Polish Police have come up with a newidea – a speed camera hidden in a bin. Within two days it took photos of 1,300 drivers speeding in Lublin. “The bin camera was operative for two days in Lublin, at Sikorski, Witosa, Spółdzielczości Pracy and Kraśnicka Streets. It took around 1,300 photos, which are now being re-touched,” says Arkadiusz Arciszewski from the police department in Lublin.
During the day the machine was working without a flash and so the drivers had no idea that photos were being taken – they will soon receive speeding tickets.
On average, drivers exceeded the speed limit by 30 to 50 km/h, which equals 6 to 10 penalty points and a fine ranging from PLN 200 to 500. “They only want to make money,” says Tomasz Kosmider, a driver from Lublin. “It is commonly known that nobody respects the 50km/h speed limit, especially on thoroughfares. Such guerilla warfare puts police to shame,” says Anna Pietrzyk from Lublin. Doubts concerning the idea have also been expressed by members of the Warsaw Police Department. Junior police inspector Marek Kakolewski stated that from the drivers’ point of view such action may be perceived as irritating. “It also exposes the cameras to damage, since someone may smash into the bin by the side of the road. I doubt whether concealing speed cameras allows them to fulfil their preventive purpose. Perhaps the area within its reach should be somehow marked with signs warning about electronic speed measurement, which is recommended (but not required) by the EU,” claims Kakolewski. Meanwhile, police from Lublin have announced that they are going to increase the number of hidden cameras. “It is legal and speed cameras force drivers to abide by traffic regulations; therefore, more hidden cameras may appear,” says Arciszewski. Gazeta Współczesna
Mother of all speed cameras -
Anyone who thought that the Dutch were a liberal race might think again if they come up against the IDEE machine. Standing for Innovative Digital Enforcement Environment, this 13-feet-high speed camera has just about everything it needs to resist an attack from an angry motorist.
The IDEE, which costs anything between $60,000 and $100,000, incorporates just about every single anti-vandal measurement known to delinquent man in its design. The camera's enclosed electronics are insulated against extreme heat, and the main pillar can resist just about any fire.
A thick steel base prevents the camera from being removed forcibly from the ground, and protects the device from being rammed by a pissed commuter. Impact-resistant polycarbonate glass protects the camera and flash. If the tower is attacked, then an alert goes to the local cop shop. All the data already recorded is sent to be downloaded at a traffic control base. Anti-vandal features aside, let's have a closer look at the IDEE's detection ability. it can operate using both radar technology and induction loops in the road, and its four separate hi-res digital cameras use infra-red technology.
There are four separate high-resolution digital cameras, which use infra-red technology to flash twice so rapidly that even in very busy traffic noincidents should be missed. Four lanes of traffic can be monitored at the same time. Currently in use in Holland, the IDEE's manufacturer has plans to flog their creation all over Europe. Lucky Europeans.
Successful Civil Disobedience
Netherlands - by Eric Hesen 14-01-2008
It is not typically Dutch. Gandhi and Martin Luther King scored major
successes with civil disobedience. And yet, the Netherlands is one of the
countries where this form of action regularly yields results, because civil
disobedience fits well in the Dutch culture of tolerance and
consultation.
There are numerous examples from the recent past.
The Netherlands has a real tradition of civil disobedience.
The most recent example involves a priest from Tilburg who continued to ring
his church bells, ignoring a series of council bans. Each morning, the bells
rang out across the southern town despite the huge fines imposed on the
priest.
Docile
Professor Cees Maris says this
is quite a common form of open resistance, even though the Dutch are generally a
rather docile people.
"Scientific reports show that we accept the rules of
the constitutional state. Also, when Dutch people do break the rules, it is
usually in a disciplined fashion. Many cyclists run red lights, but in such a
way that they do not pose a danger to others".And yet civil disobedience
can be hugely successful. The squatters' movement had considerable success in
the Netherlands. From the 1970s on, houses were taken over by squatters across
the Netherlands. At first illegally, but eventually legally.
Cees Maris says the squatters' actions could very well constitute the most
successful acts of civil disobedience in Dutch history.
"Squatters commit fundamental violations of property
rights, but the objective is an appeal to justice. Squatters argue that we all
have the right to housing and speculators use scarce housing for their personal
profit and thus abuse this fundamental social right. At one point the government
introduced a law pertaining to unoccupied dwellings, which made it possible to
revoke a person's ownership rights. So the actions were a
success". Traffic
Another example is the
fight against traffic fines. For years, there have been massive protests against
fines imposed for relatively minor speeding offences. In recent years, several
groups have been formed of which the members refuse to pay these fines. And with
success, because a number of politicians have begun to wonder out loud whether
it wouldn't be better to scrap these fines.
Professor Maris
says the main reason for the success of civil disobedience campaigns is often
the same: the typically Dutch culture of tolerance.
"There seems to be a tacit consensus between the
government and its citizens no longer to enforce certain rules. A case in point
is the handling of soft drugs. People used to use the drugs secretly because
they did want to get caught. At the same time a discussion sprang up on
regulating drug use. At some point, the message got through to the government
and soft drug use was more or less tolerated".
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Do Speed Cameras save lives? Statistics from around the world and Australia suggest not! Why? Because speed cameras target the vast majority of law abiding citizens who travel a few kms over the speed limit, not the true causes of road fatalities! Speed Cameras are "fools gold" for governments looking for a quick fix solution to road deaths, but prove a bonanza for cash strapped governments looking to reduce police manpower and raise revenue. Add to this mix speed detection technology that is inaccurate, low speed tolerance limits and a court system that is blind to these problems and you have a recipe for disaster.
Road Patrol Cops Replaced by Cameras
Why do you think speed cameras are so appealing to governments? Simple, speed cameras are cheaper to run than real police. Speed cameras don't ask for pay rises or let off drivers with a warning - Real cops do! It's based on a false economy to save money and raise revenue. What the community gets is a rise in road deaths and a bunch of young road hoons running the streets like a scene out of the movie "Mad Max" Don't believe it? I live in Western Australia where the Police Traffic Branch was amalgamated with the local suburban police stations. So who looks after the streets now? Basically, its a free for all.
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The Editor of The Observer wrote (17th July 2005):
"Last week, the government announced a three-month moratorium on further speed cameras. This was partly in response to the work of engineer Paul Smith [Safe Speed's founder], who has spent 5,000 hours finding out why, though the number of cameras has risen exponentially, there has been no corresponding reduction in traffic fatalities. He concludes that, far from acting as a deterrent, speed cameras take responsibility for safe speed away from drivers, and their concentration from the road. Cameras are as likely to cause an accident as to prevent one." (link)
There are numerous examples from the recent past.
The Netherlands has a real tradition of civil disobedience.
