Man arrested for shooting traffic camera
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Man arrested for shooting traffic camera
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.Man arrested for shooting traffic camera
Police have lost red-light cameras to traffic accidents but never to gun play. "This is the first one that's been shot," Capt. Gordon Catlett said of the wounded camera at the intersection of Broadway Avenue and Interstate 640 — one of 15 camera-equipped intersections in the city.
Clifford E. Clark, 47, was charged with felony vandalism and reckless endangerment for allegedly firing at least three rounds from a .30-06 hunting rifle at the camera, knocking it out of action.
He was arrested after patrol officers heard shots around 2 a.m. Sunday, spotted a minivan leaving the parking lot of a closed business and pulled it over. Inside they found Clark and the high-powered rifle.
Clark, now facing a $50 fine if convicted and loss of his rifle, refused to say anything about the incident to police, leaving the motive unclear.
Catlett, who oversees the red-light camera program, said 6,798 drivers have been photographed running the red light at Broadway and I-640 and ticketed since the camera was installed in 2006. Clark was not one of them, he said
http://www.knoxnews.com/
GO HIM!!!
Police have lost red-light cameras to traffic accidents but never to gun play. "This is the first one that's been shot," Capt. Gordon Catlett said of the wounded camera at the intersection of Broadway Avenue and Interstate 640 — one of 15 camera-equipped intersections in the city.
Clifford E. Clark, 47, was charged with felony vandalism and reckless endangerment for allegedly firing at least three rounds from a .30-06 hunting rifle at the camera, knocking it out of action.
He was arrested after patrol officers heard shots around 2 a.m. Sunday, spotted a minivan leaving the parking lot of a closed business and pulled it over. Inside they found Clark and the high-powered rifle.
Clark, now facing a $50 fine if convicted and loss of his rifle, refused to say anything about the incident to police, leaving the motive unclear.
Catlett, who oversees the red-light camera program, said 6,798 drivers have been photographed running the red light at Broadway and I-640 and ticketed since the camera was installed in 2006. Clark was not one of them, he said
http://www.knoxnews.com/
GO HIM!!!
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 94,576
Likes: 265
From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
That's going to be a pretty expensive ticket. I don't believe that it's going to be just $50........a new camera costs a lot more than that. (plus the money he will have to spend for a new rifle to replace his confiscated one).
Honestly, I don't know why a lot more of them haven't received pot-shots. When they first came out, I expected to see most of them taken out sooner or later. That hasn't happened.....I was wrong.
(I also want to emphasize that I myself don't condone that action, only that I expected more of it)
Honestly, I don't know why a lot more of them haven't received pot-shots. When they first came out, I expected to see most of them taken out sooner or later. That hasn't happened.....I was wrong.
(I also want to emphasize that I myself don't condone that action, only that I expected more of it)
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 5,350
Likes: 1
From: Inside
am i the only one who thinks there should be MORE red light cameras?
at least here in Socal...red light violations are RAMPANT--especially for dedicated left turns. During the day it's possible that anywhere from 3-5 cars will pass AFTER the oncoming traffic's light has turned Green. a few cities here and there have adopted red-light cameras to great effect. Where I live (Torrance) the red light violations are quite bad with out large intersections (Hawthorne Blvd. is bigger than a lot of freeways, for example), not to mention quite dangerous.
at least here in Socal...red light violations are RAMPANT--especially for dedicated left turns. During the day it's possible that anywhere from 3-5 cars will pass AFTER the oncoming traffic's light has turned Green. a few cities here and there have adopted red-light cameras to great effect. Where I live (Torrance) the red light violations are quite bad with out large intersections (Hawthorne Blvd. is bigger than a lot of freeways, for example), not to mention quite dangerous.
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 94,576
Likes: 265
From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
Give the man an award. I say we start a PayPal fund and drivers all over the country can donate $1 each and pay for all his expenses!
