Canada Speed Camera News

Canada: Lawsuit Targets Winnipeg Speed Camera Vendors A lawsuit seeks a refund of the $177 million in speed camera fines issued in Winnipeg, Canada. Canadian activists are turning to the courts to stop the controversial photo radar program in Winnipeg. On Thursday, the Road Safety Awareness Group filed a claim in the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench seeking the refund of $177 million CAD in tickets issued, plus additional damages. The suit names city and provincial officials as well as Affiliated Computer Services (ACS), the Dallas-based contractor that runs the program; its predecessor, Lockheed Martin IMS; and Gatsometer BV, the Dutch company that makes the speed camera equipment. Rather than focus on legal issues, the suit attempts to expose the unseemly manner in which the photo radar program was approved by the province of Manitoba in 2002 and implemented in Winnipeg the following year. The suit argues that ACS and Lockheed used bogus safety and financial statistics to convince officials to use the company as its sole vendor. The program happened to be quite useful to the companies' other business lines. "Lockheed and ACS conspired to gain access to and collect private citizens' data through the operation of the photo radar scheme and/or by processing of traffic act violations," the suit claimed. "Under a separate government services contract, particulars of which are unknown, Lockheed and/or ACS developed and installed a proprietary computer system for court services that controls court registry functions including data processing and electronic storage for the criminal and civil courts and data sharing with the justice department. The former executive director of Manitoba Justice Court Services, Brad Janzen, assisted ACS to implement the new system while employed by the government. Brad Janzen is now employed by ACS as a program manager." The suit claims that ACS uses this private information to help the company's profitable debt collection services. ACS, for example, has a contract with 24 states to track down delinquent child support payments and the US Department of Education to find students who have failed to pay their loans on time. The group argues that this violates Canada's privacy statutes. In 2006, ACS was charged with bribing police officers in connection with its photo radar contract in Edmonton, although a judge later dismissed the case. Between 2003 and 2008, Winnipeg's cameras mailed out a total of 886,108 citations worth $177 million. "The plaintiffs say that they and all other similarly situated Manitoban motorists have been harmed and have suffered real and substantial injury, economic loss and damages arising from the malicious acts, omissions, unlawful and bad faith conduct by the defendants, particularly defendant ACS and defendant Lockheed," the suit concludes. "Further particulars of the bad faith will be provided at trial." A copy of the lawsuit is available in a 50k PDF file at the source link below. Statement of Claim (Road Safety Awareness Group, 7/16/2009)

Canadian Drivers Shocked by New Fines

When Jason Stainthorpe was caught speeding on his way to church last Sunday, he figured the worst he was facing was a hefty ticket and some heat from his fiancee for being late.

Instead, he wound up stranded by the side of the highway, desperately trying to figure out how to tell her he'd just lost his licence and her SUV for a week, faced a fine that could run into the thousands and might no longer be able to afford his auto insurance.

He didn't realize it at the time, but doing 50 over the speed limit – 150 km/h on a highway with a posted limit of 100 km/h – meant Stainthorpe had run afoul of a stringent new speeding law in Ontario, billed as a tough measure to combat street racing.

Stainthorpe joined the more than 1,300 drivers who have been nailed since the new law took effect on Sept. 30, all of whom were off the road for a week and faced the possibility of a staggering fine that ranges between $2,000 and $10,000.

The ranks of those caught under the new law are hardly the street-racing type: They run the gamut from teenaged girls to elderly men and just about every demographic in between.

The most common age of offenders has been 21, the average age is 30, and half the charges have been laid against drivers 26 and under. About 13 of the drivers were 65 or older, and 41 were 17 or younger. Almost 84 per cent were male and 16 per cent were female.

When police lobbied for the new law, they expected the province's most aggressive drivers would get caught and hopefully learn a lesson. They didn't anticipate the number of charges would be so high and represent every segment of the driving public.

Stainthorpe, a 33-year-old registered nurse, admitted he was speeding, but was furious that police wouldn't let him off with a warning since he had never heard of the new law.

"I certainly would not have been doing 50 over if I knew this was going to happen to me," he fumed as he waited for police to finish his paperwork on the side of Highway 403 in Mississauga.

