News From Around The Country

California: Red Light Camera Programs Face Class Action Suit

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 09:38:25 -0500

California: Red Light Camera Programs Face Class Action Suit:

A team of experienced class-action lawyers is taking on California’s red light camera industry, and photo enforcement companies are expressing unease.

The World's Smallest Car

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 09:34:26 -0500

The World's Smallest Car:

The toy-car-like Peel P-50 could easily give Japan’s 7-foot-tall microcar, the Daihatsu Copen, and the Smart car a run for their money.

Illinois: Software makes it easier for officers to hand out traffic tickets

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 09:29:56 -0500

Illinois: Software makes it easier for officers to hand out traffic tickets:

For Rockford Police, the days of hand writing tickets will soon come to an end. They plan to speed up the process with E-Ticketing software next month.

How EPA's new fuel economy label would grade current cars

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 09:22:49 -0500

How EPA's new fuel economy label would grade current cars:

Here’s a look at a new EPA/DOT table that breaks down a handful of vehicles by grade.

Maryland: Montgomery County Police introduce mobile speed cameras for school zones

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 09:16:34 -0500

Maryland: Montgomery County Police introduce mobile speed cameras for school zones:

With back-to-school season in full swing, Montgomery County Police are using the start of classes to slow county drivers.

California: Chevrolet Volt, Nissan Leaf Allowed to Use California HOV Lanes

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 09:13:15 -0500

California: Chevrolet Volt, Nissan Leaf Allowed to Use California HOV Lanes:

California commuters will either celebrate or curse SB 535, a new law that extends hybrid and alternative-fuel vehicles’ usage of High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes in the Golden State.

Nevada: Traffic enforcement near school prompts NAACP complaint

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:13:54 -0500

Nevada: Traffic enforcement near school prompts NAACP complaint:

The NAACP alleged that jaywalking tickets handed out to parents near Kermit R. Booker Sr. Empowerment Elementary School in West Las Vegas unfairly penalized people who live in a low-income area.

Florida: Fines begin Wednesday for red light camera violations in Fort Lauderdale

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:10:22 -0500

Florida: Fines begin Wednesday for red light camera violations in Fort Lauderdale:

Fort Lauderdale has begun using its red-light cameras, and now the courtesy warning period has ended, but police won’t be issuing “gotcha” tickets to people turning right on red.

California: Senate tells motorcyclists to pipe down

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:00:27 -0500

California: Senate tells motorcyclists to pipe down:

Motorcyclists who swap their bikes’ stock exhaust systems for so-called loud pipes may be more likely to get a traffic ticket under a California bill that passed the Senate on Monday.

California: Bill may put the brakes on local traffic tickets

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 09:57:42 -0500

California: Bill may put the brakes on local traffic tickets:

A bill is heading to the governor’s desk that would stop Riverbank, Newman and a handful of other California cities from issuing their own tickets for minor traffic violations.

Florida: Police chief says Port Richey's budget for red-light cameras is confidential

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 09:46:05 -0500

Florida: Police chief says Port Richey's budget for red-light cameras is confidential:

The question seemed simple enough: How much will the City of Port Richey pay per camera each month to the company that provides red light cameras?

Texas: Plano plans hand-held cameras to ticket speeders, but first asks, is it legal?

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 09:42:00 -0500

Texas: Plano plans hand-held cameras to ticket speeders, but first asks, is it legal?:

The City of Plano is looking into hand-held camera technology that tracks a speeding vehicle by GPS coordinates, records its speed — like all radar guns — and then records a video of the speeder, too.

Maryland: Howard County Officials Debate Speed Cameras

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 09:35:25 -0500

Maryland: Howard County Officials Debate Speed Cameras:

Speed cameras could be popping up in another Maryland county. Police will continue to track speeds near Howard County schools until the end of October. They will then analyze the report and make a recommendation to the county executive.

California: Lindsay Lohan -- Cop Charmer

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 09:56:54 -0500

California: Lindsay Lohan -- Cop Charmer:

Lindsay Lohan got away with a warning over the weekend … after getting stopped by a patrol car.

New fuel economy labels proposed by EPA and DOT

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 09:53:19 -0500

New fuel economy labels proposed by EPA and DOT:

The Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation have put forth a pair of design proposals for fuel economy labels for vehicle stickers that appear in the window of new vehicles at the dealership, and are asking the public to comment on which they like better and why.

Ohio: Red light tickets net less revenue than expected

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 09:49:09 -0500

Ohio: Red light tickets net less revenue than expected:

It seems a boot on their car isn’t enough to force some red-light runners to pay up. The numbers are in from the city’s two-month red light enforcement blitz, and the amount collected fell far short of the city’s goal.

California: Court Sides With Motorist in Red Light Camera Case

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 09:47:00 -0500

California: Court Sides With Motorist in Red Light Camera Case:

The statutory requirement of a 30-day warning program before a locality may issue citations to motorists caught on automated cameras going through red lights applies each time the devices are installed at a new intersection, the Orange Superior Court Appellate Division has ruled.

California: LAPD Data Shows Red-Light-Camera Blocking Sprays And Shields For License Plates Don't Work

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 09:42:11 -0500

California: LAPD Data Shows Red-Light-Camera Blocking Sprays And Shields For License Plates Don't Work:

Those sprays and shields marketed as red-light-camera blockers? They don’t work, according to a recent study that cited Los Angeles Police Department data.

Court rulings give 'go slow' to red-light cameras

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 09:37:24 -0500

Court rulings give 'go slow' to red-light cameras:

A Supreme Court ruling last year requiring that scientists be made available to testify in court cases about lab evidence they prepare may have the added effect of curtailing the use of automated traffic-enforcement cameras to assess criminal penalties.

Arizona: Unpaid tickets for parking in Phoenix pile up for rental-car companies

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 09:31:49 -0500

Arizona: Unpaid tickets for parking in Phoenix pile up for rental-car companies:

Rental-car companies owe Phoenix nearly $100,000 in unpaid parking tickets, according to the “boot-and-tow” list used by police to impound vehicles registered to repeat offenders.