Ticket camera corporations like to put out press releases and pay for biased surveys that show that ticket cameras are well-liked by the general public. The reality is that this is far from the truth. This is borne out by the fact that no ticket camera program has ever survived a public vote.

Thankfully, speed cameras are fairly rare in the United States right now (and will hopefully continue to be) but in Europe — and particularly in the United Kingdom — they are being used extensively.

So, how has the public reacted in these countries? Take a look at this list below, which was compiled from the 2009 archives of TheNewspaper.com. Let’s just say they haven’t exactly received a warm welcome:

UK: Somerset Speed Camera Scorched (12/13/09)
Vigilantes destroy Somerset, UK speed camera with gasoline-soaked tire.

UK, The Netherlands: Speed Cameras Destroyed, Gift-Wrapped (12/6/09)
UK speed camera burns while Dutch cameras are gift wrapped on St. Nicholas Eve.

France, Germany, Italy: Speed Cameras Burned, Blinded, Bombed (11/29/09)
Three cameras in Germany, two in France and one in Italy were destroyed or damaged this week.

Dorset, UK Speed Camera Destroyed by Fire (11/15/09)
Vigilantes in Dorset, England take out a speed camera with a burning tire.

UK: Surrey Speed Camera Burned (10/25/09)
Vigilantes set fire to a speed camera in Surrey, England.

Speed Cameras Attacked in Finland, Poland and Wales (10/11/09)
Explosives destroy speed camera in Northern Finland, Welsh authorities report 102 camera attacks and Polish speed camera burned.

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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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