"I have three kids, I have to go to work for a week and they just do not give a crap. They have no sympathy for people and it's unfair and they treat people like crap."

About an hour after a shell-shocked Stainthorpe tried to come to grips with his dilemma, police stopped another vehicle going 155 km/h on the same highway – this time a 34-year-old woman with three pre-teen kids in the car.

"Look, I was speeding," said the inconsolable woman, who declined to give her name, as she waited for a taxi.

"I expected a ticket, and then I was like, `Oh, crap.' I did not expect to have my car towed and have them leave my nephews and I no way to get home."

She told the officers on the scene she was driving a brand new car, and didn't feel her speed climbing until she heard the sirens behind her.

Ontario police Sgt. Dennis Mahoney-Bruer has heard that excuse too many times, and after hearing the same thing over and over – he's even watched grown men bawl their eyes out in front of him – his sympathy is wearing thin.

"A little indication (is) if you're going down the highway and you're passing everybody – hello, chances are you're speeding," Mahoney-Bruer said, before adding that some excuses do tug on his heart strings and make him pause before calling a tow truck.

"We're all human, we all have a certain amount of feelings . . . but we have that rule now and we're really sticking to it. We really want to get the message to the people out there that you're not going to talk your way out of this."

The relentless blitz on speeders – dubbed a "shock-and-awe" campaign by provincial police Commissioner Julian Fantino – is likely catching drivers by surprise because people often don't acknowledge that they act dangerously on the road, said Spencer McDonald, the founder of Thinking Driver, a road-safety program designed for people who drive for a living.

"Culturally we all have a higher opinion of our own driving than it actually is, thinking we're better than we really are," McDonald said.

"If you go speeding down the road you can say, `Well, I'm not a bad person, or I'm not an idiot, I'm just simply late for a meeting,' but when the guy speeds past you down the road, he's an idiot."

A forthcoming report from Transport Canada also finds that most drivers don't recognize their own bad habits, and the unfortunate power they have to kill with their car, said Paul Boase of the Canadian Association of Road Safety Professionals.

"For a very long time, speeding – while illegal – was not really treated as a problem," Boase said.

"When people thought about speed and risk, they thought about the risk of getting caught, but the real risk is hitting someone."

And because the new law is classified as a street-racing offence, Boase said many drivers don't believe they're being targeted by police and think they can continue to speed at will.

"There's definitely this perception that street racing is a real serious problem and we ought to hit those people hard, but drivers say, `That's not me, even if I'm doing 50 over that's not me because I'm not racing, I'm just trying to get home."'

There's no doubt some of the offenders are habitual speeders, but it's also likely that some of them were simply unlucky, and were caught using bad judgment that may not reflect their normal driving style, McDonald said.

"Most people are sane, responsible, law-abiding drivers, but they will – when placed under stressful or difficult circumstances – make inappropriate decisions and expose themselves to excessive risk."

While an average of 35 drivers continue to get nabbed every day – and that average has dipped only slightly since the law took effect – many have wised up and are now remaining just below the 150 km/h threshold, Mahoney-Bruer said.

"The last two night shifts when I went out exclusively looking for 50 km/h and above I had none," he said. "The highest speed I had was 48 over, so definitely the knowledge is getting out there."

Brian Lawrie, president of Pointts, which bills itself as Canada's original and most successful traffic court agency, said the new law may bring him more business, but he considers it a bad idea that could cost someone their job because of human error or an equipment malfunction.

"It sounds good to everybody that doing 50 over should be punished right on the spot, but where does the presumption of innocence go when you do that?" Lawrie said.

"When we finally find out that . . . the person is found not guilty, then who gives them their job back?"

Ontario's new transportation minister, Jim Bradley, said he has no qualms about the law and rejects the idea that most people don't know about it.

"I see signs on the highway about it, it's been in the newspaper, it's been on the radio, it's been on television," he said.

"I think people know. It's an excuse that people try to use, and it's never an excuse not to know what the law is.

Judge Angry at Police Speed Camera Placement.
Fri, February 3, 2006

Cops shouldn't be raking in cash by setting up photo radar traps next to signs where speed limits are reduced, a Calgary judge has suggested.

But in a written decision released yesterday, Justice Peter Martin conceded he has no legal power to order police to stop the practice.

