Speed cameras come down; tickets still a possibility
Charles Classen
Speed limit enforcement cameras have been shut off across the state, as the Arizona Department of Public Safety permitted its contract with Scottsdale based Redflex Traffic Systems, to expire. The cameras flashed for the last time at 11:59 p.m., July 15.
“Hallelujah!” Ryan Choate, a general studies student, said when asked how he felt about the cameras coming down.
“I’ve been flashed a few times, but the tickets were all dropped because my car is registered in my mom’s name, and they couldn’t prove it was her driving.”
Activists opposed to the system claimed the program was an intrusion of privacy.
Supporters claimed the program effectively deterred motorists from driving at unsafe speeds, preventing accidents and saving lives.
Nursing student Beth Durfee said, “I’m happy to see them come down…The possibility of a ticket didn’t bother me; it bothered me when people would slow down to avoid getting flashed.”
During its two-year run, the program incited multiple incidences of vandalism, from mobs donning Santa costumes gift-wrapping the cameras to madmen wielding pickaxes.
Gov. Jan Brewer elected not to renew the contract, citing concerns over the costs and effectiveness of the program started under her predecessor’s administration.
Of the 1.2 million tickets issued, less than one-third had been paid.
Revenue projections, included in the state budget under former Gov. Janet Napolitano, proved some that the program was created to generate money for the state.
The projections approached $120 million annually, while only $78 million was collected over the span of two years.
The 76 cameras along Interstates 17 and 10, State Route 51, Loop 101 and U.S. 60 began dismantlement in mid-July.
The project was expected to run into November.
Those caught before the shutoff may have still receive tickets because the existing violations were still being processed.
