It’s March 1st and a new law starting today, in IL, could cost you $375 the 1st time and a cool grand the 2nd time, that’s right, speed in a construction zone and cameras will bust you.

You may have also watched the local Chicago news about the cities red light cams and the ten$ of million$ they bring into the city and the 50 more that are going up this year.

I don’t support breaking the law; I just don’t trust Big Brother.

I’ve been researching tools to help protect my Mini from BBC (Big-Brother-Cam).

I understand the plate covers, hard plastics ones, are like my tint, just begging a Police Officer to pull me over.

Would like to know if anyone is using anything. I have found www.stopphotocops.com I like what I see there and if you do too, let me know and I can make a larger order and we can have a spray “event”.

 

My uncle bought that stuff or something like it so he wouldn't have to pay the tolls, but he might have not put it on right or something because it cracked and peeled in about 2 months and turned into this nasty yellow color.

 

For the record I would not use this to avoid paying tolls. I pay tolls for some of the best roads in the nation. If you want to see what happens when we stop paying tolls goto Dallas, LA, Miami, Detroit and Denver.

 

its true!

 

Don't be this guy LOL!

link

Be sure to watch the video...pretty funny...

Here's some interesting legal stuff (for AZ)

link for video of lawyer

 

He is also a retired Chicago detective so he has some clout, one time for the Air and Water show we got to park on the grass right next to the entrance because he used to work with this cop that was stationed at the gate. It was pretty sweet.

Anyway back to the subject of the spray stuff, it would be nice if it worked but how are you going to tell? Use it and run a couple of red lights? I would like to see some real life testimonials instead of from the Dutch police on that web page. Or maybe someone that has it or is planning on buying it take some pictures with it on from different angles to see if the flash does white out the plate. Oh yeah and those pictures of that guy running the red lights are hilarious.

 

Since when they raised the toll fee? Last year ? I just noticed last week that it's being doubled every where ... Guess they really want you guys to use Ipass eh?

 

you got it! if you pay cash, the toll is doubled. If you have an I-Pass, you pay regular. The Touhy Toll plaza headed north to WI is normally 50 cents. Ends up being a dollar w/o I-Pass... ouch. Never leave home w/o the I-Pass Best part of Touhy is you don't have to stop anymore if you have I-Pass. SWEET!!!

 

This is quite interesting. I work on infrared cameras that cops use to pull people over and we've tested some of the sprays. Sorry kids, it doesn't work. Just thought I'd save you the money. Perhaps I can test this can because we've never tested this particular brand but I'm not sure I'd believe it. We tried a 3M spray (from what I can remember) that's supposed to keep the IR from reflecting but the camera still captured it.

 

are they just putting up red light cams? I dont mind those, but speed cams would hurt. Speeding is bs anyways.


anyways, I would definitely get in on this, better safe than sorry. Count me in for 1 spray, back plate only, no front plate.

edit: I realized that you need to do multiple coats, so much for a spray party. Anyways, I'll do one can.

 

Peeps, I'm telling ya... this stuff doesn't work. . . even for radars and things of that nature. This is going to sound really nerdy... but have you ever heard of the show Myth Busters? They did a show on this - they tested the spray cans and did all types of things to see if it helped... and it didn't work. From work experience, I know that it doesn't help with IR cameras. IR cameras are the ones that do the reading of your plate... they send out the Infrared and then it reflects and captures the image. Because I actually have a plate flipper and cameras in my lab at work... I have tested it... it still reflects and the camera still captures the license number.

So do what ya need to do to feel better... at least I know I tried when people are complaining about getting speeding tickets in the mail!

Hahahaha

Also, if you have anymore information regarding what kinds of cameras are going to be used, let me know and I'll see if I can get some answers from some engineers at work. We've seen just about everything around here working in the public safety business.

 

hahahaha taht website makes me laugh, that guy kicking the speed camera is priceless.... i always figured that that spray stuff was bs. does anybody know where (specifically in the suburbs) these cameras are gonna be?

 

hm... i have the last four seasons of myth busters, when school is out I will look for the episode and report back.

 

Now that's a fanatic! Haha, I've never met anyone who owns the last four seasons! Awesome! They didn't do an extensive test on just the spray on the episode - it was just a quick trial.

Like I said though, I did an extensive test in the lab at work (and yeah, the spray does nothing to protect against IR cameras! So if that's what they're putting up on the highways in workzones, the spray won't help ya.

It might work, however, if you go over 130 MPH through the work zones though - the cameras may not be able to capture that. The cameras that we developed will only capture differential speeds of 65 mph, meaning if the camera is stationary, it will capture any license plate up to 130 MPH. So if you want to speed through the work zones, go 130+MPH. You may have to go about 155 if you really want to be sure! Hahaha, okay - now I'm just being sarcastic.

The IR cameras don't work like your typical digital camera - they don't flash bright like a camera.

http://www.pipstechnology.com/camera...e=us&index=151
If you really want to read more about some IR cameras, go there. These are more popular in the UK but they're gaining popularity in the US.

My assumption is that they'll have some radar detecting the movement of the vehicle and how fast it's going and then they'll have the IR camera along with a digital camera. The radar will go off and signal the camera to take the picture if over 45 mph. The IR will capture the license plate of the vehicle and then the digital camera will take a picture of your car along with the speed your car was going. It's not going to be hard to do. Cops already have this technology on their cop cars. Chicago PD might be purchasing a bunch of cameras from us in the next days to come.

If you're worried that much, try the plate cover. Yeah, it's illegal but it beats a $375 ticket for speeding the work zone being sent to your mailbox.

 

I think it's going to come down to finding out what kind of cameras they are using. It seems some have flashes and some don't, so I'm guessing this stuff would only work on one with a flash.

 

I hate to sound like the voice of reason here, but how about not speeding through the work zones. They are doing this because it is unsafe for the workers. Would you put your child on the curb when cars are going 90 MPH past him or her?

Go ahead, try to beat the cameras, but at what cost?

 

I definitely don't plan on speeding through work zones. I'm just thinking they're going to put up speed cameras in normal areas soon, so prepare early. Honestly, I don't even really drive through work zones, my driving is almost all suburbs and city, so I run into contruction very little. Also I only run through one of the red light cams in my driving, so i guess for me, it's more of a curiosity.

 

I seem to have hit a hot issue.

While I don't speed through work zones, I really dont trust the .GOV's to use this tech. Soon the day will come when we get tickets in the mail for 1 mph over anywhere they can put a cam. Do we really want to live in a "CAM State"?

I long for the old days, when cops had black and whites with reds and blues on top, not black 4 doors that look like the guy next door, and become cop cars after the fact.

I think 99.9% of Mini drivers are above avg people and would'nt speed in work zones or not pay tolls. I just know the State and Cities want more of MY money and sooner than later we feel have lost ALL our freedoms, having lost them one CAM at a time.

THINK about that!

 

I'm with ya ChicagoMini - on the whole issue of them eventually sending us speeding tickets for one MPH over the limit. I don't think they're going to start doing that, though. I think the idea is primarily to keep the workers safe. Of course we don't plan on speeding through work zones - heck, I don't even think we could in Chicago if we tried. Most of the time, I'm rolling at 5 mph through a workzone. Gosh, the open road tolling construction is driving me INSANE!