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A real American hero

Cooky

Veteran Member
A man dubbed the Red Light Robin Hood has been arrested again for cutting the wires to cameras at intersections

'Stephen Ruth cut the wires to traffic cameras at intersections where yellow light duration times were shortened to generate money for the county.

The shortened duration times at the traffic lights generate $32 million for Suffolk County, which is why the county allows the practice to continue despite their own study showing they lead to an increase in accidents with injuries."

NY Man Arrested for Cutting Wires to Red Light Cameras, Exposing Revenue Scheme
 

sun rise

The world is on fire
Premium Member
This reminds me of the old days when the AAA offered detailed trip maps from point A to B. They had a euphemism "strict enforcement" for the speed traps where people could and would be ticketed for going 1mph over the limit.

Playing such "games" is irksome to me.
 

Stevicus

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
A man dubbed the Red Light Robin Hood has been arrested again for cutting the wires to cameras at intersections

'Stephen Ruth cut the wires to traffic cameras at intersections where yellow light duration times were shortened to generate money for the county.

The shortened duration times at the traffic lights generate $32 million for Suffolk County, which is why the county allows the practice to continue despite their own study showing they lead to an increase in accidents with injuries."

NY Man Arrested for Cutting Wires to Red Light Cameras, Exposing Revenue Scheme

They had cameras at intersections for a short time here, as well as speed cameras scattered about, but they didn't last. There were even a few times where cops had gotten nailed for traffic violations caught on camera.

But I think most people recognized it as a scam.

As for deliberately shortening the duration times at traffic lights, that appears to be a serious public safety issue that should be addressed. I thought they had to abide by some kind of statewide standard on that.
 

Revoltingest

Pragmatic Libertarian
Premium Member
I recall my own town (Ann Arbor) having a city council meeting
discussing lower speed limits in order to raise ticket revenue.
It's called "policing for profit".
 

Flame

Beware
I recall my own town (Ann Arbor) having a city council meeting
discussing lower speed limits in order to raise ticket revenue.
It's called "policing for profit".

My local town did something similar for a little bit. Cops never enforced it so they raised it back to normal.
 

Salvador

RF's Swedenborgian
A man dubbed the Red Light Robin Hood has been arrested again for cutting the wires to cameras at intersections

'Stephen Ruth cut the wires to traffic cameras at intersections where yellow light duration times were shortened to generate money for the county.

The shortened duration times at the traffic lights generate $32 million for Suffolk County, which is why the county allows the practice to continue despite their own study showing they lead to an increase in accidents with injuries."

NY Man Arrested for Cutting Wires to Red Light Cameras, Exposing Revenue Scheme

Maybe Suffolk County could generate even more revenue by having the traffic lights switch directly from green to red; yellow lights be damned! ....:D


 

Subduction Zone

Veteran Member
He is using the wrong strategy. It seems that he thinks there is evidence of shorter yellows that have ended in deaths. If that was the case that town is wide open for a class action lawsuit. Money talks to cities and if they lose far more in lawsuits than they can make the cameras will come down very quickly.
 

Cooky

Veteran Member
He is using the wrong strategy. It seems that he thinks there is evidence of shorter yellows that have ended in deaths. If that was the case that town is wide open for a class action lawsuit. Money talks to cities and if they lose far more in lawsuits than they can make the cameras will come down very quickly.

I think there have only been injuries so far, from which the revenue from the tickets exceeds any lawsuits should the injured win the suit.

...Remember though, these are the Democrats who always install these things.
 

shmogie

Well-Known Member
A man dubbed the Red Light Robin Hood has been arrested again for cutting the wires to cameras at intersections

'Stephen Ruth cut the wires to traffic cameras at intersections where yellow light duration times were shortened to generate money for the county.

The shortened duration times at the traffic lights generate $32 million for Suffolk County, which is why the county allows the practice to continue despite their own study showing they lead to an increase in accidents with injuries."

