Why don't you people elect someone into office (either at local or state level) that will change your laws and/or laws? Most people think its a popularity contest which makes this system the joke it is. Take a look at our last presidential election for instance. As for complaining about getting a ticket, ESPECIALLY when you are going an admitted 36 in a 25, then go cry me a river people! YOU ARE BREAKING THE LAW!! End of story. Either change your ways or change your laws, you have the power to do both. With as bad as I too hate the way some things are done in this country, I still don't ever remember it becoming a dictatorship, even though sometimes it might feel like it.

We recently went out on a Sunday afternoon for a movie and lunch with another couple. (We're all in our mid 50's, non-drinkers, don't even smoke...pretty boring people, in fact.) A few weeks later we received a photo of our vehicle with a ticket for speeding...36 mph in a 25 mph zone!!! The traffic was so sparse, there were no other cars in the photo! We had to send $75 to waive appearance. My husband was cited because he owns the car. You couldn't see who was driving because the photo was of the rear license plate. That was an expensive outing. Fortunately for us, it was a neighboring town and we won't be visiting there again, ever. I had a doctor in that town and I have discontinued all services with her. I used to do some shopping there, but I will shop elsewhere from now on...in towns that choose to treat me with respect. A quick buck today may be costing future revenue. We didn't show up in court to complain...in fact, we'll never show up again. We'll lodge our complaint with our wallets. I suggest that others do the same. Do business and shop in communities that do not use video cameras at traffic lights or employ ticket nazis to increase revenue. Do business in communities where you are "presumed innocent". I won't go into a community that is out to get everyone that enters their borders. They can keep whatever is inside. I'll do ALL my business elsewhere. That's the only way to discourage these practices.

In Michigan, if you get a ticket you get points against your driving record. The state is notified of these points by the local authorities who also divide some of the fines collected with the state. But there are some cities who don't tell the state of those points and in turn keep 100% of the fines for themselves. Both cities and the states are cash-strapped in today's economy. Michigan is just about broke.

Look at ACS for a minute and you will see a company that has a history of poor ethical issues, customer problems and security failures that are unmatched in the technology industry. I think MSNBC did a good job of showing how difficult the parking business is, made harder with companies like ACS. How many management changes have they had in the past three years? Why? How many SEC investigations are underway? Why? Just google thier past problems and use will see a company that can't spell security, nevermind actually secure data and software. Why did it take them two years to find the issue? Are you kidding me - two years.

Again, good job on the article and I hope MSNBC and this report continue to look at compaines like ACS. Maybe, someday soon, a real government investigation will take place.

The "free market" arguments for private contracted enforcement miss the whole reason free markets deliver better products at lower cost. In a free market, price and quality are set by buyer and seller reaching an agreement. If the product or the price does not satisfy the customers, then revenue drops, and a seller must either adjust to meet the expectations of buyers, or other competitors enter the market who will.

This is no "free market", but instead a government guaranteed monopoly. Whereas before, the government at least had to consider the economic or political costs of excessive fines or erroneous enforcement, once contracted out, it's just a revenue source, and the contractor has no incentive to respond to "customers" or votors who never chose their "product". It's only customer is the local government, or more accurately, the local officials with power to award the contract. Drivers, whether local citizens or commuters, aren't even part of the picture.

The example quoted, where costs were actually higher with private enforcement, is not surprising. Competition is now in terms of which contractor can promise the highest revenue, which is then just piled on the drivers ticketed.

Unlike actual free markets, drivers don't have a choice about who will run parking enforcement or traffic cams. Cities have even less incentive to deal with their parking problems, which are now profit centers.

Other examples of "private enforcement" or "private justice", such as arbitration, have produced similar results stacked against individuals, also degenerating into fraud and corruption.

The incentives to maximize near-term profits run counter to the long term interests of communities and their citizens. Justice has a cost, but it's absence has a higher cost.

Just about every city looks for parking to be a money stream and not a public safety issue. Want a shock? Find out how much Fed-Ex, UPS and other delivery companies pay per year to your city for the right to park illegally. Instead of getting tickets every time they double park or block an alley they just pay an up-front fee every year to cover all their tickets.

The city of Dallas turned off all cameras that were only on for safety and weren't making a profit. At least they stopped pretending this is a safety issue.

As for the comment about fighting the ticket in court, Carrollton (another local city) refused to allow jury trials. The red-light tickects can ONLY be heard by a muni judge (whose job depends on revenue from the red-light tickets).

Its all a scam to make money like most everything else in this country at this point.

Big government + big corporations = big corruption + average person getting screwed.

92 is def. safe in a 65, if you know how to drive and aren't endangering others. I would recommend only doing this when you know where the cops are. ;)

Also, it's not a big secret that the red-light cameras are installed to bring in revenue for jurisdictions. Although the cameras are responsible for a decrease in accidents where people are broad-sided, making the intersections safer, the cameras have been proven to increase the number of rear-end collisions. My car was totaled in an accident that directly related to the fact that I stopped at an intersection where I knew the driver may or may not be able to stop (poor weather, poor visibility, aggressive cab driver behind me), bec. I wasn't sure if there was a camera at the intersection, and I didn't want to get yet another ticket. I was in a lot of pain for quite a while after that. Anyway, revenue def. drop after these cameras are in place for a while, and there are places that have turned them off, when the cameras outlive their usefulness as income generators. If that's any consolation.

If one of these cameras is placed in my area, I will destroy it plain and simple. Enough is enough

The parking meter business is a racket, plain and simple. I had a "meter maid" tell me several years ago, that she would get reprimanded when she did not come in with her quota of tickets for the day. She told me she worked in Washington,DC. Another time I was walking back to my job and saw two females who had out of state license plates. They had a parking ticket plastered on their car, even though there was clearly more than 20 minutes left on their parking meter. It seemed as though the meter maid figured that since the car had out of state license plates, the owner could not return to court for a hearing and just send in the fine. However, when I saw the ticket and saw the meter still had time on it, I stopped and gave the out of state visitors one of my business cards, and wrote of the back of the card that I witnessed that the meter was not expired and gave these people my card because what had happened to them wasn't fair. That was my little part to protest the scam involved with parking meters, meter maids and the red light camera fiasco.

The problem here is over-centralisation. All situations and all communities are not the same. Money, for example, does not have the same value among people of different class lines. If tickets were issued by a local authority, it would be more flexible to the realities of the area concerned.

Is parking near a corner _always_ dangerous. No, but if the agency issuing fines is responsible for a large geographical area larger, they are forced to designate all corner-parking as dangerous for various reasons.

If local areas could retain governance over their own schools, law-enforcement, etc. things would be better and our interactions with the government wouldn't lack humanity in the way they do now.

Things will continue to centralise. People commenting and writing things like, 'take back the government' or 'vote these people out' are disillusioned. Stop being nieve and start seeing the reality of things. You have no power and will not be able to change anything.

