who exactly is policing these spots, and what criteria are they using? As you’d expect over half were filled with SUVs. The other half were occupied by emissions-belching early 90s rides clearly driven by store staff who arrived first. Or perhaps in my random sample the H3, Grand Cherokee and ML in the spots are already part of the Pickens Plan strategy for natural gas retrofitting. I don’t know who I want to bite in the arm as hard as I can- the patrons or the mall developer…
Here’s a press release which assumes, I suppose, that I have at least one wife who qualifies as a minority. Actually, Sam’s an African American, originating as she does from the RSA. Anyway, AutoBrag.com‘s playing the “HERE’S A STARTLING SURVEY, BUT DON’T WORRY ABOUT OUR METHODOLOGY” PR game, and playing it well. And here’s how they did it! “We sent out 87 pairs of observations [sic] to compare how the best price difference between the White Males, verse [sic] White Females, Minority Males and Minority Females to 35 Southern California new car dealerships to keep track of how each pair with different race and gender only would be treated by the salesperson. The results are astonished. [sic] The race, gender, and car make affect the price American consumers pay for their new car significantly. And, again, the differences of the best price between different race and gender are even greater if one considers the long-term financing and opportunity costs throughout the lifetime of the new car purchase.” How’s that for statistical control? Does that fact they were all “college kids” influence your opinion? Those of you who wish to get a closer look at the race card in Autobraggadoccio Danny Chan’s hand can make the jump for the results.
Faced with one of the tightest budget crunches in its history, the state of Arizona is wasting no time in deploying its newly authorized freeway speed cameras. Redflex Traffic Systems runs the photo radar program in return for an expected cut of $20,361,300. In Phoenix, the Australian company has activated a number of fixed camera systems in the past week. Seven cameras are now active on Interstate 10, seven on the 101 and three on 51. In Mesa, three cameras are ready to begin ticketing on 60. In total, Redflex expects to deploy 100 fixed and mobile cameras. Each camera can generate thousands of $181 tickets for the state’s general fund. The state estimates that fiscal 2009 will see 428,839 citations worth $77.6 million. In the following year, the number will grow to 571,785 tickets worth $103,493,085. The state’s contract with Redflex provides an option to double the revenue by increasing the total number of cameras to 200.
A report released last week by the U.S. House Committee on Transportation documents 4k cases where employees in federal vehicles in Washington, D.C. and New York City skipped-out on parking tickets last year, turning their backs on $700k in unpaid fines. “Over one-half of all workers in the southernmost section of Manhattan are government employees,” the report explained. “Essentially, all of lower Manhattan is a free parking lot for government vehicles.” FBI officials told the committee that a thorough investigation failed to yield any suspects for 218 parking infractions. In 2007, D.C. meter maids wrote the Army, Navy and Air Force 158 parking tickets worth $27,840. (None of the recruiters challenged the DC citations due to their “demanding work schedule.”) The report noted that most meter maids ignore federal vehicles because they know there’s no point issuing a citation. “Federal law requires employees to pay parking tickets received on U.S. government vehicles, but… The DC Department of Public Works does not boot or tow government-tagged vehicles, ‘as a matter of long-standing policy.'”
In a four-hundred-page review of Suffolk County, New York’s financial situation released earlier this month, officials highlight the rationale for adding automated traffic enforcement devices. “At this point the County needs to make hard decisions,” the 2009 county budget review states. “Do we raise property taxes? Do we seek state approval to raise the overall sales tax rate? …Do we raise revenue from traffic tickets by instituting red light cameras?” Yes, well, county cannot install red light cameras without first obtaining permission from the state legislature. Since 2001, Albany’s frustrated the county’s attempts to convince lawmakers in Albany to grant this authority. Photo enforcement supporters believe that support from Governor David Patterson (D) will finally deliver the changes in state law needed to begin operations. The county has even begun taking steps to establish a parking violations bureau to handle the photo tickets.
Reacting to happier talk around the world, every stock on Germany’s DAX closed higher today. All stock but one: Volkswagen. After blowing through the rafters yesterday, the VeeDub share price boomeranged. Result: This morning, the DAX was in the tank by more than 7 percent. All other shares rose and did shine, but Volkswagen single-handedly brought the whole ship down. The Deutsche Börse, Germany’s stock exchange, is exasperated by Volkswagen’s wild gyrations. The Deutsche Börse is mad as hell and won’t take it anymore. As of this coming week, the VeeDub share will only make up 10 percent of the DAX, Germany’s equivalent of the Dow Jones, the Deutsche Börse decreed. Yesterday, VW represented 27 percent of Germany’s most watched index. The Euro Stoxx 50 will also reduce the weight of Wolfsburg’s shares. The German government loosed its dogs of watch to follow a trail of insider trading and market manipulation.
