RAILforum: Shutterbugs beware - NJT Policy of prohibiting photography

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Posted by locofan (Member # 3255) on 05-20-2004 04:13 PM:

Shutterbugs beware:
Source: Trenton Times, NJ.

I came across the following interesting news article about NJT Policy of prohibiting photography.

Impromptu photography is a lifeblood for railroad enthusiasts and for those who work in the transportation industry, but NJ Transit is trying to put a stop to it, claiming that for security reasons it has the right to control whether people take photos of its property.
The mass transit agency's policy has raised civil liberty concerns among rail enthusiasts and an expert in photography rights.

Click here to read the full article

Posted by Steve Dunham (Member # 924) on 05-21-2004 06:38 PM:

As the article notes, NJ Transit has absolutely no grounds for hassling people who take pictures from public property. If they arrest somebody who isn't on NJ Transit property, I am sure they will face a lawsuit and lose and somebody at NJT will deservedly get fired.

It is also a counterproductive policy. NJ is loaded with railfans (I used to live there). They have a volunteer army who would notice the slightest thing out of the ordinary, and these volunteers are willing to sit by the tracks for hours at a time with cameras, notepads, and binoculars, and NJT is chasing them away.

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Steve Dunham
Literalman@aol.com
http://www.stevedunham.50megs.com/

Posted by George Harris (Member # 2077) on 05-21-2004 10:31 PM:

silliness rules!!

[This message has been edited by George Harris (edited 05-24-2004).]

Posted by Steve Dunham (Member # 924) on 05-30-2004 12:46 PM:

I wrote about this in my "Commuter Crossroads" column in today's Fredericksburg, VA, Free Lance-Star. It's online at http://www.fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2004/052004/05302004/1379854

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Steve Dunham
Literalman@aol.com
http://www.stevedunham.50megs.com/