From an old cab driver who knows, everyone is guilty of something in the imperial courts. An American freedom fighter is a guy who pleads not guilty to a parking ticket.

The system is courrupt. Tickets ruined my life. Clog the courts, flood the jails, everyone plead "not guilty" or "Allah Akabar".

I'm going one step further than Evan in Tinley Park suggests...avoiding use of the IL Tollway. The state outsourced ticketing and harrassment to a Colorado firm for those who drive over the 45mph limit on the tollways in construction zones. At this time, there is a ton of construction(?) being performed on all tollroads, so you're bound to be caught.

Since my kid was caught doing 10 mi above 45 in a work zone, I've been harrassed by the Dupage court system and the ticketing firm in Colorado. Court costs in Dupage will run around $680...manadatory. I'm the owner of the car, so I'm being threatened with loss of my license, etc.

From now on...stop feeding the tollway system by not using it and decrease the revenue to the state.

Just another example of ignorant greedy immoral laws that discount a persons liberties for the sake of a dollar?

Besides, on the other hand,it really doesn't pay for itself long. I know of several US cities downtowns that have basically collapsed because shopping has dramatically decreased due to the installation of parking meters & traffic cameras over the years. So, who wins what at what cost?

End result, cities that do not responsibly care for it's peoples rights, needs & pocketbooks, lose it's people through self serving ignorant greedy acts instead of acting within the scope of living inside it's own budget constraints & limitations.

For example, Gilroy said, government agencies have a difficult time raising prices because of political pressure. So water treatment plants, toll roads, parking lots and other operations are run at a loss. Eventually, he said, "a death spiral" occurs as the government agency can't pay for upkeep.

Like Healthcare?

Privatizing? In Democrat controlled Cities ? Who would of thought. Hypocrites are everywhere.

I got a parking ticket in Center City Philly seven years ago. I parked in a pick-up zone in front of a building (able to park there free for 15 minutes at a time) went upstairs in that building to pick up a partial load of items. The load was so big, it took two trips.

I was back in seven minutes with half the load and left to take that part of the printed materials to the post office. I was gone for about a half hour.

I returned to the building fifteen minutes later and parked in the same fifteen minute loading zone to get the second half of my printing. I was back to my car in about eight minutes...only to find a Philadelphia Parking Authority cop ticketing my car.

I asked why and he said...get this now...that I hadn't moved my car in over an hour because he had come by an hour earlier and my car had been there and when he returned an hour later..."my car hadn't moved!"...so I got a ticket!

I showed him the receipt from the post office showing that I had not even been in the area during much of the last hour, but, to no avail. I was this close to slugging the b*stard in his face!

The ticket was for $20.00, but, when court costs, fees, et cetera, were added, that ticket became a $120.00 ticket! I took a day off from work, went to court, showed the receipts from the post office, had the person from the printing office testify that I had made two trips nearly an hour apart and that still didn't count for anything because the "officer" testified that he "was sure" that "my car hadn't moved" for that hour!" Judge said "guilty".

Well, seven years later, I still haven't paid for the ticket, I don't even own that car anymore and I still get letters from some jerk lawfirm threatening me for that ticket issued...incorrectly...in 2002. I have no intention of paying it in the future, either.

How has the City of Philadelphia lost more that $120.00 over a bad ticket? I used to take clients to several nice restaurants in Philly...spending over a thousand dollars a week in them. Couple that with now not taking those clients to concerts, shows and the like anymore, I no longer spend over ten grand on entertainment venues yearly in Philly either.

Bottom line: that 60 to 75 thousand I spent on client food and entertainment in Philly is now being spent in the suburbs. Actually, I've stopped going into Philly at all.

That's what giving one "bad" ticket and pursuing it relentlessly has cost Philadelphia from just one businessman.

THe comments have been interesting. But one thread is common...the commentators all still write as if government is still operating in the "public's" best interest...watch the new...watch tv...government stopped "by the people, for the people" aeons ago....these days, it's about big business...Big business (capitalism) is the NEW "People"...government exists to pander to business interests..."WE, THE PEOPLE" - the citizenry...lost!!!

If you dont believe me, try to fight a wrongly issued parking ticket, unfair fees by banks and credit card companies, try to make a company honour it's sales agreements or warranties, take a look at the fees charged you by mobile phone and cable companies and think again about who is protected in the "capitalism" racket!!!

Hear one for the book I was find for having my bike at a meter that run out of time, now thats hard up for money. If you ask me these city will try and make money any way they can. Now a motorcycle I can see why a ticket but nor a bike needless to say it was throw out of court

The simple point is that only those who are accountable to the public should be enforcing laws and providing public protection. That provides for the proper checks and balances in our society. When enforcement and protection are provided by for-profit entities, accountablility to the public is lost since those entities are only accountable to their owners/stockholders. Time for Americans to wake up.

Obey all traffic laws & these corporate as***les will go out of business.

Many people are not making sense here. When they argue that they want LESS big government, and the government responds by outsourcing services, these people now complain that the outsourced service has become an intrusion! You have to have one or the other. I would prefer that governments take back the responsibility of parking and speed enforcement.

All the more reason to do your shopping in malls located in the 'burbs. Stay out of the cities.

I received 2 parking tickets from the Los Angeles area 11 years after I had moved to WA. The tickets were for a car that I had sold in 2003, but were dated 2006. It took me about three times of sending the sale and transfer papers to them before they told me "not to contact them again". I never did get anything saying the tickets had been issued in error.

Traffic tickets are ABSOLUTELY more about money than traffic safety. I used to live in a city that was known to be a speed trap. They wrote a HUGE number of tickets. (I was in court for one, and while I was waiting, there was one person that got a ticket for going 3 mph above the limit! Luckily the judge threw it out) The county passed a law that said the money for tickets could not be directly used by the cities... it went into a fund and was distributed throughout the county on a per capita basis. Surprisingly , the city quit writing so many traffic tickets.... Or maybe not so surprisingly.

I should have mentioned In Silicon valley if you get a parking ticket you cannot go to a court to fight it because it is privatized. there is no court no judge no choice it's pay or jail I was given a 1 hour violation in Mountain View CA for parking no more than 15 minutes and was not allowed my constitutional right to a day in court. Moral of the story see my first post! AS for you wha wha you broke the law it's you fault types in here I did not! and this can happen to you too.

Amazing isn't Orwell was almost right but who'd thought big brother would be business? Just wait for the visiscreen won't that be a corporate boon and you can get HBO. And our dumb ass politicians have no clue that they no longer run the roost but their corporate masters do!

