Thursday, July 26, 2012

48 Percent?!?!

Luke Broadwater reports that the Dallas-based private company that operates the city's speed cameras, whose contract was due to expire, instead of getting rightfully run out of town with torches and pitchforks will instead get 48 percent of the city's revenue for at least the next five months*. $19.20 of every ticket. Hey all you firearms fans who claim you need your guns to fight some hypothetical corrupt regime-- said regime has arrived. Please put those hand cannons to good use and shoot those damn things down!

7 comments:

Maurice Bradbury said...

though probably sneaking up behind them and blinding them with paint would be more effective.

Cham said...

The problem with paint is that it can be removed. The city insurance for damaged equipment must max out at some point, so a hand-cannon coordinated effort among a number of people could probably permanently obliterate all the cameras speed/red light/surveillance. Socially and morally, it's not a bad idea. Legally, obviously there are some minor bugs but the police department can't seem to close any type of any case so its not a problem. The biggest challenge is physics, what goes up must come down.

There wouldn't have been a problem with the 48% number if the city had bothered to start the bidding process at the beginning of the year. Perhaps they don't keep records of when contracts are going to end in the purchasing department.

Anonymous said...

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ToneGrail said...

Sorry, but as a responsible firearms "enthusiast" I will not break the law.

Maurice Bradbury said...

I'm sure a bullet would just bounce right off. Paintball full of tar?

And if it wasn't already obvious cameras have nothing to do with kids' safety, I direct you to the speed camera at Springlake and Northern Parkway, with a big "school zone" sign in front of it-- and no schools. Seven blocks to the west at N. Pkwy and Roland, though, four schools within a block and not a single camera near any of them.

Not actually against the cameras-- rather enjoy the schadenfreudeliciouness of tailgating jackasses getting the flash-- but as broke as the city is, 48 percent of that revenue going to a private, out-of-state corporation is an outrage-- the city is turning into a pay-to-play paradise. I predict for-profit prisons next.

Kevin said...

In the UK these cameras are disabled by throwing a tire around them, putting diesel fuel in the tire, and lighting them up.

Maurice Bradbury said...

Sadly no one in town is fit enough to throw a tire over a 15-foot pole.