Is Birmingham using cameras to issue speeding tickets?
I haven't heard about this, but I don't live in town so I'm not sure.
A friend says he received a speeding ticket from a camera supposedly located on Roebuck Parkway. I would have thought this would be a hotly contested issue, but I can't find anything about it online. I'm semi-wondering if it is fake.
Center Point & Midfield do, so I would say your friend probably is telling the truth.
More cities may try and do this in the future, however I suspect that they will find out that a lot of people may avoid these areas because of this reason.
To add, I don't know if the speeding part is being detected, but running red lights is being monitored in these areas.
I guess if they capture someone hauling tail, they still can give you a ticket. (as long as they can capture the tag #)
Getting caught by a speed cam here in DC will cost you $125.
I have a nice picture of my car doing 82 in a 70 on a Des Moines interstate
These are indeed real in Center Point. My wife has received TWO $100 tickets for speeding on Center Point Parkway. There is also a photo monitoring and ticketing camera system at a four-way stop next to the lake park on Mary Vann.
It's does two things. First, it's made me drive like a grandma through all areas of Center Point at all times. Secondly, it's made me consciously think, every single time, whether I really want to risk driving in Center Point to visit a business or restaurant there.
I'm sure they're making a boatload of cash during these first few months because drivers were caught unaware. But I think this has to have a negative effect on the city overall when people looking to spend money (like myself) avoid Center Point like the plague.
I would agree. There are very few reasons to travel to Center Point unless you have to pass through it.
I used to pass the white SUV that Center Point parks beside the Center Point Parkway, shooting traffic enforcement radar pictures. I also used to stop and buy lunch or shop in Center Point.
I now go home via Sweeny Hollow, and my dollars go with me. /rude gesture, Center Point government.
They were supposed to be redlight cameras. I don't recall them getting permission to do speed checking with cameras
I know that they have stoplight/stopsign cameras as several of our patients have been hit by them.
As mentioned... a white SUV is often parked on the shoulder down the hill from the Center Point JeffCo courthouse, on the Pinson side. It has directional lights mounted on top to act as flashbulbs for night photography, and if you go past it too fast you'll get to see the flash... and probably get a ticket in the mail.
Wear a ski mask while you drive through. They wouldn't be able to meet the burden of proof that it was in fact you behind the wheel.
I see a serious issue with speeding cameras. With stoplight cameras, it isn't that big a deal. But for speeding tickets, if you contest it the officer writing the ticket has to testify as to his qualifications to operate the device, whether the device was operating correctly at the time, etc. With a camera, there is nobody to testify to that.
I saw the SUV today taking a picture up ahead of me a ways. I was wondering what that was.
(03-29-2012 12:20 PM)BlazerFromMD Wrote: [ -> ]Getting caught by a speed cam here in DC will cost you $125.
Parking on the side of Independence Avenue between 4 & 6 on a work day afternoon will get you a $200 ticket and a free tow truck ride to the impound lot. I stopped to help my Mom, who recently had twisted her ankle, out of the car and into the American Indian Museum at 3:55. At 4:05 I had a ticket and a tow order. :domokun:
:muttering:
(03-29-2012 12:09 PM)legalblazer Wrote: [ -> ]Is Birmingham using cameras to issue speeding tickets?
I haven't heard about this, but I don't live in town so I'm not sure.
A friend says he received a speeding ticket from a camera supposedly located on Roebuck Parkway. I would have thought this would be a hotly contested issue, but I can't find anything about it online. I'm semi-wondering if it is fake.
My Bro-in-law was 20 minutes off the plane and into the rental car headed from Frankfurt to Paris. He saw the flash and thought "Ha, they will never get me since I'm in a rental and will be turning in this car in a couple of hours in France." 2 weeks later when they got home the ticket was waiting for him. 145 euro for speeding, on the road leading to the autobahn.
Now there's a reason never to lend your car to anyone...Last time I got a speeding ticket was just outside of Nashville in 1993....83 in a 55 (I wasn't paying attention to the speed limit signs, listening to that damn Al Green music!), guilty as sin...$144 fine. Could have been worse, I could have been caught speeding in Oklahoma. Out of all the states I'd ever been through, by far the toughest speeding laws in the country, you can't even drive 1 mile over the speed limit there, serious. Anyway, Lesson learned about speeding and the state of Tennessee...I can't say one way or the other that I'm in favor of speeding cameras, but I'm damn sure in favor of the red light cameras, many of these drivers recklessly run red lights in this area (serious, one of the more recent ones I saw was in the presence of a UAB police officer, and man, was he ever pissed, because he was nearly T-boned by this clown!!!), especially on the south side of Birmingham, God forbid, it's just a matter of time before someone gets hurt real bad or killed...They're taking too long to get theirs, and you're telling me that Midfield already has them in place before Birmingham? That's pitiful.
(03-29-2012 01:40 PM)BatesUAB Wrote: [ -> ]Wear a ski mask while you drive through. They wouldn't be able to meet the burden of proof that it was in fact you behind the wheel.
I see a serious issue with speeding cameras. With stoplight cameras, it isn't that big a deal. But for speeding tickets, if you contest it the officer writing the ticket has to testify as to his qualifications to operate the device, whether the device was operating correctly at the time, etc. With a camera, there is nobody to testify to that.
The US Supreme Court essentially said the camera's operator, but not a stand in "expert witness" who hasn't operated the camera, is the person required to testify or submit an affidavit type certificate if an accused exercises his or her right to confront his accuser. The Court hasn't actually defined a "camera operator" though. It looks like it could be a very big be an issue one day. An operator is probably someone who installed and or monitors the system, but who knows for sure.
Thanks guys.
I'm honestly not sure what would happen if this person chucked the ticket in the trash... for some of the reasons mentioned above + merely mailing someone a citation may not equal proper service (i.e., if they really want to get you they might have to send a process server to your house). He'll have to talk to someone that practices traffic law in Alabama.
The whole system might fall flat on its face when everyone that gets one of these in the mail forces the city to send out a process server.
(03-29-2012 01:40 PM)BatesUAB Wrote: [ -> ]Wear a ski mask while you drive through. They wouldn't be able to meet the burden of proof that it was in fact you behind the wheel.
I see a serious issue with speeding cameras. With stoplight cameras, it isn't that big a deal. But for speeding tickets, if you contest it the officer writing the ticket has to testify as to his qualifications to operate the device, whether the device was operating correctly at the time, etc. With a camera, there is nobody to testify to that.
just don't forget to take it off when you stop at the Chevron for a coke and a snickers bar...
How about what is apparently a unique idea? Don't speed, don't run red lights, don't run stop signs, etc. I don't like the cameras either, but they are made necessary by those who break the law and have been doing so for sometime. Cameras are the answer for municipalities in a (low tax?) state that can't afford to pay officers to do that duty. If they work out for a few cities, you can count on them spreading as more and more cities / counties have to cut back on live officers.
you must not be a card carrying member of the ACLU