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Database Loophole Lets Legislators Avoid Photo Radar Tickets
lemur3 writes "State legislators in Colorado have not been receiving speeding tickets due to inadequacies in the implementation of a DMV database. The current system ties plates to vehicles rather than to individuals, the special plates for legislators are issued to individuals. The result is that there is no entry in the database for the special plates when the automated photo radar system is triggered, this means nobody receives a citation. In one case a Colorado resident, who had vanity plates reading '33,' received the photo radar citations intended for Senator Mike Johnston representing district 33, whose vehicle was identified by a '33' on his special plate. Lt. Matt Murray of the Denver Police, speaking of the system commented, 'Our system works, the database works. What needs to happen is the state's database need to be complete.'"
The way this works in Germany is that two pictures are taken - one of the numberplate and one of the driver. I received a letter several years ago saying that my car had been caught speeding and that the driver was obviously not me - their face recognition software recognised a female driver. The photo was included and my (by then ex-) girlfriend paid the fine.
German courts do not consider the numberplate alone to be adequate ID, a practice going back decades.
Mielipiteet omiani - Opinions personal, facts suspect.
Our system works, the database works.
System works as intended, by placing the responsibility of defense on the accused.
I wonder how long it took for that person with vanity plates 33 to get his ticket annulled. He probably had to go to court and speak to a clerk or two.
I am surprised they do not yet send occasional random tickets to 2%-3% in the database. What do they have to lose? Either the person would pay the fine or they would spend hours of their life trying to avoid paying it -- maybe they will be browbeaten into paying a fraction instead.
Why do legislators need special license plates? What sets them apart from us plebs in the rank and file? I'm sure that they don't have problems parking at the statehouse, so other than notifying law enforcement that they're 'special' why different plates?
Because they made the rules, so of course they made them to their own advantage.
.... about fucking retarded shitheads like this speaking in public and telling lies?
"Our system works, the database works. What needs to happen is the state's database need to be complete."
WRONG, fuckface. 1) If, according to the evidence, the system isn't working, then the system isn't working. Expected behavior: the correct person gets tickets. Observed behavior: the wrong person gets tickets. How can you say that "works"? 2) If a part of the SYSTEM isn't working (like the database), then the SYSTEM isn't working, because a SYSTEM is "a regularly interacting or interdependent group of items forming a unified whole."
Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
No, that's Wisconsin, and Speeding/Redlight cameras are still illegal here. Although I'm sure it's only a matter of time.
Now this one is something that could easily fall into Hanlon's / Heinlein's Razor but it does seem a bit like somebody really favors the politicians these days.
Even if you favor politicians, how do sneak duplicate plates bast your database software?
The way the story reads, there are two cars with the exact same plate number, 33, both on the street and in the database.
How is that even possible? Wouldn't you expect the plate number to be a unique key in the database? Or is the story just wrong?
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
Sounds as if he's got a one track mind.
Colorado has one of the largest and most vibrant microbrew cultures in the country. I've heard Oregon comes close (Some people will even say it beats Colorado, but they are clearly biased), but I don't know... There's a ton of craft beers and neighborhood brew pubs in Colorado. And yes, a lot of it is very good. :)
Photo radar tickets in Colorado don't have to be paid anyway unless they go to the trouble of serving you in person, which they never do.
One plate for a private citizen, another plate for a politically designated office, possibly another plate for commercial vehicles. and possible yet another for public service vehicles. The private citizen's plate was never very likely to duplicate a plate for any other pool of vehicles, but it happened when the guy ordered his own special vanity plate.
"Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
...break it to him, but if legislators aren't getting tickets and innocent civilians are getting tickets that should be going to legislators then your system DOESN'T work. It's BROKEN.
Not that it should surprise anyone that these "special" plates are conveniently missing from the DMV database and/or treated differently than regular plates. Just an unfortunate coincidence or oversight I'm sure. Riiiiight.
http://www.infowars.com/special-license-plates-shield-officials-from-traffic-tickets/
California DMV "Confidential Records Program," which was created 30 years ago to keep records of police officers private from criminals. The program has since expanded to cover "hundreds of thousands of public employees â" from police dispatchers to museum guards â" who face little threat from the public. Their spouses and children can get the plates, too.
Drivers covered under the Confidential Records Program abuse the system by evading toll road charges, running red lights at intersections with red light cameras, parking illegally, and breaking other traffic laws with impunity.
Legislators' plates such as these are registered to a person, not to a particular vehicle, which is what we all expect. If the legislator has 1+ daily drivers (car / truck), he may receive more than one set.
Constitutional rights may be respected, repealed, or modified; but they must never be ignored.
No, the system is designed to prevent that.
What likely happened is the purely large '33' on one plate got mistaken for a smaller-grouped '33' on a different spot on another plate in conjunction with a specialized license plate number already-printed on the plate. You'll see stuff like this on Disabled Veteran vehicular plates, certain tax-exempt cross-country trucker plates, gov't official plates, and county/city service plates.
Source: Former plate inspector in a Mississippi state prison (one of my 'jobs' before I hit the RID boot camp program for my sentence.)
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.