Speed Camera Pimping Game

[04SCTLS]

Speed Camera Pimping Game

James Joyner | Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Jacqui Cheng reports on a bizarre use of speeding cameras

Whenever a new, relatively unpopular technology hits the streets, you can always count on teenagers to try and exploit it for their own gain. Such is the case with speed cameras, as high school students in Maryland have begun playing the “Speed Camera Pimping Game,” wherein they attempt to punk the not-so-accurate cameras by creating faux license plates that can be traced back to peers and teachers they have it out for. The trend has parents and law officials worried, and it raises even more questions about the cameras’ usefulness.
Students at Montgomery High School in Maryland have discovered that they can duplicate the license plates of their archenemies by printing a Maryland plate template on a sheet of glossy photo paper and digging up a handy license plate character font, according to a parent speaking to The Sentinel (via /.). This may sound like a janky craft project at first, but these cameras are not sensitive enough to pick up the differences between these paper license plates and the real things. The students then tape the faux plate over their own and purposefully speed in order to be caught by the speed camera, causing the real owner of the license plate to receive a $40 citation in the mail.
“This game is very disturbing,” the parent told the newspaper. “Especially since unsuspecting parents will also be victimized through receipt of unwarranted photo speed tickets. I hope the public at large will complain loudly enough that local Montgomery County government officials will change their policy of using these cameras for monetary gain. The practice of sending speeding tickets to faceless recipients without any type of verification is unwarranted and an exploitation of our rights.”
One presumes getting caught driving with a fake license plate carries significant penalties; but the chances of getting caught are negligible.
Given how hard it is to organize protests against theoretical infringements on rights and how profitable these cameras are, I wouldn’t hold my breath on waiting for their use to be curtailed. As to the victims of this “game,” one presumes “This isn’t the car to which these plates are assigned” would be an effective defense

 

[JWerner2]

Given how hard it is to organize protests against theoretical infringements on rights and how profitable these cameras are, I wouldn’t hold my breath on waiting for their use to be curtailed. As to the victims of this “game,” one presumes “This isn’t the car to which these plates are assigned” would be an effective defense

Who cares about rights? That story right there is enough to prove how stupid the idea of sending unverified speeding tickets out in the mail is.

Who cares if the victim can testify that its not the proper make/model/color vehicle the tag belongs to? In the end it lets criminals get off free and it sure plays havoc in the life of those they are messing with regardless of being proven innocent in traffic court. They still gotta go to court and in most cases miss work and or in some cases the victim may end up hiring a attorney!

 

[04SCTLS]

Yes
but I can't help but be impressed and amused at these clever students outwitting "The Man" at his own game and sticking it to "enemies"
$40.00 is cheap compared to other greedy municipalities handing out 200.00+ fines for similar "offenses"
I kinda hope this fun spreads and undermines the use of these
cash generating machines.
Otherwise can anyone say target practice?

 

[Calabrio]

I'm amazed they haven't been doing this in Europe for years now?
The two best other things I heard to do with them was to wrap them in saran wrap or fill them full of the expanding construction foam

 

[fossten]

Um, you don't have to pay the ticket.

It comes in the mail.

Anybody ever not get something in the mail?

 

[04SCTLS]

Um, you don't have to pay the ticket.

It comes in the mail.

Anybody ever not get something in the mail?

Well if you get a few or more they will catch up with you.
Luckily they don't do the speed camera thing here and I'm well
armed with my own gadgets anyways.

 

[JWerner2]

Um, you don't have to pay the ticket.

It comes in the mail.

Anybody ever not get something in the mail?

Right, dont pay the speeding ticket.

Then dont cry when they take your license away for a $40.00 ticket cause some kid wanted vengeance against you.

Lots of things come in the mail but how can they justify sending a speeding ticket in the mail when a officer never pulled you over?


And if it was your car but say your son/daughter or by chance a friend that was loaning the car from you was the driver? Should you be stuck with that ticket?


I guess so huh?

 

[MonsterMark]

I posted the solution in another forum.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T43L...ctions/newsarticle.html?feed=&article=4766345

 

[04SCTLS]

Right, dont pay the speeding ticket.

Then dont cry when they take your license away for a $40.00 ticket cause some kid wanted vengeance against you.

Lots of things come in the mail but how can they justify sending a speeding ticket in the mail when a officer never pulled you over?


And if it was your car but say your son/daughter or by chance a friend that was loaning the car from you was the driver? Should you be stuck with that ticket?


I guess so huh?

It's a trade off.
Cops in patrol cars are expensive for a municipality.
If a cop gives you a ticket there are points attached and it goes against your license.( unless you can take traffic school and pay a reduced imaginary parking ticket so the town instead of the state takes your money)
With the speed camera there's no cop to pay and they fine the car and not the driver with no license penalties to show up on your record or insurance.
Some of these cameras can take a picture from the front
and capture the occupant(s) of the vehicle along with the plate (which can lead to some embarassing moments and expose suspicion of infidelity or other misdemeanors) but only in states that require a front plate.
This would theoretically prove it was you driving if it matched your DMV photo.
Either way if you the owner don't pay they won't let you renew your plate or registration sticker.

