Aussie Speed Cameras in Doubt Because of MD5

An anonymous reader writes "A speeding case has been thrown out in Australia after the Roads and Traffic Authority admitted that it could not prove the integrity of speed-camera photos. 'The case revolved around the integrity of a mathematical MD5 algorithm published on each picture and used as a security measure to prove pictures have not been doctored after they have been taken.'" I wonder if Australian police are as (radar gun) trigger happy as they are in certain parts of the U.S.

Information Superhighway

[hamfactorial]

Officer: Please sign and initial box A, put your phone number and address in box B, please confirm and write in this 32-digit md5 hash in boxes C and D...

Obligatory

[mikeophile]

Heisenberg was driving down the Autobahn whereupon he was pulled over by a policeman. The policeman asked, "Do you know how fast you were going back there?
Heisenberg replied, "No, but I know where I am."

Slightly Off Topic Speeding Ticket Joke

[Anonymous Coward]

Slightly off topic, but one of my favorite jokes...
So there was this guy driving through town one day, he was going about 100 in a 35, he crosses over a bridge and not too far past the end of it he sees the familiar blinking lights behind him and pulls over. The police officer comes up to the window and asks him where he's trying to get in such a hurry, and the guy says he's late for work.
The cop says "what job do you have that you have to get to so urgently?" and the guy says "I'm a Rectum Stretcher"
The cop looks a little funny at the guy and says "A Rectum Stretcher? What does a a Rectum Stretcher do?"
The guy says "well, first you start with a finger or two, work you way up to a fist, and keep going until it's six feet wide"
The cop looks absolutely amazed and says "Well, what do you do with a six foot asshole?" and the man replies
"You give him a radar gun and stick him at the end of a bridge".

What I like to do...

[TheOtherAgentM]

I just like to drive so fast that the cameras see me as a blur.

Re:loophole?

[ari_j]

Demand to face your accuser in court. If a police officer takes the stand, tell the judge to strike everything he says as hearsay and repeat your request that you face your accuser. If they do bring the camera in, accuse it of being uncooperative by not answering your questions, and ask the judge to jail it for contempt.

Re:Good luck...

[Kymermosst]

Warning for visitors: WA has one of the most zealous state highway patrol forces in the nation. Just don't exceed 10 over the limit here.

WARNING! Police in Washington enforce laws!

Re:What's with all the Australian stories?

[ArsenneLupin]

Come on you Antarcticans, get up to some technological hijinx. You are ruining the numbers.

That's why there are so many penguin stories. It is to keep the Antarctican quota!

Re:Slightly Off Topic Speeding Ticket Joke

[Anonymous Coward]

Congratulations, AC: you just got a textual version of goatse up to +5.

Re:Good luck...

[Jussi K. Kojootti]

Let me guess, you belong to the 85% of all people who are better than average drivers?

Re:I call bullshit

[ShootThemLater]

Just two weeks ago I was first on the scene when a dickhead drove his BMW into a telephone poll

Perhaps it was deliberate, and he was just fed up with all the phone calls?

Sorry. Could not resist.

Re:Slightly Off Topic Speeding Ticket Joke

[krunk4ever]

slightly off topic too, but since we're doing jokes, i might as well.

there was 2 old couples driving on the freeway very slowly. they were probably doing 20MPH at most. cars behind them would honk and finally a highway patrol car pulled them over and asked they if they knew they were driving on the freeway. the old lady replied yes. he then suggested that they drive on the local streets because they were driving so slow. she goes, but that sign back there told us to drive at 20MPH. the highway patrol cracked out laughing. he told her that the sign back there indicated this was freeway route 20 and not the speed limit. the lady understands and thanks the officer for his time. the highway patrol finally realizes the old man has been very quiet and seems to be in shock. he asked the old lady what was wrong and she goes, "oh! we just got ove the 156."

Sorry, I live in Hollywood

[commodoresloat]

Where is this "Western Australia" place? Is that in the Valley?

Re:Good luck...

[kyojin the clown]

incrediable. you say an 'old guy' who trained racing drivers is a better driver than his trainees? what next? teachers knowing more than their pupils? i'm flabbergasted.

Re:Good luck...

[fbjon]

Unfortunately, some roads are known to have certain irregularities in them, more commonly known as 'turns'. Some people find that turning the steering wheel helps during an encounter. Too fast is simply too fast for safety.

Re:LCD

[Anonymous Coward]

I drive a Ford Vagina. It can get a bit hairy sometimes and is very slippery in the wet. I find it quite hard to control at times and is very high maintenance.

Re:Good luck...

[rcamera]

interesting idea - swerving to AVOID a rabbit. i usually CHASE the rabbit (or deer, or racoon)... it's the closest activity to a sport that i perform.

Re:My experiance with speed cameras

[marnerd]

Okay, "less finage", Grammar Boy.

Re:Correction...

[surprise_audit]

On all three occasions I called 911 while the attempted break-in was in progress

If there's no response, just call them back and tell them not to bother because you've just shot the burglar. Bet you a box of donuts there'll be cops screeching to a halt outside your house within five minutes...

Re:loophole?

[kin_korn_karn]

In Soviet Australia, court contempts YOU!

Re:Good luck...

[idontgno]

Please, for the love of the gods... stop the statistics jokes...

Yes, please.. at least 69.34% of us are simply deathly sick and tired of it.

Re:Good luck...

[agraupe]

Ah yes... and occasionally, you get the truly excellent drivers who can somehow manage to coordinate their speed with the person in the other lane (usually about 10 km/h under the speed limit, of course) so that no one can get by.