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Toledo Talk   (musing about Lake Erie West and beyond)
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Speed Cameras Calibration

Since 07 April, I have been trying to get the calibration & maintenance records for the Red Light Cameras in the city of Toledo by filing an Freedom of Information request. Finally, on 13 May, I received a note from Brian Schwartz, Toledo's 'Information' officer, that I could pick up my documents.

What I received in response were 74 pages of ‘Certification’ documents relating to the Speed Cameras. Handy, yes, but NOT what was requested from the city.

In looking over these documents, I found that the cameras are not calibrated on any schedule nor are they calibrated as often as one would think, many going MONTHS between calibrations!

For those of you that may have been sent 'Notices' regarding your alleged 'speed' witnessed by one of these cameras, I strongly suggest getting an attorney to represent you! (And I know of an attorney that would LOVE to sink his teeth into something like this! Contact me for his information)

Here are the locations and calibration dates from the documents I received:

W. ALEXIS & JACKMAN:
06/06/07; 01/25/07; 11/03/06; 07/31/06; 11/21/05; 07/20/05; 05/24/05; 02/28/05; 11/23/04; 08/26/04; 06/17/04

DOUGLAS & UNIVERSITY HILLS
05/18/07; 01/25/07; 11/03/06; 07/31/06; 04/13/06; 03/17/06; 03/17/06

TALMADGE & SYLVANIA
06/06/07; 01/25/07; 11/03/06; 07/31/06; 11/21/05; 07/15/05; 05/24/05; 02/28/05; 11/23/04; 08/26/04; 06/17/04

ANTHONY WAYNE TRAIL & SOUTH
08/29/07; 07/12/07; 05/18/07; 01/25/07; 11/03/06; 07/16/06; 03/17/06; 11/21/05; 07/15/05; 05/24/05; 02/28/05; 11/23/04; 08/26/04

ANTHONY WAYNE TRAIL & WESTERN
05/18/07; 03/07/07; 01/25/07; 11/03/06; 07/31/06; 03/17/06; 11/21/05; 07/15/05; 05/24/05; 02/28/05; 11/23/04; 08/26/04; 06/17/04

MAIN & FRONT
05/18/07; 07/31/06; 04/13/06; 11/21/05; 07/15/05; 05/24/05; 02/28/05; 11/23/04; 08/26/04

S. REYNOLDS & HEATHERDOWNS
06/06/07; 01/25/07; 11/03/06; 07/31/06; 12/08/05; 07/20/05; 05/24/05; 11/23/04; 08/26/04

Since I do have the speed camera certification documents in my possession, I would be more than happy to scan them and email them to whom ever may have a use for them. I would think the ‘spotty’ calibration times would surely bring cause to doubt the validity of information contained within the ticket! Just send me an email to GraphicsGuy@bex.net stating which intersection records are desired.

created by GraphicsGuy on May 22, 2008 at 06:25:44 am     Comments: 6

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Comments ... #

Nice jog GG - good to see you got some results. Sam Kaplan is taking some of the tickets up the chain, he may be interested. I will send him a link to your post if I can find his e-mail.

The A-Hole

posted by TheAssHoleLawyer on May 22, 2008 at 02:31:41 pm     #



Couldn't the citizens of Toledo try to out-law these cameras (within city limits) ?

If people can get an issue on the ballot like:

1. Sinking the Fink (recalling Carty Finkbeiner)
2. Smoking Ban
3. A penny sales tax to generate revenue for some issue.

Then why hasn't someone already started a petition to ban these cameras in the City of Toledo ?

It seems like this is a HOT-issue that would get a lot of signatures.

I'm not necessarily in favor of banning these cameras myself. I don't mind the Red-Light cameras. It's the speed cameras I don't care for. I've never been camera-ticketed myself.

The idea that some BIG company outside Toledo is collecting the lions share of money from these tickets, is the part that is most annoying.

It just seems that if SO MANY people out there dislike these cameras, someone should put the issue before Toledo voters and let's see what happens.

On the same subject. A cool website to check out, dedicated just to Traffic Laws & the politics of driving:

www.TheNewspaper.com

posted by WalterAnthony on May 22, 2008 at 04:39:24 pm     #



I just paid $120. for going 6 miles over the speed limit at the Douglas Rd/University Hills speed camera. Pisses me off. I admit I lost track of my speed, my fault - but geez, $120.????????????

posted by starling02 on May 23, 2008 at 09:01:07 pm     #



If this is information or a tactic to be used in court, it only stands to reason that each camera or camera type has a maintenance and calibration interval setup by the manufacturer. If the calibration dates are within those periods, then you don't have a defense. So check that, too.

posted by GuestZero on May 24, 2008 at 04:41:12 am     #



GREAT point GZ! Didn't have much luck Googling it, so I sent an email off to Redflex requesting that info. We'll see if they return with anything - although I don't know why they wouldn't. It's not like it's 'proprietary information'.

posted by GraphicsGuy on May 25, 2008 at 02:39:05 pm     #



GG, if you run into the "proprietary" cover-up, just have a friend in academia write a letter on the institution's letterhead requesting the same information, and state that the information is being used in a study funded by several municipalities for determining cost effectiveness. As long as the company believes that the information is going to the "right people", then their cover-up can be bypassed, perhaps.

posted by GuestZero on May 25, 2008 at 07:36:04 pm     #