A court case in Australia could drastically change the way the nation
uses its speed-enforcement cameras.
On Tuesday, Aug. 9, a judge in Sydney threw out a speeding case after
the Australia Roads and Traffic Authority admitted they could not prove that
pictures taken by an enforcement camera in the case had not been altered, the
Australian Daily Telegraph reported.
According to media reports, the rejection of the case centered on the
security of a mathematical algorithm that encrypted every picture taken by the
cameras. The RTA was unable to find an expert who could prove the encryption
could not be tampered with.
The ruling could set a precedent for many others who have received
tickets in connection with the speed cameras, which have been in operation for
more than 15 years and have netted more than $104 million in fines last year,
according to the Melbourne Sun Herald.
On the same day, the RTA also admitted that cameras in the Sydney
Harbour Tunnel – which were installed to monitor toll evaders – had been turned
off for three years. No tickets were given via the cameras during the time they
were off, the Daily Telegraph reported.
Also this week, the Herald Sun uncovered a 50-page manual from the RTA that details other major flaws in the
camera system. The paper would not reveal some of the bigger gaps due to safety
concerns, but did point out other smaller problems, such as camera distortion
from metal signs, fences, wall and roadside postal boxes.
Back in the United States, at least two states are looking
into whether red light cameras are enough to issue a traffic ticket.
In Minneapolis, a city where 16 red light cameras were installed at 12
intersections as a pilot program, only about 40 percent of drivers caught by
the cameras were actually issued tickets.
According to the Minneapolis Star
Tribune, about 11,500 drivers were caught on film between July 7 – a
month after the cameras were installed and the first day tickets began being
issued – and Aug. 6. But due to technical problems with the cameras such as
blocked views from tree branches and larger vehicles, and legal right turns,
only about 4,500 drivers were issued tickets.
Meanwhile, in Missouri, state Attorney General Jay Nixon is questioning
whether the photographs provide enough proof to hand out tickets to motorists.
“I think it’s pretty clear these pictures can’t be the sole or only
evidence to cite drivers for violating state traffic laws,” Nixon told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “I have deep
concern whether taking someone’s picture rolling through a stop light is
adequate evidence in and of itself to uphold a state traffic law.”
Several towns in Missouri have already installed the cameras, and more
are expected in the near future. Officials in the towns say the cameras would
help enforce local ordinances, and would be out of the jurisdiction of
statewide laws, according to the Post-Dispatch.
