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[break24]

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/27/2769.asp#more

Then, there's Florida:

The list excludes states like Florida where photo enforcement is illegal but local jurisdictions ignore the law in the hopes that they will not be sued before the legislature retroactively approves their use of photo ticketing.

Peace

[Junker]

Good for MT.

"When I read the contract I was even more more opposed," state
Representative Deborah Kottel (D-Great Falls) said. "This is entrepreneurial
criminal justice... The city of Bozeman agrees to prosecute every ticket.
They've relinquished prosecutorial discretion to feed the company's greed...
Good law enforcement is about safety, it's about education. What this
company is about is generating revenue."

Entrepreneurial?

Prosecutorial discretion?

Not real good freedom talk, but the action leads.

[break24]

Not very good freedom talk at all.  Baby-steps?  At least people in MT are seeing that far

Then, there is Chicago:

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=6720994


http://cbs2chicago.com/local/police.private.security.2.966243.html

They say, of course, that these private security goons won't be able to "arrest" or enforce traffic laws(beyond parking)- yet.  The arguments against this are missing the mark, IMO.  Many "public" law enforcement actions are admittedly "generating revenue."

Peace

[BearHunter]

I'm starting to like Montana a lot.

[livinright]

I'm starting to like Montana a lot.

Ha! I was just thinking the same thing.

[break24]

Michigan is just as smooth! 

[livinright]

Michigan is just as smooth! 

Whew!

[Elias Alias]

Michigan is just as smooth! 

Whew!

Not everybody who lives in Montana has the same views on personal freedom, or the same views on corporate marauding via government "contract", as some of us here hold. I was sweating this bill after it made its way through our legislature and plopped down on the Governor's desk awaiting his sig. There were some statists who were actively trying to convince the Governor to reject the bill, and some wanted to get the bill amended to exclude Bozeman, which had already signed the contract with a company to install and use the damn cameras.  But - we can't lose every battle, eh? I mean, the law of averages gives us a win once in a while, right? Adding this new law to the two major gun-rights laws which survived into the light of day during this session and got signed into law (by a Democrat Governor, btw), gives me a certain sense of knowing that freedom has many advocates in Montana.

Hopefully, freedom ideas may be contagious. Now there's a thought - since the Fedgov is big on using the fear of a pandemic to control the people, perhaps a "freedom pandemic", spreading from one human mind to other human minds, has infected the "body tyrannical" of government. Let's hope it spreads!

Salute!
Elias

[livinright]

Well put Elias.

Besides, nothing worth having comes easy. All the little battles count.

[break24]

perhaps a "freedom pandemic", spreading from one human mind to other human minds, has infected the "body tyrannical" of government. Let's hope it spreads!

Singin' my song Elias and livinright.  Thank you I believe little battles do help. I always appreciate the spirit in Montana(many parts of the west to be sure.)  Outside of the cities in Michigan the same values can be found.  The next hard battle I'm looking for will be on the ALPR front.  ALPR is Automated License Plate Recognition and various Congress men and women here are actively seeking federal funds to equip police cars and intersections with the systems making it possible to database everything for future use and selective enforcement.  Hopefully, Montana and other states can lead the way on defeating that too since it's not on the radar of many.  It wouldn't be hard to add ALPR and photo enforcement to the thousands of intersection cameras we have around here.  They always talk about these cameras as a way to smooth traffic flow in an "intelligent" way.  Maybe it's just me, but I think traffic is worse since they started to pop up in 1992.

Indeed, we have to keep battlin' and win a few more!  In Michigan, I'd like to see a similar bill and not just an attorney general decision.

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/15/1582.asp

Perhaps a little off-topic, but somehow, I don't think the ultimate goal of this is signal coordination.

Fast-Trac (Oakland County, MI):

http://www.rcocweb.org/Commuters/FAST-TRAC.aspx

Road Commission of Oakland County (RCOC) FAST-TRAC Project: Advanced Traffic Signal Coordination. Oakland County, located just north of Detroit, is one the largest and most affluent metropolitan counties in the United States. Although its population exceeds 1.2 million Oakland County has a limited freeway system and relies on major arterials, generally spaced a mile apart, for much of its roadway capacity. Opportunities for expanding freeway capacity are very limited due to both financial and environmental considerations. Starting in 1992, RCOC began implementation of the FAST-TRAC (Faster and Safer Travel through Traffic Routing and Advanced Controls) system. The key element of FAST-TRAC is the Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System (SCATS), an advanced adaptive signal system with the capability to adjust signals on an individual intersection, corridor, and areawide basis. Other key elements are AutoscopeTM video detection cameras installed at each FAST-TRAC intersection and a Traffic Operations Center. Incorporated into the TOC is the Traffic Information Management System (TIMS), which is FAST-TRAC's comprehensive information processing tool. The TOC is able to share data and videos with Michigan DOT's regional ITS center in Detroit. About 600 of Oakland County's 1,300 signalized intersections are currently part of FAST-TRAC. Oakland County also participates in a consortium with other jurisdictions in the area to improve signal coordination for those intersections that are not part of FAST-TRAC.

Digging deeper into Autoscope will have to wait for another day! 

Peace and thanks

[livinright]

Those cameras have been poppin' up all over the place out here.

[break24]

I know, they're even installing the newer types at the entrances and exits to shopping centers and hospitals out in Wixom- points north and west.  There has to be a hundred cameras around Great Lakes Crossing.  It looks like London in a way. If I can dig it out, there's a master plan document as to where these are installed and where they are to be installed.  The smaller and older intersections generally have 4 while the newer intersections can have up to 12.  If anything, it's a big waste of money in a state that's broke-  They did get a Federal grant to get it going and continue to get federal money- for our safety and convenience, of course. 

It's part of the intelligent transportation systems, pushed by the federal government.  At least Wayne County can't get it's house in order enough to jump on board but I'm sure SEMCOG will have something to say soon.

FAST-TRACing into the future

RCOC has been on the cutting edge of this technology, known as intelligent transportation systems (ITS), since the early 1990s. In fact, RCOC was one of the first federally funded test sites for this technology in the United States. Now, the expertise RCOC gained in developing its FAST-TRAC system is being used to help other communities around the country -- and around the world -- to develop "smart roads."

But RCOC is still on the cutting edge and we continue to develop our system. Ultimately, our central computer system (or transportation information management system -- TIMS) will automatically receive and share information (data and live video) about traffic conditions with the Michigan Department of Transportation.

And, eventually, the number of Oakland County intersections equipped with FAST-TRAC technology will grow to more than 1,100.

SEMCOG: http://www.semcog.org/

It's basically the regional planning org that attempts to "make us all one big, happy community."

Now that everyone has their phd in Michigan traffic systems ,  Montana is indeed a place to look for how freedom can spread IMO.

Peace and Liberty