Saturday, June 10, 2017

I fought the law and I won

We've covered before Encinitas' red-light camera contract with the corrupt Australian company Redflex. The program takes millions of dollars out of the local economy and provides no net benefit to the city budget and highly dubious public safety benefit. Despite dozens of cities dumping Redflex, Encinitas continues the contract.

Now a reader writes of a personal victory over the Redflex cameras.  From the Inbox:
An uncommon story these days: a regular citizen leery of the creepy creeping surveillance state surrounding us/good guy fighting big government story…. with a happy ending.

My red light “infraction” was surveilled and recorded at the Minority Report-looking set of cameras at the intersection of El Camino Real and Encinitas Blvd. To my chagrin, after adding up the cost of the ticket and the multitude of taxes, court fees and Orwellian-termed charges slapped on by greedy, fat-fingered bureaucrats on top of it -- plus 2 points on my driving record that would have driven up my car insurance cost for 2 years -- the red light camera ticket delivered me a potential net cost of….

Over one thousand dollars. Luckily, I contacted a small law firm in San Diego -- “Mr Ticket” -- and for a very reasonable sum the attorney took my case (along with many others I suppose), argued on my behalf, and won.

Due to complaints and a dubious Constitutional status, red light cameras have been removed in many areas across San Diego.

Not Encinitas.

Although there may be a window - the city’s contract with Redflex Inc., the intermediary camera experts that control the red light cameras in the city, expires in 2018.

What’s that, you say? A company has access to the camera data (as in your personal information, likeness, additional people in your car, their likeness, etc) is handed off to a third party who then processes the info, pictures, etc.? Yes, that’s right.

Question: How many hands does it change in the meantime? Who has access to your likeness, driver’s license number, vehicle, name, address? Who, with criminal or malicious intent, could get their hands on your private information or use that as blackmail?

The safeguard to those kinds of questions is exactly why we have a Fourth Amendment to the Constitution.

But sadly, many of our fellow citizens believe, “if I’m not doing anything wrong, what’s the problem?”

On a related note, In case you’ve wondered why there are so many cameras at other intersections in Encinitas today, it’s per the city’s recent policy of installing cameras at intersections to “alleviate congestion” (wink, wink). These numerous cameras aren’t for public safety revenue generators like the one I encountered at El Camino Real/Encinitas Blvd; they are purely surveillance.

That makes me feel great.

24 comments:

  1. EU must have edited out the part where the writer says they didn't go through a red light, risking the safety of others to trim 90 seconds from his/her day.

    ReplyDelete
  2. 2:53pm You choose too remain clueless about this criminally sanctioned shady as hell business that the city is allowing, at least until next year.

    I have personally witnessed a number of times, green lights being shortened, even when there are a line of cars waiting to pass through at that same intersection, that negates the road sensors that are supposed to delay the light turning for a few more moments to allow the line of waiting cars to be able to go through.

    On other occasions I have seen extremely shortened yellow lights, along with the shortened green lights. This is purposeful and not just happenstance.

    I reported this to a deputy sheriff a little further down the road and he said he would check it out. Whether he did at the time, or even bother to drive back through the intersection to see for himself, I have no idea. He was headed toward the coast.

    Throw these bums out of our city!

    Our city realizes little benefit from these citations, as Redflex make a killing , percentage-wise on these tickets.

    Throw these bums out of our city.

    One alternative is to have a dash cam so you can prove that manipulation of the timing has been used by these bums.

    Council, next year, tell Redflex where they can stick their cams. Other cities have and for the same reasons.

    Why should the citizens of Encinitas be allowed to be targeted by such a disreputable business model?

    Throw these bums out of our city.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Here's the ideal solution: we need to expand the Redflex system.

    6/10/17 14:21:02 Driver turns left after the arrow turned red at Encinitas and ECR.

    6/10/17 14:21:28 The digital case file is transferred to a judge, who reviews the video, photos, license plate, and sensor data.

    6/10/17 14:22:10 The judge rules by clicking the green "guilty" button. The Redflex Instant Due Process module (RIDP ®) uses design thinking algorithms to find the cell phone number for the driver of the car and initiates a call. The driver is asked to press 1 for English, then press 9 if they want to appeal the judge's ruling.

    At the same time, the Redflex Drone Integration Mesh (RDIM ®), locates the nearest drone and establishes a satellite feed to transfer the target vehicle location, course, speed, make, model, and color.

    6/10/17 14:22:30 The teleconference appeals process begins and a 2 minute countdown timer is started to argue the appeal.

    Meanwhile, the drone has found the target car, and an infrared targeting laser begins painting the roof of the vehicle.

    6/10/17 14:24:30 The appeal is complete, and the judge again clicks "guilty." The Redflex Instant Due Process 2 (RIDP2 ®) engine kicks off, and the driver is prompted to press 4, then 6, then 9 to have a second appeal. A second judge receives the second appeal (fairness).

    At the same time, the drone receives the signal and releases a guided munition.