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Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 94,576
Likes: 265
From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
I'm partially (not completely) with you. They do serve a purpose, but they don't give you enough time after the light is red before they snap the picture. They should be reprogrammed and a little more forgiving....it is sometimes very difficult to judge a yellow light, and you sometimes get caught in the middle of the intersection after the light turns red trying to turn left because oncoming traffic just won't stop.
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Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 1,482
Likes: 0
From: NY
I'm partially (not completely) with you. They do serve a purpose, but they don't give you enough time after the light is red before they snap the picture. They should be reprogrammed and a little more forgiving....it is sometimes very difficult to judge a yellow light, and you sometimes get caught in the middle of the intersection after the light turns red trying to turn left because oncoming traffic just won't stop.
I'm surprised those suckers dont snap at Yellow..
NYC lovesss getting revenue from tickets!
Lexus Champion
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 1,973
Likes: 1
From: California
am i the only one who thinks there should be MORE red light cameras?
at least here in Socal...red light violations are RAMPANT--especially for dedicated left turns. During the day it's possible that anywhere from 3-5 cars will pass AFTER the oncoming traffic's light has turned Green. a few cities here and there have adopted red-light cameras to great effect. Where I live (Torrance) the red light violations are quite bad with out large intersections (Hawthorne Blvd. is bigger than a lot of freeways, for example), not to mention quite dangerous.
at least here in Socal...red light violations are RAMPANT--especially for dedicated left turns. During the day it's possible that anywhere from 3-5 cars will pass AFTER the oncoming traffic's light has turned Green. a few cities here and there have adopted red-light cameras to great effect. Where I live (Torrance) the red light violations are quite bad with out large intersections (Hawthorne Blvd. is bigger than a lot of freeways, for example), not to mention quite dangerous.
Lexus Champion
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 1,645
Likes: 1
From: Richmond
The problem I have with red light camera are they only snap pictures if someone ran a red light in only one of the four directions. Thus only useful for someone running a red or if T boned with the culprit running the red went through the side with the camera, and serves no other purpose. (Though here in Winnipeg, they catches speeders too with the same camera...)
IMO these things are just used to generate revenue and annoy the general public while they think it'll decrease the rate of an accident, in a way, yes, in that particular intersection maybe, but people will speed up and not care anymore after they passed that intersection...(plus they usually put them in odd corners)
What I think they should do for those cameras is change them from snapping pictures only if a car ran a red, to record the intersection 24/7.
IMO these things are just used to generate revenue and annoy the general public while they think it'll decrease the rate of an accident, in a way, yes, in that particular intersection maybe, but people will speed up and not care anymore after they passed that intersection...(plus they usually put them in odd corners)
What I think they should do for those cameras is change them from snapping pictures only if a car ran a red, to record the intersection 24/7.
Driver
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 184
Likes: 0
From: CA
I'm partially (not completely) with you. They do serve a purpose, but they don't give you enough time after the light is red before they snap the picture. They should be reprogrammed and a little more forgiving....it is sometimes very difficult to judge a yellow light, and you sometimes get caught in the middle of the intersection after the light turns red trying to turn left because oncoming traffic just won't stop.
Usually, when you are already in the intersection when it is yellow, the camera doesn't go off--as it shouldn't. If it does, I would say that would be good grounds to contest. From what I have seen personally, the cameras work nominally: catching the guys who run reds and letting the innocents off (i.e. if you are already stuck in the middle of the intersection when it's yellow, you don't get a ticket).
No problems thus far.
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 5,350
Likes: 1
From: Inside
this is a upper-middle class city with primarily Caucasians residents with the Asian-American community following somewhere behind. You know, one of those cities that kind of shut down after 9 PM because everyone's asleep for the day at work tomorrow...it's rarely ever the immigrants who drive like they don't have to follow the big red light which means STOP.
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 1,118
Likes: 0
From: NC- charlotte
thank god their arent any in my city. but when i was in arizona it was crazy how many. and then when the actual cops hideout they dont even pull u over. u see a camera flash from their car and realize youll be recieving a ticket in the mail. sucks. my uncle has an e46 m3 and he hadnt had any tickets in 12 years but since they put the cameras in hes had 7 in 2 years mostly for 51 in a 40.