NY Man Arrested for Cutting Wires to Red Light Cameras, Exposing Revenue Scheme
He is a hero. Years ago I went through a tiny town in Oregon that had only one traffic light, on the main road. It was rigged so that the yellow light never came on, it went from green to red. The town judge, 3 man police department were paid with a portion of the tickets they wrote, the more tickets, the more they were paid. Get a ticket, pay up on the spot, you are just traveling through and don't want to pay ? Jail till your trial.

They finally got busted by the state.
 

lewisnotmiller

Grand Hat
Staff member
Premium Member
I recall my own town (Ann Arbor) having a city council meeting
discussing lower speed limits in order to raise ticket revenue.
It's called "policing for profit".

Ugh...it happens way too much here.
Variable traffic speeds seem to make the problem even worse, although that's my own bias/anecdotal.
 

lewisnotmiller

Grand Hat
Staff member
Premium Member
...Remember though, these are the Democrats who always install these things.

Not disputing since, since I would honestly have no idea.
Here in Australia, though, both sides do it with abandon. It's pretty easy to justify, and turns a pretty penny. It's annoying (at best).
 

SomeRandom

Still learning to be wise
Staff member
Premium Member
Not disputing since, since I would honestly have no idea.
Here in Australia, though, both sides do it with abandon. It's pretty easy to justify, and turns a pretty penny. It's annoying (at best).
Lol where I live there’s a little corner where the cops usually sit to catch speeders. All the locals know the exact spot and businesses have taken to parking cars with giant ads on them, because everyone instinctively slows down
 

dianaiad

Well-Known Member
Lol where I live there’s a little corner where the cops usually sit to catch speeders. All the locals know the exact spot and businesses have taken to parking cars with giant ads on them, because everyone instinctively slows down


far cry from...

My dad tells a story about when he used to work for a fertilyzer plant in Idaho right after WWII. He had a VERY good friend, a local cop who got really tired of the number of accidents during 'rush hour' going home from work.

So he and Dad cooked up a scheme: almost every day after work, that cop would pull Dad over in the most public and obvious places on the road. They'd spend twenty minutes (the worst of the 'going home' traffic) They'd spend the time discussing this or that, arranging the weekend fishing trip...whatever. Then Dad would go home, ticket free.

I'm sure you know the phenomenon well...for some idiotic reason people SLOW DOWN when they see someone pulled over and getting a ticket. Makes no sense that they do this, of course; it's a lot less likely that you'll get a ticket for speeding from the cop already giving someone else a ticket than you are from the cop who is driving behind you....but...

The accident rate for that section of the road was cut by 80%, and when the cop was asked why he was so successful at this, he owned up to his method. It tickled the local sheriff's department so much that as far as I know, they are still doing it there, seventy years later. One cop, one co-operative friend willing to chat for half an hour.

....and no tickets or fines involved. SOMETIMES the cops are just trying to get people to slow down and not have accidents. Sometimes.

......................................but I don't know anywhere else this has been tried, do you?
 

SomeRandom

Still learning to be wise
Staff member
Premium Member
far cry from...

My dad tells a story about when he used to work for a fertilyzer plant in Idaho right after WWII. He had a VERY good friend, a local cop who got really tired of the number of accidents during 'rush hour' going home from work.

So he and Dad cooked up a scheme: almost every day after work, that cop would pull Dad over in the most public and obvious places on the road. They'd spend twenty minutes (the worst of the 'going home' traffic) They'd spend the time discussing this or that, arranging the weekend fishing trip...whatever. Then Dad would go home, ticket free.

I'm sure you know the phenomenon well...for some idiotic reason people SLOW DOWN when they see someone pulled over and getting a ticket. Makes no sense that they do this, of course; it's a lot less likely that you'll get a ticket for speeding from the cop already giving someone else a ticket than you are from the cop who is driving behind you....but...