    6/10/17 14:24:56 As the munition falls, the second appeal continues. At any time during the appeal, the judge can click the "not guilty" button and the bomb will not detonate and will instead be directed to fall harmlessly in the nearest schoolyard or park.

    6/10/17 14:25:02 The appeals process is exhausted just as the ordinance makes contact with the defendant's vehicle.

    6/10/17 14:25:15 The Redflex Environmental Response Action module (RERA ®) kicks off and signals a nearby CALTRANS electric vegan rapid response crew to shut down the roadway and begin the process of creating an EIR to assure that removal of the wreckage will not disturb the sleep of fairy shrimp, gender questioning butterflies, or albino termites.

    12/19/21 11:09:06 After several years of public comment, revisions, appeals to the California Coastal Commission, SANDAG, OSHA, EPA, NBC, CNN, and the UN, the wreckage removal project is approved. The process of selecting a contractor kicks off, and everyone hopes that in several more years a crew driving a truck made entirely of, and fueled exclusively by, palm fronds will arrive to remove the wreckage and reopen the road.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Commenter above has way too much time on his or her hands.

      I read the first sentence and moved on. Try something much more simpler to get the same point across. Thanks.

      Delete
    2. I enjoyed it, well done!! Keep The Albino termites at bay....

      -MGJ

      Delete
  4. Spray the lens with hairspray. This muddles the image and requires Redflex to come out and clean the lens. They do that 30-40 times and it gets kinda pricey xpensive for them to lose in court.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Here's the ideal situation: find out which city employees are involved in the light contract staying firmly planted in place and what said employees are getting out of it.

    Won't be the first time....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yea, why do we keep this system and who did they bribe to get the contract? How many times has it been renewed? Who made the call each time.

      Was it $tocks or kitchen boy? when do the lawsuits start so we can get these criminals under oath?

      Delete
  6. Class action to throw these bums out of our city. Dash cams can be your friend and may be the only way to provide evidence of malfeasance.

    Redflex has no class and are only in business to dramatically increase the cost of a citation through manipulating the signals time. This is intentional and should be enough to tell them to get out of our city.

    Throw these bums out of our town.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You sir were burned with a red light ticket. So mad, aren't we.

      You do realize that most people that traverse this area is from Carlsbad and San Marcos and beyond. Most of Encinitas is south and west of here.

      What's the problem?

      Delete
  7. How about shooting your the lens with a paint ball or hairspray the lens. Redflex will get tired a spending the $$$$ to clean the lens and losing in court.

    I do remember city council says that camera catches 1000 red light runners every month. That's 33 a day, hard to imagine.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Because Redflex is just one of numerous entities with deep pockets that rolled through the NWO poster child city of Encinitas like a pedo handing out cash and perks like it's candy and everyone bent over. If anyone is still in denial that you are living in a police state please wake up.

    ReplyDelete
  9. You better believe if you or anyone vandalizes these pos cams, they will be pursued and made an example of. Redflex is deserving of such action, but the price to be paid would not be worth it.

    Appealing directly to council with evidence of shortened lights is what we need to throw these bums out of our town.

    There have been citizens who have spoken up about throwing these bums out of our town, but have not been listened to yet.

    Hopefully next year council will do the right thing and throw these bums out of our town.

    ReplyDelete
  10. They would go out of business if you didn't run red lights.

    ReplyDelete
  11. People that get mad at getting speeding tickets or red light tickets are no different than people that drive under the influence and cry foul to dui entrapments...

    Law abiding citizens are all for it. It keeps us safe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A rolling right and drunk driving are hardly moral equivalents.

      Delete
    2. A drunk might say that driving carefully a short distance after a couple of beers is not morally equivalent to accelerating to push through left arrow that is turning red.

      See what we both did there? We took corner cases and pretended that they are representative.

      The simple truth is that generally, drunk driving and red light violations are both reckless and dangerous, and we should support aggressive enforcement to deter people who risk the safety of others on the road.

      Delete
    3. moral equivalents in light of law, sheds no light here. it is against the law or isn't. Morality and judgement should be used to create laws, not determine priorities between ones.

      Delete
  12. You are ignoring the observed facts of some citizens that have witnessed these lights timing being manipulated to catch our drivers. This is what Redflex does. This is why other cities have thrown these bums out of their towns.

    Throw these bums out of our town.

    The exorbitant costs that are added to citations because of Redflex is a scam on our citizens.

    Bringing driving under the influence into this conversation is a distraction and nothing more, when it comes to these bums preying on our drivers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pffffft.

      Another conspiracy theory?

      Delete
  13. Conspiracy?

    Not for those of us that have seen the Redflex camera lights timing being intentionally manipulated to ensnare drivers. Denial is not a river in Egypt.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Some people swear they have seen Sasquatch, aliens, ghosts, fairies, and the Loch Ness Monster. I'm sure some of them actually believe it.

      Delete
  14. You are either an idiot, or you are profiting in some way, or both.

    ReplyDelete