Hear this: WASHINGTON DC IS A SPEED TRAP!!! Do not come to this city to visit. Do not park on the city streets. The parking meter's are short-timed, and the streets where speed camera's are needed do not have them. The speed camera's are placed where one can obtain the largest revenue from commuters. The Red Light camera's are not placed where the accidents occur, they are placed where they can obtain the largest amount of revenue from commuters. As a lifelong resident of DC I say, DON'T COME HERE AND SPEND YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY!!! GO ELSEWHERE.

In San Diego,CA. when the first red light cameras were installed, the city was ordered to reimburse the first 4000 tickets as they had deliberately set the yellow lights too short.
Again, welcome to San Diego--just don't drive or park here!
anon

In San Diego, CA, I properly parked and paid the meter for a medical appointment. I was centered in the space,and the time was fully covered on the meter.

When I returned, I had been ticketed for parking in the Red Zone BEHIND the parking space. As I had no witnesses,I had to pay the ticket.
Welcome to San Diego,folks!
anon

In San Diego, CA, around 1992. I loaned a vehicle to a 'friend' while I was away. Parking tickets totaled $4-600.

He did finally reimburse the tickets.

I paid all tickets in cash with the city parking control office--my 2nd 'bad'.

By the way, if there is a lot of bullet proof glass where you pay a bill--be careful, it may be because they rip people off!!

Several years later I tried to transfer title on the same truck. DMV showed the same tickets as unpaid. By then I had lost the payment records--my 3rd 'bad'.

Somewhere at City Hall there is still a bill for the tickets I paid, [plus God only knows what 'fees'].

Moral--never act on 'good','helpful' or 'kind' impulses. Never trust a 'friend', politician or city agency. Never pay cash, never shred a slip of paper, etc, ad infinitum.

Welcome to San Diego--just don't ever park here!
Thanks,
anon

Redflex was run out of town where I live. Good riddance.

whats gets me is I knew someone was waiting for a parking space while a car was leaving and she got a ticket from an overzealous meter maid. she went to fight this ticket by taking a day off from work, parked at a legal space, when in for the hearing. the hearing went OT (she lost) went back to her car and got another ticket. not only did she not win the case, took a day off from work with no pay, and then got another ticket. thats the judicial system working. the cities design the tickets for you to pay rather than fight

To Byron Raum: Good point.

In one California city, two parking enforcement people driving city-owned cars follow the street sweeper. There is a sign at the end of the block stating that Monday is sweeping day and no parking is permitted on Mondays. The sweeping and ticketing takes place on Friday. There is another sweeping day sign 2-1/2 blocks away listing Fridays for sweeping. The city says the EPA requires them to issue $37 parking tickets, which are paid by mail to a private company in another city.
In that city, one must pay for permission to park in front of one's home even on cul-de-sac, with permits running from $35 per year up, apparently depending upon the size of the vehicle. If the $35 and up is not paid, tickets are $47 to the private company. The rationale is that restricting parking on residential streets, including cul-de-sacs, improves the flow of traffic.

There are a few things we can do to avoid some of the parking/red light citations. If you can possibly qualify for a handicap placard get one. Check with your local laws but in california a chiropractor can sign off on your application. The placard means you don't have to pay the meter and your not subject to green curb time limits. For the married folks, register the car you primarily drive to your wife only, and hers to your name. When the photo comes back from the camera it will be clear that the offender is not the registered owner of the car.

The private sector is good at making money. Public safety shoud not be doled out to the highest bidder. Could a local government looking to save money contract with blackwater or some other company for law enforcement services such as swat teams? Would you want to be accused of a crime where the "officer" had a profit motive for your arrest and conviction? Private parking enforcement, private moving violations, private prisons. Remember that your insurance, which is mandatory to drive, is based in large part upon your credit rating. Your credit rating is based upon your debt. Obama et al have already prevented anyone under 21 from securing good credit, thus feeding them to the insurance companies for higher rates. Conclusion private companies determine the cost of government mandated auto insurance. Private police will eventually "investigate" and send people to private judges who will send people to private prisons unless they come up with the money to stay out...you can pay with credit unless you are under 21! Before you laugh, remember that 2 judges were cuaght sending kids to a private detention camp for personal profit. How many folks do you think will be released from a private prion for good behavior? Depends on the PR value of the releases as compared to the negative effect on the net profit.
As a student of law, business, political science, military history, and a veteran of both police work and the military, I am very concerned about the loss of liberty when private for profit companies are allowed to exercise the power of government.

To protect and collect, haha. Yeah, people are breaking the LAW, violating parking spaces!!!

Bite me. Once again, corporations are wedgeing themselves in places they aren't wanted to make money, and city governments are going along because they see away to gain 'tax dollars' they are losing.

Screw you guys, screw your system, screw your idea that because someone is 1 or 5 minutes late on a meter they should get a whopping fine. Screw your 'red light' camera's that violate the 6th Admendment. Screw your automated policing.

350 million handguns are loose in this nation, not to mention the number of rifles, semi-auto matic rifles and assault rifles. More and more, we are getting sick of this crap, the debtor nation, the assumed criminal mentality and the wool you pull over everyones eyes.

One day you may wake up and find yourself in a surprising 'New World Order' one you didn't quite expect... as we finally stand up and say enough is enough. And most of pussy foot won't say squat, 'cause you don't have the will, the balls or the guns to do anything about it.

In Louisville, KY the private company who has the contract to collect the parking fines and enforce the parking laws violates numerous city ordinances and state statutes. The private company's employees violate the laws every time they write a ticket because they are not city employees as defined in the city ordinances and state statutes. The statutes/ordinances allow the Chief of Police of Louisville to enforce the parking statutes, to issue parking citations and to delegate this power to "city employees". This private company get millions of our tax dollars even though the corporation employees clearly do not meet the definition of city employee. Ironically, Louisville is laying off numerous legitimate city employees in various other agencies while giving millions to the stockholders of the private company in Atlanta. Recently, the city of Louisville announced the private company will begin using the boot on vehicles that are LEGALLY parked but have at least two outstanding tickets from previous occasions. The due process violations are numerous in this scenario. How many debts, whether legitimate or not, can be collected in this manner? Unfortunately, because money is the bottom line for cities the only way to run the money changers out of the temple is to sue the cities and cost these cities millions and millions of dollars in legal costs, lawsuit settlements and legal judgments. Then they won 't consider parking fines a source of revenue because it will cost more than it is worth. If cities truly wanted to promote downtown business then parking would be free. In Louisville, KY if you get a parking ticket and you call the phone number listed on the back of the ticket for the Parking Authority of River City (PARC), a government agency, you get harassed by an employee of a private company who is not a city employee or city official. They are using tax payer resources, phones, offices, utilities and any other office item they need that would normally be overhead costs and they make money hand over fist off of the citizens without paying for these resources. Additionally, the meter enforcers prey on areas where people have no choice whether to go or not, i.e., the courthouse and the hospitals. Some smart lawyer should look into the situation in Louisville and sue them. Check out the company web page for LanierParking.com and read about how much money they make for their stock holders off of these city contracts. It is very enlightening about what motivates these types of companies to get these city contracts. I can tell you it's not humanitarian reasons it is money.

