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The Denver Photo Radar SCAM: | |||||||||||||
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I opened the mailbox the other day and received quite a surprise. When I moved out of the City and County of Denver, I thought I would be free of all of the chicken s*#% (pardon my French) tickets that their (not too) civil servants seem just a little too happy to write. I once got the Denver Boot on my car for parking in front of my own house, as a result of the City's Street Sweeping Revenue Generation Scam. So I opened the envelope a few days back and found that I'd been ticketed for driving 31 miles per hour in a 20 mile per hour School Zone. There were 2 photos situated just to the right of the Violation Details, and in the bottom picture, I did clearly see the license plate on the front of my car. The "Location Of (alleged) Offense" was along a route I frequently drive. I noticed that the alleged infraction occurred just minutes before the School Zone speed ended at 4 PM. My first thought was that the kids at the elementary school were probably long gone by the time the camera took the pictures. I didn't remember seeing any kids. But then, I didn't remember seeing the Photo Radar Van or Technician Laurent (Badge Number 130) either. I got to wondering whether the Photo Radar unit's clock had been running a little slow, since I'm usually careful about watching my speed, especially in School Zones. I racked my brain trying to remember what had happened a week and a half earlier, when the alleged violation had apparently occurred.
I didn't really figure out what had happened until a family member (I'll not mention either her name or relationship to me) pointed out that the driver, clearly shown in the top picture, was not me. She pointed out that the driver pictured wasn't even male. This family member knew what she was talking about; she was the person shown in the picture. I had been so concerned with the time, date and location of the alleged infraction that I had neglected to notice that the person pictured on "my" Photo Radar ticket wasn't even me! If Technician Laurent and DPD were so concerned about the safety of the school children, you'd think they would have at least attempted to identify the alleged speeder by gender. If they're not bright enough to tell a male driver from a female driver, how can their clock and speed calculation be trusted? (This is the same City of Denver that can't figure out how to operate its voting machines and computers on Election Day.) In reality, the Photo Radar program is about generating revenue. Technician Laurent and DPD brass are just hoping to bully a bunch of drivers into paying their bogus tickets. I will not be bullied. I have the best defense there is; it wasn't me. DPD has even provided me with a picture which proves my innocence. Next time my car is driven through one of Denver's Photo Radar traps, they'll have a heck of a time getting a picture of my license plates. I figure that if they can't get a good picture of my plates, I'll not receive another B.S. DPD Photo Radar ticket. | ||||||||||||