Martin upheld a July 31, 2004, Multanova ticket handed to Calgary resident John Hilton despite his reservations over how the city man was nabbed for speeding.

Hilton had argued police set up the camera, below a sign reducing speed on Crowchild Tr. S.W., to generate revenue, not effectively controlling traffic.

Hilton was fined $87 after being clocked and photographed doing 84 km/h on Crowchild just north of 17 Ave. S.W., where the posted limit drops from 80 km to 70 km.

Hilton testified he had to reach that speed to merge with other traffic on Crowchild Tr.

He argued the location of the Multanova camera was chosen to capture as many speeders as possible, therefore raising cash for the city.

The traffic control officer who caught Hilton told Martin police set up close to the sign because it was the only convenient place to park on the east side of Crowchild Tr. in that area.

Despite upholding a traffic court conviction, the appeal judge noted there was space in the west median farther away from the speed reduction sign that was just as handy.

"If the traffic enforcement people are, in fact, concerned with giving the northbound motorists every opportunity to comply with the reduced speed, there is a place on the west side of the highway from which that can be done more fairly," he said. "It is clear that the primary objective of the enforcement of traffic laws must be to ensure the safe usage of Alberta's highways and not to generate municipal revenues.

Martin said cops should use discretion in ensuring speed traps are set up for safety, not monetary, reasons.

"It is not the court's role to direct the police on where and how to enforce traffic laws except to ask that they do so fairly," he said.

"Although I am sympathetic to Mr. Hilton's position, I have no legal reason to disturb the conviction."

Traffic unit Staff Sgt. Brett Marklund said he had not read the decision and couldn't comment on it.

But he said speed trap placement is not cash driven.

"Generally speaking, we don't function as a revenue-generating unit -- it's not a cash cow," Marklund said, adding the spot where the photo camera was set up, like all traffic enforcement locations, is constantly under review.

Photo radar on highway non-starter

Tue, February 7, 2006

Canada - Alberta Transportation Minister Lyle Oberg.

EDMONTON -- Alberta Transportation Minister Lyle Oberg is putting his foot firmly on the brake when it comes to allowing photo radar on provincial highways.

"I'm against photo radar on highways," Oberg said yesterday.

"I think that's a non-starter and I think that's something that the public in Alberta simply does not want."

The minister says many Albertans view photo radar as a method for police forces to raise additional revenues.

"Certainly photo radar is seen as being a cash cow. It is seen as not necessarily being the best safety effort."

A spokesman for the Alberta Motor Association says recent surveys of its 740,000 members suggest there's growing public support for photo radar in general.

"It used to be way down in the 60s and now it's about 78 percent actually support the use of photo radar to catch speeders," said Don Szarko, who is with the AMA's advocacy division.

There's also discussion of imposing a temporary licence suspension for drivers with blood-alcohol levels of .05 or higher.

This would be a tougher standard than the existing level of .08, which would still be the cutoff for laying a drunk driving charge.

Oberg says it will take about a year for these changes to take effect, either through legislation or by cabinet order, but he wants to consult the public first.

Speed camera fines 'illegal'?

Johannesburg - Moves are afoot to have traffic fines generated from unmanned cameras declared invalid by the prosecution authorities.

As a result, thousands of fines issued for traffic offences from speed camera detection could be illegal.

The Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in the East Rand near Johannesburg, is engaged in high-level talks with the metro police department in Ekurhuleni to stop the prosecution of motorists who failed to pay traffic fines from unmanned cameras.

The outcome of these talks could set a legal precedent that could affect the imposition of traffic fines countrywide.

One senior prosecutor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said for the traffic fines to be valid, motorists have to be stopped on the spot by a metro police officer and issued with a summons. Summonses, he said, cannot be sent by post.

The decision by the prosecution authorities in Ekurhuleni may plunge cities and towns throughout the country into financial crisis because traffic fines contribute hugely to revenues of municipalities. Using the rule of general application, motorists in other areas who are sent fines emanating from unmanned cameras may also not pay the fines.

The decision by the prosecution authorities followed submissions by a number of drivers in Ekurhuleni, challenging the legality of fines from the placement of speed cameras.

