Missing Speed Cams' / Damaged Speed Cams' Stolen Speed Cams'

Cyprus: Three Speed Cameras Damaged, Destroyed
Paint marred one speed camera and motorists crashed into two others over the weekend in the Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus.

CyprusA trio of speed cameras in the Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus were damaged or destroyed over the weekend. In Larnaca, paint was poured over one camera obscuring its lens. Cars crashed into a pair of cameras in Nicosia, knocking them out of commission.

The Cyprus speed camera system has been plagued with difficulties. Most recently the contractor that installed the units put them on the wrong side of the road because it did not realize motorists in the country drive on the left-hand side of the road. The system will start with 32 fixed cameras and 8 mobile units expanding eventually to 450 throughout the island.

Source: Traffic cameras vandalised (Cyprus Mail, 1/17/2006)


Girard, Ohio Speed Camera Swiped
The camera that had generated $85,000 in revenue for Girard, Ohio is now missing.

Girard speed cameraOfficials in Girard, Ohio admit they have no idea where their speed camera is. The device had been very profitable for the city, generating $85,000 in revenue since it went live August 8. A technician for the German camera contractor Traffipax which operates the device in return for a cut of the revenue noticed it had disappeared when he went to check on the system at 5:45am on Wednesday.

Although Traffipax quickly replaced the $70,000 machine with a second camera they had planned to deploy on city streets, it may not be issuing tickets for long. Two pending lawsuits argue that the city's use of the device is illegal. Newly re-elected city councilman Dan Moadus and his attorney James Denney filed a lawsuit in October. Denney had taken on the case for free after the city had placed the camera on his private property without permission. Brian P. Kish and David Betras filed a second lawsuit challenging the system.

An expected vote by Ohio's state Senate later this year also could pull the plug on Girard's enterprise. Two-thirds of Ohio's House of Representatives approved legislation in May explicitly outlawing Girard's use of photo ticketing.

Article Excerpt:

Atty. James Denney's eyes widened with disbelief when informed the camera was gone. Denney is adamantly against use of the camera. "Thank God," the Girard lawyer who has law offices on South State Street said as he looked up to the heavens and crossed himself. "We're going to have a party tonight.

Source: Speed camera stolen in a fast one (Vindicator (Girard, Ohio), 1/4/2006)

UK: End of Year Camera Torchings
Two Surrey, UK speed cameras are torched in late December.

A pair of speed cameras in Surrey, UK ended the year in flames. Last Thursday a photo ticket machine on the A217 at Reigate Hill was left "dripping with molten plastic" after being torched around midnight.

The previous Friday saw a speed camera incinerated on Brighton Road in Lower Kingswood. Surrey Safety Camera Partnership officials estimated the total damage at £25,000 and said they planned to use CCTV cameras to monitor the speed cameras.

Source: Speed camera vandals put lives at risk again (Surrey Mirror (UK), 1/4/2006)

UK: Suffolk Speed Camera Disappears
A Suffolk, UK speed camera on the A14 was knocked over and its inner workings taken.

A speed camera on the A14 in Suffolk, UK was ripped out of the ground and had its inner workings carefully removed. The incident left an empty camera housing and pole alongside a mess of wiring exposed at the concrete base where the device once stood ticketing passersby.

"The camera has been attacked," Michelle Finnerty, spokesman for Suffolk SafeCam told the East Anglian Daily Times. "It's been completely ripped out of the ground and investigations are ongoing at the moment. The concrete bit it was set in is out as well, someone has gone to a great deal of trouble."

Source: Speed camera felled at accident spot (East Anglian Daily Times, 12/15/2005)


Missing Suffolk, UK Speed Camera Found
A missing Suffolk, UK speed camera turned up underwater in Norfolk, forty miles away.

Thetford chanelThe speed camera formerly located on the A14 in Suffolk, UK was relocated to an underwater site some forty miles away. Fishermen discovered the remains of a ticket machine in a channel near Methwold Lode in Norfolk. Last Thursday a camera had been knocked down and its inner workings removed. Suffolk Police spokesman Mike Nunn told the Eastern Daily Press that he believes this is the missing device.

"We will be working with Norfolk Police to see if it is the same camera," Nunn said.

Source: 40-mile journey to dump speed camera (Eastern Daily Press, 12/16/2005)