Next Tuesday, Washington state voters will consider Initiative 985. If adopted, I-985 would force local jurisdictions to synchronize traffic signals at high-volume intersections, open High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes during non-peak hours and prohibit the imposition of tolls to raise general revenue. I-985 pays for the synchronization mandate by, among other things, diverting red light camera profits into a traffic congestion relief fund. The measure’s co-sponsor, Tim Eyman, says taking away camera profits would stop local governments from installing the devices as a cash grab. After I-985 qualified for the ballot, five cities dropped plans to adopt photo enforcement. As you’d imagine, the revenue provisions have sparked vicious and vociferous opposition from groups that stand to lose money from the new deal.
The Edmonton Sun reports that a judge has cleared the last remaining participant in the city’s photo radar bribery scandal. Sergeant Tom Bell, 50, accepted lavish gifts from Affiliated Computer Services (ACS) between 1998 and 2004 while the company was attempting to land the right run the city’s lucrative speed camera operation.While several other Edmonton Police Service employees, including Staff Sergeant Kerry Nisbet and former Chief Darryl da Costa, accepted similar benefits, Bell alone stood accused of returning the favor. On March 1, 2004, Bell wrote a memo falsely stating that ACS alone was capable of running Edmonton’s speed camera program; the company should be awarded a no-bid contract worth $90m. Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Bryan Mahoney believed this amounted to ordinary conduct and that it did not amount to a “serious and marked departure from the norm.” For that reason, he could not find Bell guilty of taking bribes despite “some poor choices and errors in judgment.” Mahoney discarded the testimony of Bell’s ex-wife, who asserted that Bell’s wrote the false memo in the hopes that he would be rewarded financially after leaving the police force.
A Shropshire, UK speed camera escaped serious damage last week after a vigilante attempted to set it on fire. The Shropshire Star reports that “A tyre was placed on top of the camera in Dawley Road, Arleston, shortly after 4am and a blanket draped over the top. The arsonists then poured a full can of petrol over the top and set it on fire. Sub-officer Alan Wilson, of Wellington fire station, described it as a ‘deliberate attack.'” Ya think? The plan failed, however, when the fire burned upward without generating enough heat to damage the camera housing. “Fortunately for us [the local fire department], and for those who pay for them [the people caught by the camera?], it went upwards and didn’t damage the speed camera. We think it is still working.” Don’t let the English understatement fool you; Big Brother is mighty miffed. “We would appeal for anyone with information in relation to the incident to come forward.” And no wonder…
A British Broadcasting Corporation News broadcast showing speed camera traps causing crashes has now been made public. The April 21 BBC report was meant to highlight government efforts as part of a European “crackdown on speeding” using video excerpts from the Norfolk Speed Camera Partnership. The excerpts unintentionally showcased motorists’ panic when surprised by a “talivan” operating from a freeway overpass. “He jams on his brakes when he sees the speed truck,” BBC News reporter Mike Cartwright said in describing an October 3, 2005 incident. “He smacks into the barrier and amazingly slides in between those two cars there and nobody was hurt — a very lucky escape indeed for all the drivers involved in that.” A second video taken June 18, 2007 shows a vehicle surprised by a speed camera on a wet road. “And the same thing here,” Cartwright said. “The guy jams on his brakes and he goes up the embankment.” Shortly after the news program aired, the BBC removed all copies of the footage from its website. Motorist Keith Jones enlisted the help of the Association of British Drivers to urge the BBC, the Norfolk Speed Camera Partnership and the UK Information Commissioner to release the publicly funded tapes under open records laws. The government authorities refused to do so, citing “technical difficulties.” Speaking of which…
Corey Fleetwood, 35, is an employee of Australia-based Redflex Traffic Systems. On the evening of October 3, Fleetwood set up an automated speed trap on Priest Drive just south of 14th Place in Tempe, AZ. At around 11pm, D.T. Arneson, owner of the camerafraud.com website, noticed the Redflex camera van was parked in front of a fire hydrant. He decided to protest by holding a “SCAMERA” sign in front of the van. The six-foot-five, 265 pound operator rushed out of the van, yanked the sign out of Arneson’s hands and threw it to the ground. Arneson called police to the scene, insisting that Fleetwood be charged. According to Arizona court records, Fleetwood faced serious charges in the past. Less than two months earlier, Fleetwood received his own speeding citation. When he failed to pay, the court suspended his license. In a 2007 incident, Fleetwood was accused of “touching with intent to injure.” In September, another Redflex operator was accused of nearly running motorists off the road with a speed camera van. He was charged with driving the photo radar vehicle under the influence of alcohol.
Now that Bill Heard’s Chevy-heavy dealership chain has entered Chapter 11, thanks to gas prices the consumer credit squeeze the economic meltdown increased floorplan costs the owner’s greed, avarice and criminal business practices, you’d think it was time for the pain to stop. As if. The Georgia Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs has issued a postmortem Consumer Alert. As much-missed tipster Frank Williams puts it, “apparently, Bill heard is screwing over some customers when it comes to paying off their trade-ins.” More technically, “If you are a consumer who has recently purchased a vehicle from one of these dealerships, and traded in a car or truck as part of this purchase, but the dealership has failed to pay off your trade-in, you may have some recourse under what is known as the Federal Trade Commission’s “holder” rule, 16 CFR 433.” How screwed are these people? How would you like to be looking at the following advice?
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