By Richard Diamond/Staff Reports

Fleximan claimed three more speed cameras last week. The Italian vigilante has grabbed headlines by cutting down twelve speed cameras in the northern region of the country, including Veneto, Piedmont and Lombardy. The most recent attack took place Sunday as the social media hero toppled the speed camera on Statale 42 in Albano Sant'Alessandro. On the day before that, he sliced the automated ticketing machine on the Strada Regionale 10 var (Via Degora Al Di Qua) in Carceri. On Friday, the speed camera on the SP667 in Riese Pio X was cut down.

Passing motorists in the area have been spotted pulling over to take photos of the fallen machines and honking their horns in approval while driving past the former speed trap sites. Copycat attacks in the rest of Italy are also becoming more common. In Veronella, an opponent of anti-motorist measures began dismanting the speed bumps that had just been installed two days prior on Via Giavone. In Novellara, the speed camera in the San Bernardino neighborhood was set on fire on Sunday, January 14. The camera housing was empty at the time.

"What is happening in Italy in recent days on the speed camera front attests to the exasperation of citizens who feel harassed and hounded by traffic fines and the multiplication of speed control stations, but we do not agree with acts of illegality," Codacons president Carlo Rienzi said in a statement.

According to Codacons, Italy has more speed cameras than any other country. A total of 11,130 automated ticketing machines have been installed, compared to 7700 in the UK and 4700 in Germany. The top twenty Italian cities pocketed a total of 75,891,968 euros (US $82,832,288) in profit from the devices in 2022.

Vigilantes in Wigan, England, on Tuesday choopped down the speed camera on Whelley using an angle grinder, marking the fourth such attack in the area in the past few weeks. In Menoncourt, France, the speed camera on the RD83 was blinded with fluorescent yellow spraypaint on Monday, January 15.