I am a business owner, and have a retail store with glass windows and glass doors, so I see everything happening outside. I saw a customer drive up, park in front of my business, get out of his car and come in. While i was helping the customer, after a while, I noticed a lady standing in front of his car giving my customer a parking ticket. I ran outside and I yelled at the lady and just let her have it. I told her she is running my customers away who will never come back, my rent for my office space is $4000 per month, and with the economy so bad, it is extremely difficult to get customers to my store, and she was not helping by giving my customer a ticket. I put money in the machine and talked her out of it. My customer was so happy with me for standing up and fighting for my client! I am so sick and tired of the parking fees and so on. You cannot go anywhere now days, it is almost like you have to pay a few coins just to drive down each and every street. that is what it will come to. I should have never rented this office space because parking is limited, and you have to pay to park, and i have seen cars get towed and hope 1 day it is not my customer. Seriously, you get your car towed for a stupid $2.00 parking meter? I think i am going to pay my employee extra money to go outside and just put quarters in all the meters for all cars just to piss the city off. They need to figure a new way to make money because this is hurting the businesses.

Just squirt a little of the expanding wood glue into the coin hole & presto! the meter has to be taken apart & fixed!

Tony you have it right on the money. My Forefathers knew what we are going through. They knew it so well they wrote it down for us so we wouldn't forget. Here it is: " That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security." Does it get any plainer than that!

This is for Bryan in GA. You are an Idiot! Who in the this world is perfect? You? You are missing the entire point. If I get a ticket for blowing a red light by a cop watching me do it, then so be it, I did it, I will pay the consequences. But when you have a camera waiting for you to break the law for money, don't you think that's a little too much? Where will it end? We are too over-governed as it is. The ticketing was designbed for one reason, deterrence, that's it. Not for profit. When you get a ticket from the government it was because you broke the law and have to pay a fine that in hope, you won't do it again. When you get a ticket from a private company it's all about the money. Profits. I pay 1100.00 a month for health insurance. Twenty years ago I paid 100.00. Why? Beacause it's all about profits. It's no longer about providing a service for a reasonable profit. It's about getting as much as you can at any cost.

We have kind of an opposite problem here in Indianapolis, for every event in our downtown area half of the parking meters have bags over them saying you can't park here. And for those who say "dont speed or double park" I will just say Im old enough to remember when I didn't spend most of my day complying with an endless amount of government edicts. I don't really want to leave the house anymore for fear I might let my guard down and do something "bad" and get fined. I go to work and the store and f##k everything else, bet small business owners love hearing that. And to really make us Hoosiers mad, most of the money collected goes (in someway or another) to a frickin football team!

Fight everything that happens to you in court. The system banks on you being afraid to fight them. I'm currently fighting a case in which the cop lied twice in the police report. I'm going to take it to trial if necessary and even rep myself if I don't get a deal. Everything can be fought. Fight it. The government needs to learn they they are here for our use and our pleasure and are a means to our ends, not the other way around.

FIGHT!

I don't think it's right to contract out police work to private companies. That being said, if you break the law, you should get a ticket. I'm sick of hearing people complain about getting tickets because of red light cameras. Bottom line: if it's red, don't go through it. That also means that yellow means SLOW DOWN, don't go faster! Every time you break a traffic law, you're putting others in danger. That's why there's a punishment for it, and that punishment is usually monetary because that is one thing that will make people reconsider their actions. So, if you don't have enough money for a meter, walk or take the bus. If you want to get somewhere quickly, don't go above the speed limit - it's dangerous. Stop blaming the police if you get a ticket - it's your OWN fault. Breaking traffic rules is dangerous! We're all inside these gigantic tons of metal and when people start disobeying the rules, people get hurt.

Did you ever stop to wonder why the government needs the money? If you want the services, they have to be paid for somehow -- either through taxes directly to the government, or by letting a private company add its profit into the deal.

I just paid a $175.00 parking ticket in Tucson,AZ. My crime was that I parked 3 feet away from a driveway. Evidently the law says you must be 5 feet from the driveway. Of course nobody knows about this law, the curbs are not marked, and there are no signs.
My question is, Who is the real criminal here.

To all of you who have said "the answer is don't break the law," your solution is flawed. The reason these laws exist is because there is a problem. If drivers didn't park in areas where they shouldn't, no lawmaker would have ever had the incentive/need to write a law against parking in those locations. The government exists to provide solutions to societies problems. Whether that is an overreaching liberal solution or a very limited conservative solution is a matter of politics, but regardless that is the function of a government. Part of the responsibility of resolving conflicts of society is the enforcement of the laws legislature creates. Consider our federal government with legislative (create laws), executive (enforce laws), and judicial (interpret laws). What these private entities would prefer is to earn a profit on people who break rules. So they lobby (not-for-profit) governments to disband their "executive" branch and offload the work to a for-profit private entity. What's next, outsources courts and judges to private entities? Oh wait, that's already happening as companies (e.g. mobile phone service) force you to agree to arbitration: essentially a for-profit, privately operated court with no elected judges and face almost no legal repercussions if they make biased judgements.

There's a simple rule I've always said to my employers. There's almost nothing that's cheaper to outsource than to do on one's own. In almost every job I've ever worked I have seen a reduction in cost by bringing services in-house that were once operated by third parties. It saves money because you only have to be able to afford the cost of operation instead of some third party's cost of operation + their profit. It's simple math.

It has been revealed time and again that red light camera contracts have stipulations inside that require reduction of the yellow light time to a shorter duration. You see, as one approaches an intersection, and the light turns yellow, there's a period where the driver must either coast on through, or begin to stop - the yellow light time is usually calculated to coincide with the speed limit on the road, and the usual reaction time, etc, so there's a comfortable amount of time for a law abiding citizen to stop by the time the light is red - unless of course it's not possible to do so. The contracts may require, for example, that the yellow light time be reduced from five to four seconds which has the effect of causing an increase in rear-end accidents at the intersection as drivers who've learned the hard way (ie, given a ticket) slam on their brakes causing the accident.

Sure there's scofflaws that run red lights - I hate them too - but the way these things are run, it's now more likely you'll run a red light at an intersection that you've never thought you might for as long as you've driven through it - for some, ever since they'd received their driver's license!

That's the problem, Ralph. It's not as if one is more likely to be caught, but that there's a trap being laid out for those who're accustomed to the path they've been on as long as they can remember.

Here's something I have yet to read in any of these posts...

I'm 45 years old and have had, I believe, about 5 parking or moving violations tickets in my entire life.

And I deserved every one of them!

I either parked too long or was going too fast.

