And if you liked that last article, then chances are you’re feeling a lot like the folks in an article I read in the Washington Post about speed camera ticket recipients who are feeling just a little put upon with these tickets.

For instance, did you know that contesting an automated traffic ticket in Montgomery County, Alabama, is SUCH a joke that you only have three chances in a THOUSAND of beating it?  That’s right–they’ve got a 99.7 percent conviction rate for automated tickets.

But there’s a steadily growing resistance to these, one that, hopefully, I’m aiding and abetting–the sheriff in Pinal County in Arizona (who needs to have a talk with Joe Arpaio over in Maricopa County) took office in January.  His first act?  To pull down EVERY RED LIGHT CAMERA IN THE COUNTY.  Every one.  Lock, stock and boxtop.  He says they don’t cut down on accidents, but what they do is they “tie fundraising to law enforcement and render people guilty until proven innocent”.

You may remember the guy who wore a mask to drive to work so that cameras couldn’t conclusively identify him, something Arizona law requires before the tickets can be issued.  But you may not have heard about the guy in Phoenix who SHOT a technician working on a speed camera.  The technician in question?  Dead.

But this isn’t the end!  No, just the beginning!  In England, they attack a hundred of these cameras a year!  And in Finland, they actually bring out EXPLOSIVES!

One thing’s clear–the red light camera isn’t going away.  Just ask Jefferson Parish if they want to lose the thing that’ll balance their budget.  But what’s equally clear is that people don’t want them, and they’ll get rid of them by whatever means–ballot box or bomb–necessary.