Driving News Roundup: September 14, 2012
This is a weekly feature on the NMA Blog, running each Friday, where we highlight seven of the most interesting driving news stories of the week.
New York: NYPD officer fired for writing tickets to dead people to meet quota
We thought ticket quotas don’t exist. An officer with the NYPD, contends they do, which is why he allegedly decided to start ticketing dead people to meet them. The now-fired cop says he was given orders by the brass at Staten Island’s 120th Precinct to write more than the 125 to 150 tickets per month he was already producing. The 17-year veteran says he felt bad writing the summonses to real, living people, so he started ticketing the dead to fudge the numbers.
Illinois: State regulation may interfere with speed camera plan
Mayor Rahm Emanuel might have to slow down his plan to install speed cameras in school zones. A 38-year-old opinion by the Illinois Attorney General held that children had to be visibly present before a driver could be cited for violating a school zone speed limit. That means cameras will not only have to photograph the driver, but also document that children were somewhere nearby at the time of the violation.
5 Questions with Judge Napolitano
Judge Andrew P. Napolitano is the popular senior judicial analyst for the Fox News Channel and the former host of “FreedomWatch” on Fox Business Network. In this interview he discusses the threats to freedom posed by ticket cameras and other government intrusions into privacy.
Florida: For red-light cameras, it’s guilty until proven innocent
A judge in Pasco County deserves a hug from red-light camera haters, and maybe from lovers of the Constitution too. If the ruling prevails, it could do away with the lucrative trend that has many Florida cities and counties raking in millions of dollars in fines based only on photos and data from automated cameras at intersections, and tickets sent out on even the most marginal, split-second traffic light offenses.
Ohio: Dismissed traffic ticket can still be prosecuted
A dismissed traffic ticket does not go away. The US District Court for the Northern District of Ohio ruled Thursday that the trial of an individual should proceed, even though the evidence against them came from a traffic stop case that had been dismissed by the Cleveland Municipal Court. As a result, they were found guilty Monday and will be sentenced on November 19.
New York: Rochester city employees caught by red-light cameras 119 times
Over the past 18 months, city of Rochester employees have committed at least 119 red-light violations while driving city vehicles, records show. But while employees can be disciplined for the violation, “payment of the related fine will not be required,” according to a newly adopted city procedure for handling the violations. One-third of the infractions were by police department vehicles.
Maryland: In Prince George’s, cameras to monitor speed cameras. Really.
And so it has come to this: Cameras that monitor speed cameras. WTOP’S Ari Ashe is reporting that Prince George’s County is mounting cameras to monitor its traffic cameras. This comes following a half dozen incidents of vandalism and general meanness toward the cameras in the county. One camera monitoring a camera is already up – a dozen more are planned.
To see more stories like the ones above, check out our NMA Driving News site. Each weekday we update the site with news stories that are interesting and/or informative for drivers like you.
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