6/30/2013

Iowa, Germany, Italy, Poland: Traffic Cameras Battered
Speed cameras in Iowa and throughout Europe came under attack this week.

Vigilantes in Des Moines, Iowa took out a speed camera on Tuesday. The device at the corner of 9th Street and Grand Avenue was twisted around and camera housing bashed, WHO-TV reported.

In Palermo, Italy a pair of motorcyclists wearing darkened helmets whacked a mobile speed camera with a crow bar last week Sunday. The device, operating on the Viale Regione Siciliana, was completely destroyed, according to ANSA. In the same area, a second camera was covered with spraypaint.

In Stolberg, Germany a traffic camera failed to prevent an accident that took out both the camera and its mounting pole, Aachener Zeitung reported.

Attacks on speed cameras in Poland have become so common that the country's transportation department is looking for companies to insure the 185 speed cameras and red light cameras that will be in place by September. The policy would cover 30 million zloty (US $9 million) worth of equipment against losses that have included the destruction of 31 cameras last year, or about one out of four devices in operation Interia.pl reported.