Arizona driver dons monkey masks to elude tickets

[jeffbr]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090912/ap_on_re_us/us_masked_speeder

PHOENIX – A driver has racked up dozens of speeding tickets in photo-radar zones on Phoenix-area freeways while sporting monkey and giraffe masks, and is fighting every one by claiming the costumes make it impossible for authorities to prove he was behind the wheel. "You've got to identify the driver, and if you can't it's not a valid ticket," said Dave VonTesmar, a 47-year-old flight attendant said.

It took Arizona state police months to realize the same driver was involved and was refusing to pay the fines. By the time they did, more than 50 of the tickets had become invalid because the deadline for prosecution had passed. Authorities have since stepped up their efforts to ensure that VonTesmar pays his $6,700 in fines. On Aug. 19, the Arizona Department of Public Safety served VonTesmar in person with 37 tickets, mostly between 11 and 15 mph over the speed limit. The pictures accompanying the tickets show a driver wearing either a monkey or giraffe masks in VonTesmar's white Subaru, which has black-and-white checkered racing stickers on its sides and a sticker on the windshield that reads "Bucktooth Racin'."

Agency spokesman Bart Graves also said authorities have surveillance photos of VonTesmar putting on masks before driving and believes that they will convince justice court judges in three area cities that he was the one behind the wheel and must pay his tickets... VonTesmar, who said he simply drives with the flow of traffic, said if the Department of Public Safety does have surveillance photos of him on the road, it proves he's not a danger to other drivers. If he were, officers would have pulled him over, he said...

Three separate citizens groups are targeting the cameras in initiatives for the 2010 ballot. Shawn Dow, chairman of the Arizona Citizens Against Photo Radar, said he's not sure whether VonTesmar has affected their cause. "It is very funny," he said. "In one sense it shows how silly this whole thing is, so you know I'm glad he's using a sense of humor. The fact that he did it 90 times, I don't want to drive around the guy." Dow said he finds it interesting that DPS conducted surveillance on VonTesmar. "They're out staking out a guy with a monkey mask?" he said. "They watched him break the law and didn't do anything about it? If they had pulled him over, they could have pulled the mask off. It just proves photo radar is not about safety, it's about money."

[dsc]

1. I am assuming the survalliance is of him putting on the mask

and getting in the car, which wouldn't be illegal.

[ashling]

3. He's not being charged with wearing a mask

Walking into a bank or convenience store is not illegal either, but a picture of somebody doing that would be extremely pertinent if that person was accused of robbing that business.

[dsc]

8. I agree I thought I replied to those who were saying they had watched him speed

[eleny]

2. I thought W was busy cleaning up dog poop in Texas

[sohndrsmith]

4. That makes no sense. I never thought they identified individuals with the cameras,

I always thought they recorded license plates...

Huh. I do know that people go the speed limit and come to full stops when the "Photo Speed Enforcement Zone Ahead" signs show up along 101 or at intersections... if people are dumb enough to speed (at the risk of their lives and all those around them) under such obvious circumstances, then they aren't smart enough to operate a car safely and should be off the road anyway.

[Xithras]

10. Violations are issued to people, not vehicles

Photo enforcement tickets are usually issued to the owner of the vehicle, but the owner always has the option of claiming that is isn't him/her behind the wheel. If the identity of the driver can't be confirmed, the photo is tossed.

Newer systems use fairly high res cameras to capture the drivers image, so it usually isn't a problem.

[Ms. Toad]

19. If that is the case, Arizona is not up on how this works

The trick use by most (I thought all - but I guess Arizona must just be odd) jurisdictions was to make it a vehicle violation (like a parking ticket), as opposed to a crime committed by a person. As long as there is only a monetary fine (not points on a driving record), and there is no criminal record associated with it, they don't have to identify the driver - all they have to do is identify the car. A vehicle owner is responsible for all parking ticket type violations; running red lights and speeding caught by cameras have been added to the same section of the code in every place I know of that uses them.

[mitchum]

5. This is one of the best stories I have ever read

great details
nicely written

[marybourg]

6. AZ wackiness generates lots of great stories. nt.

[fishnfla]

7. love it

[ProgressiveProfessor]

9. I wear a full face helmet and only have a rear plate that can not be read from above its height

I am sure I have set off some of those cameras but have never been ticketed. Motorcycling is more than just a great way to travel

[nashville_brook]

11. so... motorcycle riders are exempt from this form of prosecution. that seems flawed.

i'm all for safer roads and people obeying speed limits, etc... but it seem like selective prosecution would be problematic for the courts.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

13. Its more a case the approach being used with not record enough data for some motorcycles.

The front camera does no good. No front plate and no face. My plate is properly mounted, but can not be seen from above due to a top bag, its sort of like a pickup truck with the tailgate down. Unless the rear camera is waist high, it can not see the plate. Nothing intentional or illegal, but a combination of circumstances. Its not true for all bikes.

[progressivebydesign]

12. what an idiot. Speeding is against the law, doesn't matter how they catch you.

I will never understand whiners like that... You're fucking speeding, it doesn't matter if they catch you with an unmanned drone. It's not like there is some rule that says speeding only counts if a person sees it. Stop fucking speeding, idiot. I'd fire his ass if he was my employee. What an immature idiot.

[armyowalgreens]

15. I think it's more a protest to the fact that they ticket people with no proof...

That they were the driver.Also, No one is there to verify the drivers identity.

There is no way to face the accuser if you choose to challenge it in court. What are you going to say, "that's not me in the photo", "How can you be sure that the photo-radar was calibrated?"...

They are going to laugh you out of court. They don't give a shit.

[immoderate]

17. Speeding is usually not a hazard. Running red lights is.

There are sections of some roads where traffic might speed up, or slow down. Speed limits are not always appropriate.

--imm

[A HERETIC I AM]

18. Just so I'm clear, you would fire an employee for doing something that in no way affected his job

performance?

If his speeding affected his job, in that he spent too much time in court fighting tickets, I could understand your statement, but how does this rise to that level?

Just curious how you justify your statement.

Most speed limits are, to a certain degree, arbitrary.

[onethatcares]

14. hmmm, a John McCain mask might have

worked alot better.:hi:

[Nikki Stone1]

16. "authorities have surveillance photos of VonTesmar putting on masks before driving" HOW??

What kind of surveillance are they using?

[invictus]

20. K&R. LMAO!

[depakid]

21. Monkey boy is right- driving faster or slower than the prevailing speed creates a road hazard

In 1964, Solomon researched the relationship between average speed and collision rates of automobiles and plotted the results.<2> While others have attempted to quantify the relationship between average speed and collision rates, Solomon's work was both the earliest and best known. Solomon conducted a comprehensive study of more than 10,000 accident-involved drivers and their vehicles and how other roadway, driver, and vehicle characteristics affect the probability of being involved in a crash. Solomon found that the probability of being involved in a crash per vehicle-mile as a function of on-road vehicle speeds follows a U-shaped curve (see figure in this article) with speed values around the median speed having the lowest probability of being in a crash. Although typically called the Solomon curve, the U-shaped curve has also been referred to as the Crash Risk Curve.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon_Curve

[invictus]

22. +1