Man makes it his mission to get rid of red light cameras

A man has been arrested for tampering with red light cameras at a busy intersection in his town.

Bryan Valentine put a plastic bag over the camera to stop people from getting caught driving through the red light.

Valentine is part of a group called ‘Red Light Robin Hoods’ who believe that cameras are a money grab by the government to get more money from tax-payers.

The group is based in America and has been causing quite a bit of trouble in their local area.

They have found huge support from hundreds of locals who agree that the government is unfairly targeting people on the road and fining them outrageous amounts for ‘small infractions’.

Stephen Ruth is the leader of the group and says people should show their support for the initiative.

“All I can do is give the guy respect,” Ruth said of Valentine’s arrest. “He believes in what he is doing. He told me [Saturday] he tried to get attention to the issue because it’s being ignored.”

Ruth was arrested on similar charges eight months ago and on wrote a call-out on his Facebook page in support of Valentine: “People should go down to the courthouse and express their support and concern for Bryan and their discontent for the red-light-camera program.”

Soon after his arrest in August, Ruth made a video which he posted on Facebook explaining to followers how to put red-light cameras out of commission.

“You only need a pair of balls and a painter’s extension rod [in order to point the cameras away from motorists] . . . It doesn’t take more than a minute to do this, and the satisfaction is huge,” Ruth said in the video. “I’m gonna show you how easy this is to take the power back.”

The video shows Ruth using the painter’s extension to turn the lens of a camera away from the roadway. “I just saved people about $10,000 today with this camera,” he boasted. “This is government taking advantage, and it’s going to stop!”

The idea has garnered some support in Australia too, with many people saying they would tamper with red-light cameras here if they could.

Others though have pointed out that these cameras prevent people from having accidents and can actually save lives.

What do you think?

Would you support the Red Light Robin Hoods? Or, do we need red-light cameras for our own safety?