Photo: Driver deliberately gets ticket so he can flip off photo-radar van

Red-light camera tickets get plenty of Denverities steamed up, with not one but two Denver city councilpersons questioning the process, and a state senator declaring that they're more about revenue than safety. Dan (no last name, please) dislikes photo-radar vans just as much -- so much so, in fact, that...

By Michael Roberts

February 7, 2012

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Red-light camera tickets get plenty of Denverities steamed up, with not one but two Denver city councilpersons questioning the process, and a state senator declaring that they're more about revenue than safety. Dan (no last name, please) dislikes photo-radar vans just as much -- so much so, in fact, that he decided to memorialize his displeasure in a very special way -- with one finger doing the heavy lifting.

Corresponding by e-mail, Dan describes himself as a "flaming liberal." Nonetheless, he notes that he despises photo radar and has been lobbying his senator on the matter. However, his message to the city was more explicit. According to him, he "deliberately sped through a photo radar with my middle finger extended."

Here's the shot and the ticket; Dan's personal information has been redacted.

In some ways, Dan is surprised the folks who administer the program even bothered to send him this paperwork. As he writes, "I'm sort of curious why the city thinks I'm dumb enough to pay this ticket, since I'm expressing my feelings on the matter pretty clearly."

No doubt about that.

Note: The original version of this post reported that the driver sped through an intersection with a photo-enabled red-light camera, not past a photo-radar van. We apologize for the error.

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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