10/10/2010
Louisiana Speed Camera TorchedSpeed camera in New Orleans, Louisiana set on fire just days before a court rules the automated ticketing program illegal.
Vigilantes in New Orleans, Louisiana set fire to a speed camera on Tuesday. The automated ticketing machine had been installed at the 3400 block of Chartres Street in Bywater until a gasoline-soaked tire was used to burn the device, WWL-TV reported. The fire destroyed the control box for the camera and scorched the flash and camera units.
While this form of attack is common in Europe, "necklacing" of speed cameras is rare in the United States. The vigilantes apparently placed little hope in the state court of appeal which ruled three days after the fire that the New Orleans traffic camera program violated the city charter, affirming the lower court ruling issued October 1 (view ruling). Absent state supreme court intervention, the cameras will be shut down legally on October 14.