I am responsible for myself....but from so many of the posts I'm reading...too many of you don't feel the same way.

Did anybody see the movie “The Fifth Element”? Next thing you know cars will be sold already equipped with devices that will automatically issue a fine and assign points in your driver’s license if you go one mile over the speed limit, trash containers will be equipped with cameras so automatic fines will be assessed for not recycling, noise and smell detectors will be installed in your house so they can fine you for polluting the atmosphere, and finally we will be arrested and put away before committing a crime without a trial, thinking about it will be enough…..Oh but this is another movie “Minority Report”!

CROOKS, CROOKS, CROOKS, CROOKS, CROOKS, CROOKS, THEIVIES, THEIVIES, THEIVIES, THEIVIES, THEIVIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Government employees (are supposed to) work for the public. Corporations work for the maximization of profit for their owners (stockholders). Public safety is a function of government; when it's turned over to a for-profit enterprise, it's no different than turning it over to the Mafia - it may not start as extortion, but that's what it turns into. Outsourcing functions of the government, in all ways, shapes and forms, is a really, really bad idea.

Looking at this problem from a different angle: when most of the vehicle laws were written, traffic (for instance) here in Los Angeles was much lighter. If you needed to find a parking space, usually no problem. No need to double park while the passenger hops out to visit the cleaners etc. In other words, many laws back then were pro-active - waiting for their day to shine. Now we are so congested that either you break the law by double-parking or continually drive in circles until you find a place to park. Meantime, others who prefer to break the law get any space that becomes available while you are circling. The problem is not the laws, people. The problem is - there are too many of us vying for the same roadways and other ways in our congested cities! There is no way you can vote, activate or otherwise change that problem. Parking, especially, everywhere is at a premium and the only way to cope is to make alternate plans - including deciding to walk. Or make more time to get your stuff done by simplifying your life a bit. The laws have been around for decades and they are not going away. It is we who have to change in relationship to our ever growing, crowded environment. PS - if you don't disobey the law in the first place, the companies trying to up their bottom line off the backs of the city dwellers might not be able to continue doing business.

Here is a plan. Nobody pay their parking tickets and they go out of business. The states cannot suspend all licenses because they would lose tax revenue from gasoline thus raising taxes on the middle class to make up for it causing them to get run out of office. It would spiral out of control just for the love of money!

“I think the cameras are unconstitutional. According to the 6th Amendment, you have the right to face your accuser," he said, arguing that there's no way to face a camera or a computer provided by a private firm. Also, he said, when tickets are issued, drivers are "presumed guilty unless you prove yourself innocent. ... That's not what I learned in civics class."

That pretty much says it all. Why do "we the people" allow our government to do this to us?!!!

It is a shame how they issue parking tickets for no apparent reason. This is why people get frustrated and why the economy is in the shape it is now because the parking enforcment tries to get as much money as they can from you. It is absolutely ridiculous. this is stealing and no one does anything about it. They should wipe the slate clean and start over in a more appropriate and fair manner.

No ticket, no money.Please take note.Weare the sorce of the ticket, BUT NOT ALL THE TIME.

I think this article shows that traffic citations are more about money that safety.

When a profit motive in introduced, then that becomes the only goal of the private firm. Except for protecting their contract, they have no motive or reason to do anything but maximize their profits. Fairness or protecting the public is actually not part of their job. With a police officer present then other conditions are evaluated such as perhaps the red light runner is DUI or otherwise unsafe or unauthorized to be driving. With a camera the only objective accomplished is the collection of a fine. That is in only the smallest way accomplishing the job of our police "To protect and serve" The hireing of another officer provides other services as well as writing tickets so as tax payers we should push for additional officers rather then permitting private firms to operate red light cameras. At least with an officer they can provide other services such as responding to the accident caused by the red light runner - the camera feeding photos to a private firm doesn't add anything but $ to the city coffers. H

Best way to fight camera enforcement is to refuse to do your business within cities that install them. Write to EVERY business with a community that puts up red-light cameras and tell them you will no longer shop with them due to the risk of getting a ticket. Business owners will, in turn, tear down the doors of city hall. It worked in Aurora, IL. They voted to install them, had a backlash from community business owners, and a week later decided they wouldn't go through with them.

This is the longest article I have ever read just to say that two companies are locked-horns in a battle to write tickets at all cost; even if they have to lie, cheat, and steal to do it. Can you write anything new.

Every since the Government went on this binge from 1980 until today to reduce government size by out sourcing every service known to man, the citizens of America have been up for target practice by these private companies to get every dime they can. There is nothing new here.

After reading that ACS is involved, I'm not surprised. ACS is the computer contractor's worst nightmare - nepotism, incompetence, cronyism, backstabbing politics...It's all a part of daily life working for ACS, from what I hear from the employees. And now I hear that a large computer firm cannot secure their own computers. Must be ACS.

Government has gotten too big and too controlling. Likewise with big business.When we have foriegn companies collecting payments for traffic tickets, etc.,that is fraudulent.For anyone to profit from those who break the law, is morally wrong. The purpose of traffic lights,etc., is public safety...not a tool for ceo's or shareholders to pad their pockets!! Corruption abounds !!

How many ways can governments rape you in the name of protectecting you...let me count the ways. You want to know why citizens don't trust governments or private industry? Well, this article points out at least one reason. Selling or outsourcing parking, toll road operations and the like to foreign corporations are a few more. City, state governments, and the judiciary are not your friends. It's all about money folks and most of the transactions, from contracts to terms and conditions of same are not readily available to John Q public. Many of these service companies operate in such clandestine ways, the public gets led to financial slaughter without their even knowing what is happening. For the most part, it's a financial racket folks...right up there with any scheme the Mafia has ever dreamed up.

What time do we start the revolution?

I agree with Tony - We, the People, need to fight back, assert our rights, because deferring this to government or politicians is a complete farse and waste of our resources. We the people need to, AND CAN, look after ourselves, without these greed-based leeches depriving us of our freedom and liberty.

Law enforcement is a service that is provided by the government. We pay taxes, and as a result the government provides us with certain services that enable us to live free and achieve our goals. Outsourcing government services to the private sector destroys this arrangement. Private companies only offer services because they can benefit from them and turn a profit. Parking fees and fines should are in place to in theory provide everyone fair access to the location by making sure a few people do not abuse the right to park on the street. They are not, and should not ever be viewed as a source of revenue, because in theory no one should be breaking the law and thus no profit is to be made. But what happens if profit goals are now attached to these activities? Well you see the result in these forums. What would happen if by some chance no one ever broke the law and there was no profit to be made from parking tickets? Would these companies cease to exist? In theory yes, but in reality I suspect something darker would happen. Laws would be “tweaked” so as to make it harder and harder to not break the law. There is too much money to be made, and shareholders expect profits and growth. The laws would mutate from their original purpose to service and project the public into rule and regulations so strict they only purpose is to catch as many people as possible just to keep the revenue stream going.
We seem to have this idea that laws are perfect and that no one should ever question them. Well that is how one arrives in a state where the laws are not there to protect you, but to fine you every chance they get. I am not advocating breaking the law, but if a law is shown to no longer serve its just purpose, then that law needs to be changed or dropped all together.
This word and idea gets thrown around a lot these days, but there is nothing more patriotic and American-like than a citizen standing up to their government and demanding to be heard, and demanding that the government bend to the people’s will, and not its own, or some bottom line.