 

[JWerner2]

It's a trade off.
Cops are expensive for a municipality.
If a cop gives you a ticket there are points attached and it goes against your license.

Not always. I got quite the few and two driving while suspended back when I was young and dumb and they only started giving me points and still I only think like 1-2 after my last traffic violation.


Why was my license taken? For not paying a 50$ seat belt ticket. I figured "hey Im out of state and I'll probably never come back to this dump so eat it" and sure enough two years later I get stopped at a routine DUI check point and low and behold my license was suspended and I was never even told so go ahead and mess around with these things if one chooses.

 

[04SCTLS]

Not always. I got quite the few and two driving while suspended back when I was young and dumb and they only started giving me points and still I only think like 1-2 after my last traffic violation.


Why was my license taken? For not paying a 50$ seat belt ticket. I figured "hey Im out of state and I'll probably never come back to this dump so eat it" and sure enough two years later I get stopped at a routine DUI check point and low and behold my license was revoked and I was never even told so go ahead and mess around with these things if one chooses.

Back 25 years ago when we were young one could get licenses from more than 1 state and use them like credit cards when pulled over but modern technology and state agreements to share information have put an end to these practices (common amongst commercial drivers back then)
among other things.
Now it's get an unpaid ticket conviction in 1 state and it shows up in the other 49.
Back then also I didn't pay some minor tickets and then got rear ended in an accident.
My license came up suspended and I had to pay the minimum (at that time) fine of 500.00 and take a 6 month suspension.
I had to drive every day and the experience really honed my police visual scanning skills (fear of a 1000.00 fine and a 2 year suspension being a wonderful motivator)
After that I always made sure that my "Papers Are in Order" (pun intended) in my dealings with "The Man"

 

[Calabrio]

Living in Florida, I got a ticket in Lousiana- about 10 years ago.
Not a big deal, I paid the fine.
However, La. didn't inform Fl. of the ticket for about a year. So, I ended up having the points from that substantial speeding ticket on my license for an extra year. They didn't start expiring from when the ticket was issued, but when the state was notified of it. Louisiana is, and has always been, backwards and lazy.

 

[JWerner2]

Back 25 years ago when we were young one could get licenses from more than 1 state and use them like credit cards when pulled over but modern technology and state agreements to share information have put an end to these practices (common amongst commercial drivers back then)
among other things.
Now it's get an unpaid ticket conviction in 1 state and it shows up in the other 49.
Back then also I didn't pay some minor tickets and then got rear ended in an accident.
My license came up suspended and I had to pay the minimum (at that time) fine of 500.00 and take a 6 month suspension.
I had to drive every day and the experience really honed my police visual scanning skills (fear of a 1000.00 fine and a 2 year suspension being a wonderful motivator)
After that I always made sure that my "Papers Are in Order" (pun intended) in my dealings with "The Man"

:lol: ... Well I got a Mexican license when I visited Monteray City once for 10 USD but Id be damned if I try to use that:shifty:.

Louisiana is, and has always been, backwards and lazy.

Trust me, the first state ( DE. ) is worse. Its somehow always last.

Interesting turn this conversation took

 

[fossten]

The municipality has no way of proving that you received the ticket. Furthermore, the cop has to prove you were speeding. A camera isn't sufficient proof. What's it going to do, testify against you in court?

 

[JWerner2]

I never dealt with a mail order ticket but I would assume it would require a signature upon delivery .

Furthermore, the cop has to prove you were speeding. A camera isn't sufficient proof. What's it going to do, testify against you in court?

Also furthermore proving my point on how stupid it is to use it. Again, regardless its a day out of work and a waste of working class time while the moron that deserves not only a speeding ticket but other penalties is left with another night of having fun and doing it over and over again!


BTW, its not the camera its the film. Much like any surveillance footage that holds up in court.

 

[04SCTLS]

The municipality has no way of proving that you received the ticket. Furthermore, the cop has to prove you were speeding. A camera isn't sufficient proof. What's it going to do, testify against you in court?

This is all technically true but it hasn't stopped the proliferation of these devices for revenue generation in many places in the US.
Because there are no driver license penalties 99% of people just pay up and don't fight.
The other 1% must have established some case laws on this by now but the traffic code is not uniform from state to state.
I suppose the state will just dismiss tickets like this for those who fight hard enough as the cost of doing business.

 

[04SCTLS]

I never dealt with a mail order ticket but I would assume it would require a signature upon delivery .

I doubt it.
That would just increase the handling costs.
Assumptions can be dangerous things.
When the super leftist Bob Rae Ontario government
brought in photo radar in 1991 my brother got a ticket in the mail no signature required.
After being defeated in 1995 by conservative Mike Harris photo radar was rightly scrapped as a money grubbing cash generation machine of dubious safety value.

 

[JWerner2]

It is very hard to believe you would not need to sign.

I got enough junk in the mail from the judicial system and it all needs a signature. I could be wrong but I really doubt that.


Besides, how many times did "I never got the ticket" help someone with parking violations,..etc,..etc? And that is even more believable.