A lawyer from Benoni on the East Rand (who cannot be named) has made numerous representations to the DPP questioning the legality of fines that have been issued to him by the traffic authority in Ekurhuleni through unmanned speed cameras.

The lawyer insisted that such fines are in direct violation of aspects of the Criminal Procedure Act.

He said cameras were important in the prosecution process because they are used as instruments to detect crime and thus their use has to comply with Section 341 of the act.

He further said Section 341 does not authorise the placement of cameras next to traffic lights and stop signs to monitor if motorists stopped at red robots and stop streets.

Another senior prosecutor said there had been a lot of problems on the use of speed cameras to prosecute motorists.

Fuel for the fire

September 21, 2005 9:57 AM PDT

Cop targeted Sun writer over column on photo radar, suggests lawyer Staff Sgt. Bill Newton had a personal vendetta against Sun columnist Kerry Diotte over a column slamming photo radar - culminating in the infamous Overtime sting, a lawyer for the city police suggested at Newton's disciplinary hearing.

When a Canadian journalist dared to write a column criticizing the photo radar program used in Edmonton, Alberta, the local cops apparently decided to get even.

Staff Sgt. Bill Newton looked up the name of journalist Kerry Diotte in an ostensibly official-use-only police database, found Diotte's license plate and home address, and asked his colleagues to look out for Diotte's BMW convertible, according to a report Wednesday in the Edmonton Sun. (Diotte is a columnist for the newspaper.)

The cops tracked down Diotte in a bar and planned to nab him on drunk driving charges. But he took a cab home instead. Now Sgt. Newton is -- appropriately, it seems -- facing a disciplinary hearing.

Israel to Put Ticket Cameras at Every Intersection

Israel to implement massive expansion of car confiscation, red light and speed camera programs.

Israeli Transport Minister Meir Sheetrit announced yesterday that he would solicit bids to install expand red light cameras and speed cameras to an unprecedented level. Israel currently has cameras using obsolete film technology stationed at just forty intersections. The government wants to modernize the network with 1,200 digital cameras installed at every intersection with a traffic light, surpassing heavily monitored countries like China with 100-percent ticket camera coverage.

The minister also announced plans to create storage lots to accomodate an expanded car confiscation program that would allow police officers to take vehicles for 30-60 days for people driving with an expired license, an overloaded vehicle, or under the influence. Some 1500 Israeli Defense Force soldiers would join the police in these efforts.

Red light camera tickets merit the highest level of traffic fine, NIS 1000 (US $210). The existing system generates US $8,360,000 in annual revenue. According to Israeli police calculations, there are 8.7 million unpunished red light violations in the country every year. Capturing just half of them with the expanded camera network would generate one billion US dollars in revenue.

Source: 1,200 digital cameras to be placed at intersections (Globes Israel Business News, 9/23/2005)

New Edmonton Police Photo Radar Ethics Scandal

Speed camera vendor ACS State and Local Solutions has been offering gifts to the police department in Edmonton, Canada in direct violation of ethics rules that are standard throughout the country. Acting police chief Daryl da Costa admits that he accepted tickets to Oilers hockey games on at least two occasions.

This is a direct violation of Edmonton Police Service rules that prohibit accepting such items, particularly from an entity that has a financial interest in maintaining the support of the police.

Da Costa explains that he was "building a business relationship."

"You just can't put yourself in a situation where you are beholden to anyone, or even be seen to be beholden to anyone," Former Police Chief Doug McNally told the Edmonton Journal. "I find this situation very disturbing, and for the commission to look the other way is equally disturbing."

Da Costa is vying to replace Fred Rayner as Edmonton Police Chief. Rayner lost his job over the no-bid $90 million contract scandal with ACS as well as a police attempt to frame anti-photo radar columnist Kerry Diotte in a failed drunk driving sting. Da Costa has been questioned by the Royal Canadian

Mounted Police over the contract scandal, but he denies any involvement.

At least two members of the city council expressed outrage to the Edmonton Journal. "What was he thinking?" Councillor Mike Nickel said. "I must question the man's judgment."

"I think it would be a big mistake to hire someone who is under a cloud, especially when the last chief went out under a cloud," Councillor Ron Hayter said.

Source: Critics question da Costas judgment (Edmonton Journal (Canada), 9/17/2005