The accident rate for that section of the road was cut by 80%, and when the cop was asked why he was so successful at this, he owned up to his method. It tickled the local sheriff's department so much that as far as I know, they are still doing it there, seventy years later. One cop, one co-operative friend willing to chat for half an hour.

....and no tickets or fines involved. SOMETIMES the cops are just trying to get people to slow down and not have accidents. Sometimes.

......................................but I don't know anywhere else this has been tried, do you?
Lmao!! That’s genius!!

My old school friend’s father was a cop when we were kids. I recall overhearing him tell a friend of his that he spent his last shift putting on the lights randomly to scare people as they drove. When questioned he brushed it off as “just keeping the public honest.” But he was a prankster through and through. Don’t know if it helped reduce speeding though haha
 

lewisnotmiller

Grand Hat
Staff member
Premium Member
Lol where I live there’s a little corner where the cops usually sit to catch speeders. All the locals know the exact spot and businesses have taken to parking cars with giant ads on them, because everyone instinctively slows down

I still think they should use an independent body to place speed cameras, and set speed limits.
And letting Councils be too heavily involved? I mean, the sole aim of speed limits should be to strike a workable balance between safety and practicality.

Bodies directly collecting revenue, or otherwise benefiting from manipulated speed limits seem too compromised. I don't understand the 'towards 0 road toll' push. That is too simplistic, and if actually used as a means of judging speeds would simply always result in reducing speed limits. 30km/h in some areas of the City of Yarra now. Not too long before 0 road toll might be realistic, because the cars will move at the same speed as the pedestrians.
 

lewisnotmiller

Grand Hat
Staff member
Premium Member
far cry from...

My dad tells a story about when he used to work for a fertilyzer plant in Idaho right after WWII. He had a VERY good friend, a local cop who got really tired of the number of accidents during 'rush hour' going home from work.

So he and Dad cooked up a scheme: almost every day after work, that cop would pull Dad over in the most public and obvious places on the road. They'd spend twenty minutes (the worst of the 'going home' traffic) They'd spend the time discussing this or that, arranging the weekend fishing trip...whatever. Then Dad would go home, ticket free.

I'm sure you know the phenomenon well...for some idiotic reason people SLOW DOWN when they see someone pulled over and getting a ticket. Makes no sense that they do this, of course; it's a lot less likely that you'll get a ticket for speeding from the cop already giving someone else a ticket than you are from the cop who is driving behind you....but...

The accident rate for that section of the road was cut by 80%, and when the cop was asked why he was so successful at this, he owned up to his method. It tickled the local sheriff's department so much that as far as I know, they are still doing it there, seventy years later. One cop, one co-operative friend willing to chat for half an hour.

....and no tickets or fines involved. SOMETIMES the cops are just trying to get people to slow down and not have accidents. Sometimes.

......................................but I don't know anywhere else this has been tried, do you?

Great story!!

And in many cases here, at least, the cops are either not the ones directly enforcing the speed limits (we have private camera operators in some instances) or they are simply following orders.

The manner in which speed cameras are deployed, and the expectations set are done so at a State High Command and/or State Government level.

Not sure if it's still the case, but a slightly simplified example of this was that NSW used to openly disclose speed camera locations (at least, some of them) with the thoughts that people would then slow down in those blackspot areas. Radio stations would then refer to these locations, etc.

In Vic, on the other hand, there were incidences of cameras being deliberately camouflaged so as to make them as hard to see as possible. The official word was that they thought making people unaware of where or when cameras were in place would be more effective at overall speed reduction, though obviously less effective at reducing speed at a specific location on a particular day.

That always felt counter-intuitive to me. Police visibility in all other realms has been proven to lower crime, so...
 

Cooky

Veteran Member
Seriously? o_O

Yes, the Democrats always want more money whether it be through taxes or fines.

Janet Napolitano was the one who put cameras on highways, at street lights and randomly on roads in Arizona... She is a Democrat.

...It's always the Democrats wanting to fine people, even with their "sin taxes" on tobacco products.
 
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