Wow it is amazing to see so many people whining about how "unfair" traffic tickets of any kind and this whole privatization of the system is. Evan from Illinios hit the nail right on the head; every single American has the power to fix the problem by NOT BREAKING THE LAW. Forget about 3 months or 6 months, just DON"T DO IT. It's not rocket science but instead of manning-up and accepting that your breaking the law is the real problem, you would rather whine about how unfair the government is being. I would venture a guess that the real issue for most of you is that you just can't stand the thought of some business person getting rich "at your expense" but you and only you have the power to control how much wealth you contribute to the "evil" empires.

As Evan said, take away their profits and they have absolutely zero reason to stay in the business but you know, that probably just makes too much sense for most of these "Americans". They would rather bitch about a "problem" than do a single thing themselves to fix it.

We must learn to have faith in our government instead of those pseudo-public but surely private companies. Any outsourcing of public services is not acceptable! They are public because they are there to serve and to protect the people equally. To privatize them will make them little monopolies for your towns and cities. Our antitrust laws do not allow collusions and monopoly trusts! Only the government can hold onto those powers, and we should call onto our city and town officials to drop those companies off the services and off the enforcements! If not, please vote them out of office! Yes we can vote them out!

John Van Horn (there is no "Jim" Van Horn)posted in his blog the following rebuttal:

He started off asking about the law suit between Duncan and ACS. I told him I knew nothing, but felt that as in all such contests, each side probably had a story, and he should talk to them.

I then went on my usual trip about how parking fees can change the way people act. That if fees are set properly, there will be less pollution, less cruising, more spaces available for people who need to park in the area. I was about to go on about how many parking tickets never get written, but then we had to stop and were to pick it up again later. Of course he never did call back.

I was particularly struck in the article with the part about people who park too near corners at alleyways and driveways. To wit:

"I recently got a ticket for parking in a space on the street that I have been parking in for three years at least and never had a problem," one resident wrote recently in an Internet group devoted to parking frustrations. Said another: "We've received the unwanted attention of an overzealous meter maid. (She) recently began ticketing residents' cars for being too closely parked to our own driveways. Our 3 tickets state we have to park at least 5 feet away from a driveway … our own driveway.

Personally, after blocking fire hydrants, I think this is one of the worst parking violations. When you park too close to a corner, the driver backing out or driving out of the alley or driveway can't see up or down the street. You are causing a great safety hazard. I note our interpret reporter didn't ask the violators if they thought they were causing a safety problem when they parked too close to a driveway. I guess that isn't important.

He comments about New York hiring 200 more enforcement officers this year, but missed the fact that the income didn't go up in sync with the new hires. I guess finding out why wasn't on the agenda.

Readers of this blog know that I am the first to step up and say that parking should not be a revenue generator to replace lost taxes. And if it does generate a substantial amount, then that money should be plowed back into the streets and neighborhoods from wince it came. However I also know that balance is not the goal of most reporters. They see the "spin" and then pile it on. There was not one single positive word in this article about parking, and not one quote from an enforcement officer, his manager, or the like.

A question Mr Sullivan might have asked is if enforcement of the law was so horrible, why isn't the law changed? Rather than blame enforcement officers (Meter maids, he calls them), why not blame the people who passed the laws in the first place. If a rule is too stringent, then change it. There is absolutely no sense to saying "Oh, there's a law, but the cops should ignore it because I don't like it." If you don't like it, get your city council to change it.

Of course, when you do that, you find that there is a reason for the laws. I just roared at this one:

How aggressive is enforcement? Bolofsky said he's seen New York drivers get tickets for double-parking merely because they are waiting for someone to pull out of a spot on the street - a time-honored practice in the competitive world of city parking.

I have driven in the big apple and one of the major problems is double parking, particularly cross town. You can't get up and down the streets. People just stop and wait. It is a major hassle. I'll bet if Mr. Sullivan were to interview the 20 people who had to wait while someone double parked and ran in for a latte or waited for a parking space, he would get a different kind of ear full.

Plus we are dammed by the very technology that makes ticket writing more fair and accurate:

If the system feels cold and unforgiving, that's partly because many cities are using new technology that cuts out human interaction -- and the criminal justice system -- from the process. In Seattle, a pair of lawsuits are contesting the use of cameras to detect and cite speeders. Twenty area municipalities are named in the suit. In the city of Seattle, a new camera system wrote 58,000 tickets valued at $5 million in its first three months of operation.

Because the contracts promise a minimum payment to the cities, and the manufacturer agreed to split citation collections after that, one of the lawsuits contends the system gives "the cities and the vendors an illegal incentive to issue improper tickets and to err on the side of issuing a ticket versus declining to issue the ticket."

Meanwhile, handheld electronic ticket issuing machines are sweeping municipalities, allowing meter maids to write more tickets – and more important, reduce errors that lead to dismissals. One manufacturer, DXY Solutions Inc., says switching to handhelds increases a single officer's ticket-writing productivity by 30 percent.

Other new technology seems downright mean-spirited. Parking meters invented and sold by the French firm Technolia send texts messages to local police the very instant that a meter clicks down to zero.

So now we are lumped in with speeders and red light cameras. Will it never end? The technology he quotes above of course enables enforcement to write more tickets, but it also ensures that they are more accurate, clearer, and cuts down on errors. Of course, that in itself seems to be a problem for our hero. After all, if someone is caught breaking the law, and can't weasel out of it, that too, is a problem.

If Mr. Sullivan had called back, and he probably won't after this blog, I would have told him about how parking fees can speed traffic, lower congestion, ensure that space is available for merchants, and can be one of the greenest things we know. I may not think that "green" is a particularly wonderful virtue, but most do, and parking fees and fines certainly are as green as it gets.

In most every case cited in his article, the people had broken the law and were upset because they had broken it before and gotten by with it but now they were nailed. It's just not fair, I parked in a red zone 10 times and didn't get a ticket, but now, I got one. Those bastards. I'm not responsible for my actions and the results for them, it's the damn "meter maids," and the money grubbing city.

It the problem that enforcement has been stepped up? Or is it that people are taking less responsibility for their actions? In the "good old days" we got a ticket and we were embarrassed and we paid it and next time we put another quarter in the meter. Today it's the fault of technology, aggressive enforcement, or whatever.

