[LINK] o/t red light now also speed cameras?

[Ivan Trundle]

On 2009/May/08, at 5:14 PM, stephen at melbpc.org.au wrote:

> There are red light cameras in Canberra and AFAIK they have always
> been speed cameras as well.

Don't know what all the fuss is about: red light cameras in Canberra  
have always been thus, and the local government is about to embark on  
a program of linking cameras to detect vehicles that have an average  
speed between two points greater than the posted limit. Rather like  
what they do in the UK (and elsewhere), and what they do for truckies  
on the Hume Highway.

But back to Link - the data carrying capacity of these cameras is  
growing, and whilst I have yet to hear of people either inventing or  
stealing plates in order to break the law (as has been documented  
overseas), I've yet to hear what safeguards are in place to ensure  
that the camera technology can confirm that the vehicle attached to  
the plate is the 'right' vehicle (in the US, it has been recorded that  
people have stolen plates from cars with the same colour and body type/ 
make as the vehicle in which the perpetrators wish to commit an  
offence: students at a university did this to a hapless driver who had  
to prove that his vehicle was not in fact breaking the law, even  
though cameras had detected the plates on a vehicle matching his  
vehicle's description. (i.e. vehicle identity fraud).

Makes you wonder: how would anyone dispute the 'evidence' in a case  
like this?

iT