New Times first reported two weeks ago that the speed cameras being placed abundantly throughout town by the Arizona Department of Public Safety were being "vandalized" with -- gasp -- Post-It notes.
Scofflaw activists hope placing the sticky notes on camera lenses will bring attention to their cause and allow at least a few speeding motorists to escape citations. An Arizona Republic article states the protesters have also been spraying the cameras with Silly String.
In the United Kingdom, anti-photo-enforcement protesters use something a bit stronger: Fire.
In Essex County, England, vandals have destroyed eight cameras just since May. But the vandalism appears part of a larger sabotage effort plaguing the country for the last few years.
Motorists Against Detection, a British group against speed cameras, runs a Web site that features numerous pictures of torched photo enforcement equipment. The site claims one camera was blown up with dynamite, and its home page shows what appears to be a vandal using a metal-cutting tool to chop down a camera pole. A YouTube video shows one of the U.K. cameras being set alight.
In the Czech Republic, meanwhile, an angry citizen recently took a pick axe to one speed camera (at right).
Though local state troopers warn that Silly String and Post-It obstructions on cameras won't be tolerated, they -- and taxpayers -- should be thankful the activists' vandalism isn't all that serious. -- Ray Stern
