News Reports Show Red-light and Speed Cameras Issue Tickets Unfairly

Harrisburg, Pa. — News reports show that cities routinely use questionable tactics to increase the number of motorists who are sent traffic tickets in the mail from red-light and speed cameras.

The same traffic enforcement systems are being marketed to cities in over 20 countries, and the problems reported in the news are handled as local stories, which keeps the public and lawmakers in other cities from seeing the full context of the problems caused by the automated systems.

In a published news report in the Calgary Sun, an appeals court judge, Justice Peter Martin, criticized the Calgary, Canada police practice of placing speed cameras in such a way as to trap motorists where the speed limit becomes lower. A police officer quoted in the story said the practice was dangerous and could lead to accidents because motorists will slam on their breaks to avoid a ticket.

A WBAL television news investigation reported that the majority of red-light camera intersections in Baltimore had yellow light durations that are set to the bare minimum allowed under federal law. The report said that intersections had a yellow light duration of 4 seconds in 2002, but in 2004 it was reduced to just 3 seconds.

In the report Baltimore officials admitted that 20 percent of red light camera citations in the first half of 2003 were given at intersections with a 2.9 second yellow — illegally short under federal rules. Those tickets were declared illegal by District Court Judge Gary Bass. Another judge in 2002 had documented the same irregularities, according to the report.

Union City, Calif. had to refund $1 million in fines improperly collected from a red light camera at an intersection with a yellow light that was 1.3 seconds shorter than the law allows, according to a news report there.

A short yellow light forces drivers to decide between running the light and slamming on the brakes, risking a rear end collision. A study by the Texas Transportation Institute found that adding an extra second of yellow time can cut accidents by 40 percent or more.

Regular news reports from around the world verify that there are thousands of drivers who get tickets they do not deserve. Despite the reports, cities continue to install more cameras, causing the driving public to turn to PhotoBlocker (tm) spray for self-defense.

PhotoBlocker is sprayed on a license plate and does not in any way obstruct or change the appearance of the numbers on the plate to the human eye. However, the flash picture from a red-light camera or speed camera makes the numbers on the plate unreadable because the light reflects back blinding the camera, similar to the effect of taking a flash picture into a mirror.

"Motorists are worried about the cost in time and money to defend themselves against unjust tickets. It is easier and less expensive to just use PhotoBlocker spray," said Joe Scott from PhantomPlate, Inc., maker of PhotoBlocker spray.

PhotoBlocker has been tested by media from around the world, as well as by a number of police departments. The published results show that the spray works as advertised. Out of all the many states where enforcement cameras are used, Illinois and New York are the only ones that banned the spray — giving further testimonial that the spray actually works.

"We want our roads to be safe, and we do not encourage anyone to break the law. But we know how frustrating it is to get a ticket you do not deserve," explained Scott. "Most drivers are good people who want to obey the law. If they have time to either stop or clear the intersection they will, but as long as cities use short yellow lights to generate more tickets motorists will resort to PhotoBlocker spray to protect themselves," said Scott.

The company reports sales of over 500,000 cans in 23 countries. Information about the product is available on the Internet at http://www.PhotoBlocker.com. Many links to news stories and media reports are posted on the site.

Contact:
Joe Scott
703-624-9318
joe.scott@phantomplate.com

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