My Family and I traveled to France the last two weeks in Feb. Rented a car at de Gaulle and drove to Les Gets/Morzine. Got home March 1st. March 16th got this letter in the mail from Avis saying a picture was taken of us speeding on the Autoroute. We left the airport around 10:30am, and the ticket said we were caught at 1:30pm, 3hrs into the drive, so it must have been on the A6 somewhere.
I don’t remember speeding since 130kph(80mph) is faster than I’m used to driving in the US, so I was comfortable driving the posted speed limits.
So, not only stop lights, but photographic speed traps in France.
Have your actually contacted any form of local government or have you decided for yourself that it couldn’t possibly make a difference?
Like I said, a petition is free, and so are emails, letters, and social media. Get enough people on board and you may not have to spend a penny in court.
The class action suit was an additional idea, and you can get a lawyer to take your case for a percentage of the potential damages awarded.
Maybe all that isn’t as exciting?
I still agree that they shouldn’t be able to ticket you without a living witness, and more importantly that modifying the timing of traffic lights to increase revenue while decreasing safety is just flat out wrong.
As many governments below Federal level are now finding out, it is very possible to run out of money no matter what tactics you attempt. And most of the red-light cams are being supported by those smaller governments.
On the Dashcam forum I frequent, one member shared where his town took the red-light cams down because people were now slamming on the brakes where the cams were used, causing numerous rear-end collisions thus making the intersection less safe that it had been before the cams were installed. Even the Police there were getting tired of them for all the hassle this was causing. And I’m sure there was some input from Insurance companies who were now having to pay a lot more claims than ever before.
The pen may be mightier than the sword, but the sword will win when the pen fails to prevent the action. We should live by the old document that begins with “When in the course of human events…” and when we have no peaceful and proper means of redress available to us we should do what needs to be done any way we can.
The law is the law, if you don’t like it then change it, but obey it until then.
As far as slamming on the brakes causing the car behind to run into you, the trailing driver should have a decent space between you and them, also they can see the light turn yellow at the same time as you, so why no braking???
Cheers David, … who watches cars sail through red lights all the time
If you have regular red light cameras where you drive, and want to save on fines, you could do the following.
Get one of those long tree pruners. Then adapt it so it holds a can of spray paint so it works like a selfie stick.
Then saunter past the camera (at night) and give the window at front of the box(es) a coat of fresh paint.
In the Netherlands the duration of the orange light will be prolonged by 0.5 second and on (stretches of) roads with a speed limit of 50 miles of more the duration will be prolonged by a full second. This will be executed in the coming months and reduce the number of tickets by some 50%.
@RobertB I have been in Morzine several times. The speedlimit on the autoroute (tollway) is a bit above 80 mph. But I vividly remember traffic signs that tell you to slow down to 70, 60, or even 50 mph. Due to circumstances of the road, or the weather. And not always very visible. I’m sorry to see that Avis also wants a piece of the action.
Yes but Nederlanders tend to be a more logical bunch I’ve had many missed trains (or forgot to get off the train!) in Holland (primarily between haarlem and Amsterdam) and I was so surprised the train workers were so helpful in getting me back where I intended to go. In America they would have asked for my ID and then fined me for my mistake. Henk you might even be floored to know in America you cannot buy a train ticket without showing an ID. and they will even write you name above the seat you choose to sit in.
Can you imagine?
And heaven help you if you think you will take a photo or make a video at the train station… this will lead to arrest.
Can you imagine how many tourists are taking a selfie right now on a spoor in Amsterdam?
Maybe this helps you to see why I limit my exposure to the theft
Really! That was not my experience late last year when I caught Amtrak Boston- NY then NY to Philly. Never once had to show ID and no names any where near seats.
The Dutch system has changed
One needs an special chip card
Normally with data of the user, the system knows all the train/tram/bus usage of the user.
When somebody buys a card without giving the personal data one can only add money with a bankcard, so again no privacy.
For using the train a minimum of €25 must be on the card, for tram and bus €5 if I remembered correctly.
Last time i used this was lonf ago, we lived in Amsterdam. When we wanted to go to the theater in winter with snow. My son, wife and I needed our own card at €5 a piece, plus the €5 credit, initial payment €30 for 1 zone so that used to be 3*2strippen on a paper card to be bought for €11 and that would have left 9 out of 15 strippen to be used later.
I’ve had many missed trains (or forgot to get off the train!) in Holland (primarily between haarlem and Amsterdam) and I was so surprised the train workers were so helpful in getting me back where I intended to go. In America they would have asked for my ID and then fined me for my mistake. Henk you might even be floored to know in America you cannot buy a train ticket without showing an ID. and they will even write you name above the seat you choose to sit in.