Speed Cameras Removed From AZ Freeways

At midnight last night the infamous speed cams that viewed so many Arizona freeways were shut off. Originally put up in 2008 the cameras fell far short of their estimated potential revenue and the contract with their provider was allowed to expire.

Redflex, the company behind the cameras, has until November to finish removing all of the 78 cameras around Arizona. The company states it will keep the cameras up for another month to gather speed information despite the suspended use.

This doesn’t affect those cameras under the varying city programs like Phoenix, Mesa, Chandler, and Scottsdale but instead only applies to those under state contract on freeways.

According to this report from The Arizona Republic, the cameras took 2.7 million photos of speeding vehicles since September 2008. Of those, only 16% resulted in paid tickets. All told, the cameras generated $78 million, far short of the $90 million Governor Napolitano estimated they would generate in the first year alone.

Redflex, as expected, is not happy with the decision, claiming public safety will be compromised. Others, however, saw the cameras as an invasion of privacy and are happy to see them go. Republican Senator Sam Crump believed them to be a government abuse of technology.

The cameras have been at the center of several odd and notable stories since their installation, capturing famous people and even resulting in the death of one Redflex worker. A 51 year old employee of the company was killed while working on one of the cameras in April of 2009.

The position of Redflex that speed violators will somehow be uncontrollable now is likely based on their hurt feelings and pocketbooks now that the state’s contract has been allowed to expire. State Highway Patrol will still be catching speed violators and monitoring the roadways as they always have.

Whether you are snapped by a camera or seen by an officer, being stopped for a traffic violation isn’t always as simple as a citation. Offenses like reckless driving for instance, are considered criminal acts and can leave you serving time in jail and paying large fines.

If you are up against criminal misdemeanor reckless driving charges or any traffic incident that could affect your ability to keep your driver’s license, it is worth a conversation with a defense attorney to find out what you can do about it.

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