By Richard Diamond/Staff Reports

Opposition to the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) tax in London, England, is encouraging motorists to disable the license-plate reading cameras that the system relies upon. In Croydon, for example, the control box for the camera on Shirley Road was ripped out of its fresh concrete base over the weekend and its cables were cut by vigilantes calling themselves "Blade Runners." London officials attempted to counter the attacks on fixed cameras by introducing mobile ULEZ camera vans, only to be thwarted by protesters using large vehicles like tow trucks to block the mobile camera's view. Others have been blinding the mobile cameras with spraypaint and the message, "No ULEZ," or the camera vans' tires have been slashed. Others just stand in front of the camera lens and peacefully hold a sign condemning the camera-enforced tax.

In Castagnole delle Lanze, Italy, vigilantes on Saturday piled up a set of used tires under a speed camera and set them on fire, torching the automated ticketing machine. The newly installed speed camera on the RD968 in Brazey-en-Plaine, France, lasted barely 24 hours before it was rendered useless with a thick coat of blue spraypaint.

In Osterholz-Scharmbeck, Germany, vigilantes on Saturday blinded the mobile speed camera on Bremer Heerstrasse with spraypaint on Saturday. On Wednesday, the speed camera on the federal highway in Ehrenkirchen-Norsingen had its lenses smashed, according to police reports. On the same day, the speed camera on Niesiger Strasse in Fulda was disabled by unknown activists.

In Pimpri-Chinchwad, Maharashtra, India, vigilantes grabbed the speed camera off its mounting pole on Friday, August 22. In Tasmania, Australia, an enterprising teenager thwarted a mobile speed camera trailer in Berriedale by nudging the device away from the road. Despite merely pushing the device, police are charging the teen with vandalism.