There is not one comment on the fact that these people are breaking the law. Sigh

JDUBYA - The problem with your simplistic approach is that almost every single person in this country is illegal in some way at every moment of their lives. It could be taxes, the tint on your car window - the dice hanging from the mirror, 31 in a 30 - the list goes on. The government likes this state of affairs because it allows them to pull in anyone - even youy - at their discretion.The concept is called selective enforcement. ALl of these things reallty amount to nothing more than a parking tax - a speeding tax, etyc. etc. Or maybe you like taxes?

Both Federal and State government have no regulations or performance standards by which red light cameras are controlled. Camera warning signs are subject to Federal Highway MUTCD standards, but not the cameras themselves. Cops are sworn officers, cameras are not. Barnet Fagel, NATIONAL MOTORISTS ASSOCIATION SAFETY ADVOCATE .

There is a simple way to excersise your right of "civil disobediance". If everyone would fight the ticket and take it to court. It would either be the company representitive writing the ticket or the technician operating the camera, or the police man. Request that the officer writing the ticket be there and explain the ticket. You have the right to confront your accuser. The backlog would be overwelming. The courts would stop functioning, there would be less police out on the streets writing tickets and many would be dismissed. Unfortunately, too many people want to take the easy way out and have someone else do the work for them, or just pay it and be done with it.

If you don't like it, then do what I do. Whenever I park at a meter, I look around for other cars that have expired meters. I carry a lot of quarters in my car, and I just put an extra quarter or two into any expired meters I find near me.

I've only ever gotten 1 parking ticket, but who the heck wants to pay $25 for not having a quarter. It's completely unreasonable. I for one will continue helping other people out when I see an expired meter.

By the way, the redlight cameras in San Diego are atrocious! The main one in mission valley actually gave me a case of post traumatic stress syndrome, I think:) I mean, I sometimes stop when the light is still green, just because I know that the yellow lasts about a nanosecond...makes my driving more dangerous...

Next they will mandate that all cars have "telescreens" installed so that they can issue drivers tickets for not having their seatbelt on before they leave their driveway, or because they went 27 mph in a 25 mph zone at 3 am...However, we should see what some have already mentioned, that privatization of gov't services is almost always bad. Take this lesson and apply it to the current healthcare debate. People are worried about a gov't takeover...don't make me laugh:) This is a case of little people believing the asanine things the power elite prepare for their brains...but how can private companies EVER do healthcare well when their motive is profit? Use your your brains people...just once at least!

There's nothing wrong with 92 in a 65. Highways are generally engineered to the 85th percentile. It basically means that engineers expect about 15% of the highway's drivers to exceed the speed limit, and therefore the engineers compensate for that. Never heard of it? Look it up or take a civil engineering class.

A highway with a posted limit of 65 can generally safely sustain traffic going at least 70 to 75 MPH. As for 92, I'll admit that is excessive and at that point it is fair to get a ticket, but there are too many places where I see people doing 35 in 45s. For every car law enforcement picks up from speeding, they should be ticketing a person for going slow for impeding the flow of traffic. There are just as many of them out on the road blocking traffic as there are speeding. The only difference is that when the speeders break the law, they don't keep the 10 people behind them from getting where they need to go too.

Los Angeles does this. My plates were mailed to someone else by the California DMV, and i recieved someones else's. They got a ticket with my plates and i had to fight it. What a nightmare. They thought i was lying. It is and was the honest truth what happend. Trying to fight these companies is almost impossible. I found out that there is NO accountability. Go to www.ripoffreport.com to see more infornmation on these scams and non-accountable operations. Typical L A, no accountability. dont let them push you if you are in the complete right, all they want is your money, no matter how right you are. No matter what has happend.

In regards to the horror of parking, here is the simple message to all sides: The primary intent of parking regulations is to 1.) Protect the Public safety 2.) Increase the flow of traffic and 3.) promote an equitable turnover of available parking spaces. I think we can all agree to this. Additionally, there are issues of what is "fair" and "reasonable". The Public has a right to expect that application of local ordinances is done in a fair and balanced manner by ALL of the empowered authorities. Broken and frozen meters and parking equipment and unmarked or poorly marked parking zones are examples of instances where the Public should expect a reasonable response by the authorities. The differences between various local ordinances, such as the distance to a fire hydrant or display of license plates are examples where application of the INTENT of the parking ordinances should be expected (i.e. is the fire hydrant accessible to firefighters, or is 12' versus 15' the issue? How does display of a single license plate threaten Public safety, impede traffic, or take up a parking space?) The Public should also be able to expect a governance that allows justice without undue hardship. (i.e. a way to dispute the claim in a fair and open forum without cost.) The Public should not expect to be faced with a government justice system that makes it easier to pay the fine than to go through the resolution process. The Public should not expect to engage a justice system based on guilt rather than innocence (i.e. the ticketing authority should have the burden of proof, not the ticketee). Finally, the Public should expect a ticketing authority where the agents of the government (whether a direct employ or contract hires) use the INTENT of the ordinance to guide their interpretation of the infraction, and will treat the Public (who pay their wages) with respect and civility.

Clearly there are ticketing agents that abuse their authority. Clearly there are justice system workers that are not just. But, clearly there are persons receiving tickets that should take time out to review the infraction and consider that they were actually in violation of the ordinance.

I would also like to add that voting one way or another is not going to change the issue of parking problems. Parking divisions usually answer only to the police or to the municipal authority. You cannot vote for the chief of police, and you cannot vote to fire the head of the parking division. In most cases, the traffic court judge is an appointed position, and not subject to vote. Even if the mayor is voted out, the structure of the parking division will remain. In effect, the persons making decisions about these matters are a rogue agency who do not answer to the Public. Voting is not the answer. Voicing your complaint to the municipal authority is a more likely avenue. And, as we all know, unjust civil matters are best brought to light by protest and media exposure. Think "Activism".

In regards to contract justice, it is clearly not in the interests of the Public to consider the parking division or any other part of law enforcement as a profit center. When this happens, the INTENT of laws, ordinances and codes are no longer the basis for application. Instead, the interpretation of the law is based on the probability of enrichment. Clearly, contractors are motivated by profit and will seek opportunities for ticketing that are marginally supported by law. They are able to do this because they are supported by a justice system that cannot be bothered with actual dispute resolution. Once again, the entire process does not answer to the Public!

If you break the law, you are held accountable for your actions, whether the punishment is fines, jail time, probation.

In most cases, I believe bylaw and traffic enforcement should be handled by private companies, leaving police officers free to look after violent crime, drug running, and theft.

I am tired of the general public behaving as though they can do whatever they want, whenever they want, with no repercussions.

I had a meter ticket in Baltimore. It started out at 25.00 then it balloon to over 600 because I never had the ticket on my car. I think some one took it off my car and place it on their car to avoid paying the meter. This was on a Sunday. I did not even live in that dump of a city. Talk about extortion by government and its all legal. Great country we live in.

