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Vandalism is easier to get away with than assault.

Simply burn them. Here are burnt Gatsos in the UK: http://www.speedcam.co.uk/gatso2.htm

This is pretty impressive, from a "How did they torch a metal camera?" perspective.

Many of the cameras seem to be damaged above the arm that holds the camera housing. Looks like they hung an intense heat source of some sort from that arm.

I hear in the UK paintball guns are the norm.

Apparently, it's to hook a tyre (filled with a bit of petrol) around the elbow in the camera pylon, and then light it ablaze causing enough heat on the camera box that it will self-destruct. At least thats what this site suggests: http://www.speedcam.co.uk/gatso2.htm

Simply burn them. Here are burnt Gatsos in the UK: http://www.speedcam.co.uk/gatso2.htm

ditto.

Left shortly after Blair was first elected. Not going back.

Last trip, when my friend explained to me that we'd just passed the first camera of an average speed trap, I attempted to moon the 2nd set.

FUTonyBlair for being a statist shit.
FUCameron for not making a bonfire of the cameras.
FUBrits for voting for these ass-clowns

Why bother? They're well within reach.

http://www.speedcam.co.uk/gatso2.htm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2003/sep/07/transport.ukcrime

The accepted method in the UK is to loop an old tire over the camera, fill it with gasoline, and set fire to it.

http://www.speedcam.co.uk/gatso2.htm

See also this site for some good pics of vandalized speed cameras in the UK.

The people in the UK have other methods:
- http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/18/1863.asp
- http://www.speedcam.co.uk/gatso2c.htm

Or they might just do this.

They don't do anything to slow down speeders. If anything they contribute to accidents and traffic problems since speeders will slam on their brakes when they see one.

In Europe, speeding camera's are common and it's also common to shoot them, burn them or otherwise vandalize them: http://www.speedcam.co.uk/gatso2.htm

That can't be the reason; synchronizing to DCF77 time by radio is accurate up to the nanosecond and has been since 1973 -- and the receivers literally only cost pennies.

Perhaps the GPS clock works better than a DCF77 clock at high temperatures... like when the gatso is set on fire... See pics:

http://www.speedcam.co.uk/gatso2.htm

Also, Conrad's 641138-89 DCF77 module is more like ten pounds, rather than "literally pennies" or whatever. At that price, what the heck, may as well upgrade to the GPS unit, especially if there are later plans to use the location data for something (tagging the ticket? Automatic distance determination to do the V=d/t calculation? Who knows?)

Well, you can get a whole DCF77 alarm clock for 4 Euros (that's with VAT, and with a retail markup), so I'm sure that the receiver is less then a quid...

Though you're probably right - even if a GPS receiver costs 5 or 10 quid more, that's a rounding error in the typical Home Office government contract...

Are you kidding?

1) find the GPS receiver
2) shoot GPS receiver with .50 Desert Eagle semi-automatic pistol
3) write a letter to Gordon Brown telling him to fuck off

As a quick examination of

http://www.speedcam.co.uk/gatso2.htm

will show, the S.O.P. is to place a tyre around the camera and ignite. You see, you have to pay to purchase ammunition, but worn out tyres are free.

That can't be the reason; synchronizing to DCF77 time by radio is accurate up to the nanosecond and has been since 1973 -- and the receivers literally only cost pennies.

Perhaps the GPS clock works better than a DCF77 clock at high temperatures... like when the gatso is set on fire... See pics:

http://www.speedcam.co.uk/gatso2.htm

Also, Conrad's 641138-89 DCF77 module is more like ten pounds, rather than "literally pennies" or whatever. At that price, what the heck, may as well upgrade to the GPS unit, especially if there are later plans to use the location data for something (tagging the ticket? Automatic distance determination to do the V=d/t calculation? Who knows?)

You could take this route which is more permanent...

http://www.speedcam.co.uk/gatso2.htm

Instead of a laptop, why not bring with a tire and some gas, and give them a hand with those speed cameras?

The main reason is speed radars, or more accurately the morons who are challenged by the concept of a speed limit .
Speed cameras already allow for a buffer and error. This creates a situation where I can be confident driving 10 km/h over the limit, but not if it's a 30km/h limit, because the margins are too small.
Shear stupidity.

Many cars actually have some kind of feature for service and testing which will for example show the real speed on the radio display after pushing a certain sequence.

Smashing is not vey efficient. One can do a much better job...

http://www.speedcam.co.uk/gatso2.htm

In the UK some are taking tires, hanging them on the speed cameras, filling the inside with gasoline, and lighting it. The gasoline burns long enough to get the tire burning, and as the tire burns, the steel belts keep it from burning itself off of the camera housing before it's been there for a considerable amount of time.

I wouldn't advocate doing this with tires that you bought new if you registered the warranty on them, but tires on wheels can sometimes be bought for $8.00 on half-price day at the junk yard, and dismounting them isn't that difficult if they're not those low-profile or large rim types. I'd imagine that you'd put the gasoline into the tire while it's on the ground, then lift it up and on, then toss a match or two into it.