 

[04SCTLS]

It is very hard to believe you would not need to sign.

I got enough junk in the mail from the judicial system and it all needs a signature. I could be wrong but I really doubt that.


Besides, how many times did "I never got the ticket" help someone with parking violations,..etc,..etc? And that is even more believable.

The laws vary as this literal highway robbery malfeasence is usually on the municipal level in the US.
I have fought or had reduced every ticket I got in the last 10 years that threatens my license.
Here in New York DMV will suspend your license for 6 months if you get convicted of 3 police issued speeding tickets in 18 months regardless how fast you were going.
You also have to turn in your plates.
If I got a speed camera ticket where the only penalty is money I would just pay it not fight it on principal.

 

[fossten]

Because there are no driver license penalties 99% of people just pay up and don't fight.

Exactly. We're a nation of sheep. I haven't paid a speeding ticket in over 10 years. I successfully either get it reduced or dropped.

I'm just making the point that people need to stand up for their rights. The "man" gives you your day in court, use it. Stop rolling over.

 

[MonsterMark]

Louisiana is, and has always been, backwards and lazy.

Louisiana...LOL...Been there, done that.

Try getting handcuffed to your car for 3 hours because the Judge was in the next hick town having lunch with his brother.

Was doing 125 at the time in Jim Rockford's Firebird. They still have my license 25 years later.

 

[04SCTLS]

I got cuffed and hauled off to the police station when I was 21.
Me and a buddy raced off a light on a 4 lane city street into a radar trap(!) one morning.
My buddy saw the guy and pulled back.
I went past the cop at least 60 in a 40 or more, over a bridge and at the bottom went into the clear right turn lane and timed the light so I sailed through ahead of a whole column of cars.
The cop finally caught up with me a mile down the road and pulled me over.
Being young and ignorant I mouthed off to him and he being excited from the chase cuffed me and put me into the patrol car saying he was taking me to the station.
I said to myself, well you've got yourself into a good one this time.
He was only a few years older than me and so I asked him how he liked his job, talked about cars and that I owned a bodyshop etc. To my surprise he pulled over and took the cuffs off.
He said because he radioed the station he would still have to take me in.
There he acted as my guardian and after conferring with his sargeant said he had to charge me with careless driving as I had committed at least 3 violations.
So he just wrote me a ticket.
I went to court and he didn't show up so the case was dismissed.

 

[JWerner2]

Exactly. We're a nation of sheep. I haven't paid a speeding ticket in over 10 years. I successfully either get it reduced or dropped.

I'm just making the point that people need to stand up for their rights. The "man" gives you your day in court, use it. Stop rolling over.

Actually some of us just face the facts that if we do something wrong we should be willing to pay for it.


Im not going around fighting the system my entire life cause other peoples actions or the lack of will to face myself and admit that I did something wrong.

Im young, Im 28 and 40 dollars aint crap but a day in court means that I miss work and that is a days worth of money to support my very young family. That 40 bucks can also be spent in better ways regardless.

You cant complain about your rights if you are willing to break the law and violate the rights of others.


Bottom line which we all agree on is that these machines are pointless and allow real offenders to get away with way more crimes than those the machines are intended to reduce .

 

[04SCTLS]

Bottom line which we all agree on is that these machines are pointless and allow real offenders to get away with way more crimes than those the machines are intended to reduce

IMO the speed limits are underposted other than tight residential streets and the traffic code is written to protect the weakest drivers.
If you consider speeding above these limits a "crime" then we're all guilty as it seems almost everyone goes at least 10 over and a lot of drivers 15 or more on the highways.
I would say that the average cop issued ticket is for about 15 over.

The point of these speed cameras is to generate revenue under the guise of "safety" and they do that very well.

As protection against police tickets both the Valentine 1 and the Blinder laser jammer are great though not cheap- also the Blinder (and all laser jammers) has modules mounted outside and is susceptible to moisture shorting. I've had a second one go in 4 years and am upgrading to a top line 2 year warranty Laser Intercepter which jams to gun all current guns without leaving any tracer codes to indicate the gun is being jammed (useful especially in areas laser jammers are banned) and can be updated through a comm port.

These devices allow one not to get a police ticket in the first place which to me is the best defense to maintain one's driving freedom (privileges)

As for the cameras, they are stationary mostly and a GPS or radar detector company will eventually incorporate their locations into the maps (voice says speed camera ahead as it pops up on the screen).
Till then if you live in an area where these cameras are in use, make yourself aware of their locations and be on guard if exceeding the posted limit.

 

[JWerner2]

If you consider speeding above these limits a "crime" then we're all guilty as it seems almost everyone goes at least 10 over and a lot of drivers 15 or more on the highways.

yes and as I said if I get caught I gotta deal with it and man up to it. Not try to fight my way out of something I knew was wrong just so I can say I have my constitutional rights and prove to my self Im not a "sheep". What rights are in the constitution stating that you can drive like a idiot anyway? Usually they do give a grace of 5-10 MPH over. Point B is not worth it to me to go much faster and face a speeding ticket. If you can avoid it then why the hell not?


Thats just the way life is.