Boo government! Boo private! Government can be more efficient than the private sector, and that happens most often when they have competition from the private sector. And the private sector is less greedy when competing with the government. Seen it in workers' comp, street sweeping, meter reading et al. Fair competition is the answer.

One of the biggest mistakes ever made was allowing the government to take our gold, and give us paper, backed by that gold. Then they said, you can just trust us now, we don't need to back your money up with silver or gold. We'll give you paper promises, and we promise that we'll spend money right and not blow it. So just trust our paper promises and give us all your wealth to hold for you. We promise if everything goes wrong, we'll have your gold and silver waiting for you to withdraw.lol

When you allow companies and individuals to make mass amounts of wealth, in some cases some individuals have more wealth than small countries, this creates a situation, where they have enough money to buy almost anyone. Put it this way, our country is in economic turmoil. If I had say, 2 trillion dollars, and told Obama that I would give half of it to the U.S., I think Obama would do anything I asked of him. Meaning even the president can be bought. And people with crazy amounts of money, will never allow there money to be lost. And I'm talking about the kinda money that influeces markets.

To me its just common sense. Unless we all trust our government and our neighbor and the guy walking down the street. In reality trust these days is gone. Yet we are supposed to trust the government and big industry to do the right thing. the truth is, whenever you allow money to be mixed with what is good for the public, money will always win. When big pharma company is paying millions thru lobbyist to washington fat cats, do you really think what is best for the people is getting voted into policy, or what is best for the company that just invested millions to sway that policy. It all seems a little obvious to me. Wake up america. As long as we allow it, these people will continue to steal. Just like a robber who never gets caught, do you think that person will stop robbing.

To Protect & Serve?
That has been lost in the current
"TO PROTECT & COLLECT" mentality.
I think it's a shame because the respect for our law enforcement is also lost.

The problem comes when tickets and civil infractions are thought of as a way to profit. City or private, it doesn't matter.

These laws are in place for the protection of the general public. Not so the city can shore up its budget's bottom line. Quotas etc. are a destruction and violation of civil liberty because they are not a protective and preventative measure, but an exploitation of low and middle class civilians. They are a hidden tax burden on these classes and further increase the disparity of wealth, which cuts into the stimulation of the economy. People will pay a parking ticket before buying a new pair of shoes.

Cities AND the federal government need to be responsible enough to reduce costs and services when unsustainable. We need to think of long term detriment rather than short term gain. The banks aren't the only ones guilty.

Selling off the city to private companies is only good business if you actually shrink government as a result of no longer owning the asset. In Chicago , they sold off the meters and they still have public city workers enforcing a private entity. The city is currently being sued for using public tax dollars (city workers, police) to enforce a private entity (meters) The reality of it is ,all of those city workers that were involved with enforcing meters and collceting the money are no longer needed and should be fired. However in Chicago, corruption is rampant. The point is, if government is willing to shrink itself after selling off assets to private companies, then it makes sense, otherwise what is the point to keep the same payroll with less revenue which only raises taxes more to keep useless city workers employed for the "vote".

Send in Robo cop...the system is a joke..Watch out people you gona get a ticket in your driveway for backing up to fast...the Cameras are on all of us..Look up in the SKY and smile for BIG BROTHER.

Conventional wisdom, especially in the case of the healthcare debate but also here, is that private industry can "do it better" than the government. However, I have yet to find convincing proof of this. Everytime there's a case of fraud or waste in the government, it's because the government has outsourced their function to some private company and that company is now milking the government for everything it is worth. If you sit and think about it for more than 5 seconds, this makes sense. Government tries to provide a service, private industry tries to make a profit. Which one is on your side? Come on. Really.

Problem is, private industry has really capitalized on the legitimate fear that the founding fathers had of one foreign government, two centuries ago - trying to convince people that all government is bad.

Companies are bribing politicians to gain favor and be awarded contracts? Say it ain't so, Virginia. What is America coming to?

Private companies taking over police functions is a scary concept to begin with. About the only thing scarier is the thought of private militaries like Blackwater.

Maybe the citizens can have the last laugh though.
What if we all made a conscious effort to not violate any driving or parking related laws and keep the effort going for three to six months? We would see a precipitous drop in the revenue of both the private companies and the government whores who sold us out to these privateers. In no time private enterprise would leave the playing field and government would have to resort to doing its own dirty work in collecting its curb tax and in enforcing driving laws.

Go after the privateers and the governments that enable them one city at a time, or all at once, it doesn't matter. What would be particularly sweet is if the privateers contracts guaranteed the city revenue and they have to dig into their own pockets because they are unable to fleece the public enough.

Camera tickets do not make the public one bit safer as most of the infractions are what an officer years ago would of let go with a warning. It's just a new gimmick for the city, county or state to generate revenue. It even states on the ticket it's not considered a moving violation so it won't affect your insurance. Now how bogus is that!

I think the message in PA is that the corrupt self serving police unions and thier pals in government who overpay them with tax dollars in exchange for votes and sign holding cannot ever be trusted. Big fat pensions, early retirements, disability scams etc as the taxpayers lose thier homes, jobs and futures. Yeah representative government my eye.

Living in San Diego, I have seen alot of abuses by these companies that provide parking meter enforcment. When they don't get their quata they start going into residential areas and issueing tickets. In one case, an individual parked in a handicap spot and had a handicap placard and was still givin a ticket, and when they confronted the rent a cop. they said "to bad". As for the trafic light cameras, it took a judge to take on the city and the company to finally get some justice in the way they were issuing those tickets. They had changed the sensor locations and the light timing to increase revenue. But there was a whole lot of people who had to pay for tickets they should have never received.. And when they investigated the situation, they found out that alot of cops where getting caught up in this scam. Thats probably why the judge took it on and invalidated alot of tickets.. And now they are allowing companies to take whole city blocks on public streets to run a valet parking only scheme. Eventually a judge willo have to get into this misuse of government funds. They already tried to lease public land to a company ($1 a year) and took away the parking for a valet parking company and the city attorney had to squash them. Now their doing it on public streets. When you have these crooks running the city and care more about companies than the people who live there, you get to pay more taxes to subsidize the companies. The problem is they don't call them taxes, their fee's.

Kalukan - 92 in a 65?? You're right, she shouldn't be paying a $1,000 fine. She should be in jail and have her vehicle donated to Goodwill. What gives anyone the right to drive whatever speed they desire?

Hey, you don't like parking tickets; you don't like speeding fines; there's one solution - don't speed, don't park illegally, and the above problems go away.

Parking tickets are a joke in it's self, the state makes money off the vehicle registrations and the smog certifications but that's not enough they even have to make money off the need to park a car by having parking meters and then they make money off the parking tickets .....