Gizmodo Australia » speed cameras

Evil Speeding Monkey Defeats The Evil Speeding Tickets

Jesus Diaz — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:50:00 +0000

Another idiot roams the world in his speeding car. The world being the squarish state of Arizona. This guy has avoided 37 tickets totalling $US6700 using a monkey mask. Still, not a match to Animal in Germany. [Thanks gitemstevedave]

Don’t Speed Up Or You’ll Be Fired By A Goddamn Tank

Jesus Diaz — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 03:20:00 +0000

This looks like a road in Sweden, Norway, or Germany. Wherever it is, they use their tanks to fire at speeding cars. Maybe. Whatever it is they do, I know I wouldn’t be messing with these traffic cops. [Thanks David]

TomTom Launches Safety Camera Subscription Service – Are There Really That Many New Cameras?

Nick Broughall — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 00:05:00 +0000

Something about TomTom’s new Safety cameras subscription service just doesn’t sit right with me. For $49.95 a year, you can receive twice weekly updates for your TomTom satnav that ensure you’ve got the most up to date information when it comes to those government revenue raisers. Both fixed speed cameras and red-light cameras are included and the positioning is verified by TomTom, so it should always be accurate… but really, are there so many new fixed speed cameras and red light cameras going up around the country to warrant twice weekly updates? And is that information really worth $50 a year, especially when you can probably update the map yourself on a TomTom with Map Share. My gut says no, and I generally listen to what my gut tells me. Like right now, it’s time for ham.

TomTom Launches Safety Camera Subscription Service in Australia

~The new TomTom Australian safety camera subscription encourages safer driving through improved driver awareness~

Sydney, January 20th 2009 – TomTom, the world’s leading portable navigation provider, today announces the availability of a safety camera subscription service enabling twice weekly updates for safety camera locations across Australia.

TomTom safety cameras will help motorists keep informed about changes to speed and red light camera locations in between map updates, encouraging driver safety and minimising fines.

“The introduction of a safety camera subscription shows the commitment of TomTom to driver safety” said Chris Kearney, Marketing Manager, Australia and New Zealand. “This further builds the TomTom promise of having the most up to date maps on the market, ensuring peace of mind for TomTom users”

The TomTom Safety Camera database can easily be downloaded onto any TomTom GPS device via TomTom HOME, TomTom’s free desktop application. Once activated, drivers will receive timely alerts on their device when approaching a safety camera location. The TomTom safety camera database is verified by TomTom and updated on a regular basis. New updates can be downloaded via TomTom HOME, so drivers continuously drive with the latest safety camera information available on the market.

Availability & price
A 1 year subscription for the TomTom Australia safety camera database is now available for $49.95 via TomTom HOME.

- END -

How to Use Speed Cameras to Bury Your Enemies in Speeding Tickets

Matt Buchanan — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 14:00:00 +0000

I think that speed cameras are the devil’s technology that impugn our basic human rights, but Maryland high school students show how they can be used for fun and ~~profit~~ revenge.

Basically, students from Richard Montgomery High School are copying the licence plate numbers of their “enemies” (’cause high schoolers lead such vicious, angsty lives) on glossy photo paper in a font that looks just like the one Maryland uses for its licence plates. They tape the crappy fake licence over their own, and intentionally zip past a stupid speedtrap camera, and a couple days later, their victim receives a ticket in the mail. The really clever little bastards are borrowing cars that are the same model as the one their victim owns.

This should pretty much seal the deal on how speeding cameras are. I mean, the whole program is being effortlessly de-constructed and re-purposed by high school geniuses who call their prank speed camera “pimping.” And this is the future of public safety? Right. [The Sentinel via Slashdot]

Mini Coyote Saves Us from the Worst Orwellian Abomination Ever: Speedtrap Cameras

Matt Buchanan — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 14:45:50 +0000

Of all the Big Brother things corporations, governments, and other nosy entities that want to examine all the minutiae of our daily lives looking for transgressions of stupid little rules, I feel like speedtrap cameras are the most egregious. Endemic in Europe, they’re gaining a foothold in the US. They break the whole system that governs the way we drive on American highways, the fundamental fairness of the road, that unspoken agreement between poh-lice and people who drive: It’s only speeding if a living, breathing cop spots you. And even then, they might just let you pass. The Mini Coyote from Novus can restore this balance.

It’s a GPS device that sits on your dashboard and relays the position of speeding cameras in just three seconds, giving you enough time to slow down while remaining within the limits of the law (in France, at least). It relies on fellow freedom lovers to report the position of speed cameras, but so far it’s been a success—27,000 cameras were reported by 50,000 drivers in September alone. And you know what? Despite British tightwads saying that it opens drivers to prosecution for “perverting the course of justice,” Novus has a real point in arguing that it improves safety in at least one way—it means fewer people slamming on their brakes as they spot a camera, preventing collisions.

I find the whole argument that it’s unfair annoying. Red light cameras, I’m okay with. It’s never, ever safe to run a red light. On the other hand, more speed, unencumbered, can actually mean fewer fatalities and accidents. And these things are no substitute for actual police officers who can make real decisions. Besides that, tech one-upmanship is the whole game: Cops get radar, drivers get radar detectors. They move to laser, detectors pick up laser. It’s as American as apple pie, Cheetos and Mountain Dew. So the Mini Coyote can’t get here fast enough. [Pocket Lint]

The Muppet’s Animal Caught Speeding, Driving Police Crazy

Jesus Diaz — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 18:50:00 +0000

Yes, the photo above is real: It is Animal–from The Muppets–driving a British Audi while speeding through a German road. The famous pink drummer is driving the police there absolutely crazy, because he keeps doing it again and again. Or better said, the real driver is, using a low-tech approach to take advantage of a weak point of the radar cameras. I don’t know about you, but this image makes me laugh out loud. The German police, however, wasn’t amused when they explained to the press how the whole joke worked and how they couldn’t fine the driver because of it:

The number plate is not enough [to catch and fine the driver]. We need clear evidence of who is driving the vehicle too. But because this is a British vehicle we can never get a decent picture [because the radar cameras are designed to take photos of the passengers in the left seat, not the right]. The driver has obviously worked this out because he has placed a large puppet in the passenger seat.

This may be an example of the famous British sense of humour but it is still dangerous driving. The driver has been caught on camera on several occasions and the puppet is on the passenger seat every time. We suspect he positions the toy deliberately before accelerating past the camera.

I don’t know why are they making a big deal of this, quite honestly. At least Animal is not actually driving. [Nothing do to with Arbroath via Boing Boing]