Not that I'd advocate such a simple, destructive, and highly self-contained method of destroying speed cameras, but here are some results: http://www.speedcam.co.uk/gatso2.htm

To my friends in the UK, I'm so terribly sorry. I'm assuming you will have this technology installed and in full swing by next Tuesday.

They're dealing with it in the traditional manner.

How are you going to find people willing to take the risk, given the current penalties for terrorism.

The cost of imprisonment will be greatly reduced as there is no need to go to court. The police in the UK can now imprison you for a month without trial.

Yeah, it sucks but what am I going to do?

First, sign a petition like the reply before me has suggested. Then give the CCTV cameras the same treatment as speed cameras are getting. Prove to the government that the presence of CCTV actually increases crime, mostly arson.

I like some of the map making efforts that the Brits are engaged in.

For those who haven't seen this before, the site documents obnoxious installations of GATSO speed cameras in places where its obvious purpose is revenue generation rather than safety. The result is that someone usually hangs a tire around the camera, fills it with diesel, then adds a flare. Burns quite nicely. Peruse the site though for more creative solutions like chain saws.

WHOIS information

Domain name:
speedcam.co.uk

Registrant:
James Bancroft

Trading as:
James Bancroft

Registrant type:
UK Individual

Registrant's address:
11 Belmont Close
Rawcliffe
York
North Yorkshire
YO30 5QR
GB

Registrar:
Namesco Limited [Tag = NAMESCO]
URL: http://www.names.co.uk/

Relevant dates:
Registered on: 21-Oct-1999
Renewal date: 21-Oct-2009
Last updated: 27-Sep-2007

Registration status:
Registered until renewal date.

Name servers:
dns.site5.com
dns2.site5.com

WHOIS lookup made at 19:26:32 24-Dec-2007

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direct link to the link referenced in the blog. http://www.speedcam.co.uk/index2.htm

It depends on what you think of certain acts that are currently labelled as criminal. Surely nobody on here would seriously suggest that walking into a school and shooting anything with a pulse should be a legal activity. However, what of the person caught on camera smoking a joint? It wasn't centuries ago that alcohol was prohibited across the United States (with the associated massive rise in organised crime and general disregard for the law by many). At the moment in the UK, there are so many new invasive laws and ways of enforcing the law coming out that when someone defies them, you're as likely to see a "good on them" response evoked as any kind of public outrage. Speed cameras are a case in point. Sure, lots of people take the "well you shouldn't be speeding" line, but there are also plenty who would be the first to congratulate "Captain Gatso" on his organisation's efforts to destroy what they see as a threat.

Even amongst less shady organisations, car insurance companies are now beginning to say they will not raise premiums for drivers with three penalty points on their license. What was once a shameful mark to have on your license, is now so commonplace due to the mechanisation of the law and the prosecution of absolutely everyone who breaks the speed limit rather than those who are driving dangerously, that even the people who's job it is to assess your risk are saying they will not penalise you for breaking the law!

About UAVs, sure. Use them in situations when you'd use a helicopter - when you think there is a serious crime going on. But, in this country I fear that it'll just be another way for the government to not only spy on everything at once, but find whole new ways to extract yet more tax. With this, a proposed GPS tracking system for all cars to implement a pay-per-mile taxation system (don't drivers pay heftily per mile thanks to fuel duty at getting close to $9-$10 US per gallon?), the National Identity Register and the fact that we already have 20% of the entire world's CCTV cameras on this island, it would take someone with a big set of blinkers on to not think that maybe, just maybe, we really are sleepwalking into, if not an Orwellian surveillance society, then certainly into a state where the mechanisms for some real Big Brother-esque monitoring are all in place and just awaiting the right kind of government.

People have already gone about destroying speed cameras:

http://www.speedcam.co.uk/gatso2.htm

Interesting to know just how many people these things manage to piss off.

Fire, dynamite or simply knocking them down also work.
 
I am fascinated by the British phenomenon of Gatsos which are well hidden cameras that take pictures of speeding cars.
These are of course justified by officials as needed for public safety, but are in reality revenue generation devices. There is a modern-day Robin Hood character in Britain named Captain Gatso who along with his merry-men have destroyed hundreds of Gatsos.
This page displays some of their handiwork.

No, British citizens would never vandalize tracking devices...

In the UK there are several organised groups going around destroying speed cameras, such as MAD (Motorists Against Detection). (You can take a look at http://www.speedcam.co.uk/welcome.htm ).

It is a general feeling that speed cameras are not being used to improve safety, but as a means of raising extra revenue (i.e. tax) for the government. Indeed a lot of people feel that speed cameras cause accidents as everyone slams on the brakes to avoid getting caught by the cameras (often "hidden" behind trees or road signs) and immediately speeds up again afterwards. I know I do!

What's the goverment's response to this? Well it's to have a huge increase in the number of speed cameras. (Sorry I don't have the figures to hand, but it's a lot).

MAD are not an isolated group, there are several groups around the country, they are probably just the best known.

More stories, here and here.