And I'm not talking about "red light" cameras--of which there are precious few still operating in this country.
I'm talking about "speed cameras", and technically and operationally that is a copletely different story.
For instance in MD, they can only put them in high-accident areas and in school zones. So what does MD do? They create a BUNCH of new school zones--in front of schools that have been shut down for years, they extend existing school zones by over 1/2 mile, an they run them during holidays when school is not in session.
Then, in violation of the Md Statutes which says they can't be run by a contractor on a per-ticket-fee basis, Montgomery, Baltimore, and PG counties ALL negotiate contracts with ACS from TX to run these systems--on a per-ticket fee basis ($16.25 per ticket). The MD Attorney General gives the Counties a pass, and says because a MD LEO has to sign off on the citation, that the cameras are not "operated" by ACS, but by the counties, so that law doesn't apply. Even though ACS owns the cameras, the telcom lines, the computers that process the image, and even mails the cites from TX and collects the fees in a PO Box in MD that is rented by ACS...
I have no problem with getting caught when I break the law. But my wife got TWO tickets last Thanksgiving going 42 in supposed 35MPH "school zones", both of which were more than 3 blocks (over 1.2 mile in one case) from an actual school...
I have a problem with the Counties being given a pass when they are operating these systems in DIRECT violation of State Law. When the State can charge Citizens with violations through a process that is itself illegal, then that is bald-faced tyranny.
These cameras are nothing more than revenue enhancement--they DO NOT serve to reduce speeding, they DO not reduce accidents, they DO NOT do anything except cause people who aren't familiar with the area to slam on their brakes when they see the signs, and they are clogging up the District Courts with hundreds of thousands of people who contest them. The day I went in to contest our tickets, everyone on the docket except 3 cases were about camera-generated tickets. One guy got let off without ANY fines or even court fees because he was a licensed bail bondsman in MD, and had been "in pursuit of someone who skipped bail".
Different laws for different classes.
Oh, and BTW, the counties which are operating ACS-based "speed cameras" have actually seen a slight increase in traffic accidents that result in death or serious injury in the last 2 years. These cameras have also been proven to increase gridlock in the DC area--they serve NO positive function other than to generate revenue.
And one more thing--ACS has been indicted in Canada, NV, and several other states for bribery of public officials in their pursuit of contracts, and it has been proven that they showered MD legislators with over $700,00 in gifts and cash donations as part of their "lobbying" effort to get the traffic camera laws changed in MD. And we won't even get into the DOJ investigation of ACS for securities fraud in a stock-options back-dating scam, or the fact that their executive board is full of thieves who were all involved with the TX S&L swindles in the 1980's.
And it was the IT contract run by ACS that was responsible for changing Mohammed Atta’s visa status in the US from tourist to student, according to the Kean Commission report.
And it was ACS contracters (recently transferred to Lockheed after a restructiring purchase of an ACS division) that were responsible for torture at Gitmo, according to Pentagon reports.
ACS is a den of thieves, sociopaths, and criminals. And any state that does business with them is supporting that.
That's what I have a problem with...