Jay Leno on Top Gear: Shoot Speed Cameras

Robert Farago
by Robert Farago

Legendary talk show host Jay Leno views speed cameras as one of the reasons the UK no longer feels like a free country. Appearing Sunday on the top-rated BBC show Top Gear, Leno suggested that as a visitor, the number of cameras in England is overwhelming. He also suggested that US drivers have a much less tolerant attitude toward photo enforcement. “See in L.A., people would say, ‘why not just shoot them out?'” Leno said. “In L.A., a day doesn’t go by you don’t see a styrofoam cup stuck over the lens of the speed camera.” The line about shooting speed cameras drew both laughter and great applause from the crowd. Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson even appeared momentarily surprised at his counterpart’s suggestion of vigilantism.


The US public has become increasingly aggressive against the use of automated ticketing machines. A pair of Montgomery County, Maryland, photo radar units this week found themselves covered with spray paint. One unit had its lens covered with red paint and the second had black paint cover two lens squares and a straight line offering something of the look of a smiley face. The speed cameras were installed to issue tickets to the visitors of a nearby country club located on Seven Locks Road.

A similar incident was reported in the state of Arizona over the weekend. A member of Camerafraud.com snapped a photo of a speed camera on State Route 51 that had its lens covered in black spray paint ( view photo).

UK vigilantes, however, have been far from inactive. This week a speed camera in Kent on the A21 just before the bridge near Tonbridge was set on fire and destroyed. Although Leno referred to speed cameras being defeated with styrofoam cups, he was actually referring to red light cameras. California law prohibits the use of cameras to issue speeding tickets. San Jose was the last city in the Golden State to give up on photo radar in 2007 after a court ruling chastised local officials for defying the law.


Robert Farago
Robert Farago

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  • ZoomZoom ZoomZoom on Aug 07, 2009

    Agreed! I think inattentive, unsure, distracted, and/or slowpoke drivers are responsible for far more accidents and deaths on the roads. I vote for stricter road-testing. For drivers and cars. And don't give me any nay-nay's about testing cars. Dashboard instruments, seat belts, headlights, turn signals, brake lights (and brakes!) should all be in functioning order before a tag is issued or renewed.

  • ZoomZoom ZoomZoom on Aug 07, 2009
    DasFast : What is protocol if two strippers are walking down the street on a hot summer day (enthusiastically replenishing the other’s sun amplifying baby oil glaze with water guns) and a few drops were to ricochet off an unnaturally firm F cup, inadvertently smearing the lens? Public obfuscation? Haha! Honestly, I don't think there's any "protocol" for such a situation, although my first inclination would be to smile and compliment them on their lack of tan lines. No obfuscation there!
  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
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