The following is an excerpt from the show notes of popular Talk-Show host Clark Howard. A Speed Trap Ahead subscriber sent me a link to this article after listening to Clark’s live discussion on Dec. 15th. I’m am REALLY sorry I missed that episode!

The Clark Howard Show – December 15, 2008

Arizona Rakes in the Dough with Speed Cameras

Clark gets worried whenever state or local officials say they want to protect us by putting in cameras to monitor our speed while driving. The real purpose of such cameras is to make money.

The Detroit News reports that Arizona will make $175 million this year from speed cameras. They have an Australian contractor who handles everything: installation, ticketing and collections. The contractor gets $30 from every ticket with the remainder going to the state.

In fact, Arizona decided it wasn’t making enough revenue from the cameras, so they lowered the speed limit in the state to get more money! These tickets don’t come with any points on your license; they’re strictly against the car itself and just a form of tax.

Illinois and other states now want to install similar speed cameras. But don’t believe the political hype about these cameras being used to reduce the rate of highway fatalities. They’re simply designed to stock the coffers so politicians can get re-elected.

And get this — The Detroit News reports Arizona only puts the cameras on roads that are heavily driven by out-of-state motorists. So the revenue comes from non-voters because the politicians don’t want to alienate their constituents!

Clark doesn’t deny that speeding is dangerous and also necessitates longer stopping distances in the event of a panic stop. But these cameras are only about the dough. If they were really intended to make you a safer driver, the tickets would be against the driver, not against the car. So get ready to smile — you may be on candid camera!

Here’s a link to the shownotes page for that episode of The Clark Howard Show.

Federal Highway Administration and Illinois governor urge Maryland, Missouri and Tennessee to use freeway speed cameras.

Officials from Maryland, Missouri and Tennessee joined Illinois Governor Rod R. Blagojevich (D) at a two-day event designed to promote the use of speed cameras on freeways throughout the country. In 2006, Illinois became the first state government to implement a statewide photo ticketing program. This effort was soon copied by Arizona, Colorado and Washington state, each of which also sent participants to yesterday’s “highway safety workshop.” Officials attending heard about how successful these programs have been at imposing automated tickets worth up to $1000 each.

“One of the keys to this success has been the photo speed enforcement vans that have deployed by IDOT and the Illinois State Police,” Blagojevich said in a prepared statement about the event.

The participation of Missouri and Tennessee officials has revealed their states’ interest in using automated ticketing machines on freeways.

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Police in Scottsdale, Arizona arrest a man for videotaping activists protesting a photo radar van.

Police in Scottsdale, Arizona arrested a man late Wednesday claiming he “obstructed” a photo radar van. Jason Shelton, 35, had been videotaping a pair of anti-camera activists at 6800 E. Shea Boulevard before being taken into custody. (This guy wasn’t even participating in the actual protest — He was only filming the protesters!!) The protesters held signs calling the speed camera program a rip-off and advertising the group CameraFraud.com in an impromptu demonstration. Shelton intended to post his video on Freedom’s Phoenix, an Arizona-based political opinion and news website. Enraged local officials did what they could to ensure that would not happen.

“The City of Scottsdale, including the police department, respects and protects an individual’s right to stage and/or participate in a lawful demonstration,” Scottsdale Police said in a statement. “However, behavior such as the intentional obstruction of a contracted photo enforcement van’s operation is not lawful and subject to enforcement action.”

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Arizona state police stage what could be the last publicity generating arrest based solely on a speed camera photo.

Arizona state police on Wednesday performed what could be their last arrest staged to generate publicity for the department’s lucrative photo enforcement program. On Wednesday, officers waited at Sky Harbor International Airport armed with professional quality video and still cameras to handcuff a twenty-one-year-old motorist as she returned from the International Softball Challenge in Sydney, Australia.

Authorities concieved the high-profile arrest after a speed camera photographed a yellow 2001 Lexus IS300 on a deserted stretch of the Loop 101 freeway on May 28 at 1:51am. (view photo). The camera claimed the vehicle owned by Mesa resident Britnee Bristow was traveling at 103 MPH in a 65 zone, allowing police to file “reckless driving” charges against the young vehicle owner.

Bristow returned Wednesday after spending several days playing the position of catcher on the US amateur softball team in an exhibition match against rival Australia. This had been Bristow’s first overseas trip that she paid for by raising $4500 in donations. When police called to ask her to forego the trip and spend time in jail instead, she refused to allow police to “ruin her dream.” This infuriated officers (oooohh…) who issued a statement condemning Bristow before she has been proved guilty of any crime.

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New statewide Arizona freeway speed camera tickets will come without point penalties to your driving record.

In a severe blow to the insurance industry, the cash-strapped Arizona state legislature yesterday approved an expansive speed camera program designed to boost state revenue by dropping license points and eliminating costly legal challenges. Governor Janet Napolitano (D) first announced the proposal in January, expecting it to generate $165 million in revenue from new $165 “civil” tickets mailed to vehicle owners.

The plan was adopted as part of a much larger $9.9 billion budget package that passed 16-10 in the state Senate and 31-29 in the House. Lawmakers had been desperate to find new ways to cover a $2 billion deficit. The approved budget authorizes the Department of Public Safety to hand a private company up to $20,361,300 to set up and operate speed cameras on freeways throughout the state. The first $3 million of net profit generated will go to police agencies to buy tasers, $4 million will go to the courts and the remainder will be deposited in the general fund for spending by lawmakers.

Until now, Arizona had been one of a handful of states, including California, Colorado and Illinois, to issue points against the driver’s license of the owner of a car accused by a machine of speeding. Although motorists may prefer not having points on their license, the change to a civil citation is designed to reduce costs and court challenges. Instead of proving a case beyond a reasonable doubt, the state will only need to show that it was “likely” that a vehicle was speeding. The owner of the car would then be liable, regardless of whether he was actually driving.

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