Oakland's photo radar
NMA (Bob Morrow)
Tickets issued by photo radar in Oakland have been successfully
defeated, thanks to the state's anti-speed trap law. CVC 40802 says any
speed limit that is not supported by an engineering survey is not valid.
It does not prevent police from enforcing those limits nor does it
prevent a city from posting them. However, you can use it to your
advantage if you have a photo radar ticket, since most underposted
limits that are affected by this law are in cities and towns - the only
place you're likely to find photo radar.
January 16, 1997 - "CITY OF OAKLAND CAUGHT RED-HANDED USING PHOTO RADAR
IN ILLEGAL SPEED TRAP"
A motion to dismiss a speeding ticket that was administered via the
City's "Photo Radar" program and served by mail, was filed in Oakland's
Municipal Court today by Nancy Levine, an actress living in Oakland's
Montclair District. The citation was issued when a photo radar system
indicated that she was driving 37 miles per hour in a 25 mph zone.
The motion says that the defendant was cited for speeding on Thornhill
Drive as a direct result of the city's operation of an illegal "Speed
Trap." The motion refers to the city's engineering study (the data
from which is used to establish speed limits) as "woefully absent of the
sound engineering judgement found in the engineering body of knowledge."
The motion also goes on to criticize the use of the photo radar system:
"The city, in their use of a high volume photo radar ticket writing
machine is being rewarded for the illegal use of traffic control
devices by turning this improperly engineered and posted section of
highway into a profit center."
The controversial photo radar program has already been deemed by the
State of Alaska as an unconstitutional violation of the 6th Amendment
right to due process. Likewise, the program has been tested and
abandoned in Southern California, and drivers in Arizona can legally
ignore photo radar tickets, thanks to 1987 decisions by the state's
Supreme Court.
Said Levine, "I believe the photo radar system to be a gross violation
of my rights. I just want to see this practice abolished. It's a sham.
My local beat cop even told me not to sign the ticket, if I hadn't
already."
The ticket was later dismissed. On January 24th, the local Judicial
Council in Oakland announced that they are no longer going to process
photo radar citations.
For further information contact Chad Dornsife, mailto:ch...@dornsife.com
NMA Nevada Activist.
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Joel Garry
"(M> From: "NMA (Bob Morrow)" <n...@motorists.com>
"(M> The controversial photo radar program has already been deemed by the
"(M> State of Alaska as an unconstitutional violation of the 6th Amendment
"(M> right to due process. Likewise, the program has been tested and
"(M> abandoned in Southern California, and drivers in Arizona can legally
It may have been "abandoned in Southern California," but the machines are still
out there to advise drivers how fast they are going (Saw one yesterday,laughed
at how wrong it was). This leads me to believe they could be reinstated at any
time. All it would take is some enthusiastic salesman pointing out to some
green city councilman what a great revenue enhancing device they are...
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Standard disclaimer: The views of this user are strictly his own.