68,000 Speeding Fines May Need To Be Refunded In Australia Due To Faulty Cameras

from the where's-that-brick-wall-heading dept

Tue, Nov 2nd 2010 4:28am — Mike Masnick

For many years, we've noted that speed cameras were notoriously unreliable, with stories of brick walls traveling at high rates of speed, a car being clocked at an astounding 420 mph and another story where a parked car was given multiple speeding tickets, all while remaining blissfully stationed at the curb.

One of the main traffic camera providers is the company Redflex, which has been having trouble lately, as many governments are ditching the cameras. And it looks like things may be getting even worse. Reader midofo points us to the news that the government in Victoria, Australia is now realizing that its Redflex speed cameras were faulty. There's now an investigation into just how many fines will need to be refunded. Of course, the only reason they figured this out was because a woman got a ticket for traveling nearly 100 mph in a car that simply could not go that fast. That resulted in an investigation and the discovery that the cameras weren't working properly (of course, some might argue that since the cameras are really just about revenue generation they were working just fine...).

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Filed Under: australia, faulty, speed cameras, speeding tickets
Companies: redflex

11 Comments

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John Doe, 2 Nov 2010 @ 4:39am

What was she driving?
She must have been driving a Chevette.
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Revi (profile), 2 Nov 2010 @ 5:23am

Apparently the issue here was due to a sync error. That is to say, the cameras were for point-to-point and the clocks were out of sync.
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Pixelation, 2 Nov 2010 @ 5:54am

It seems you should have a right to know at the time it happens that you have been clocked and will be getting a ticket. That way if you were traveling 35mph and got a ticket for 50mph, you would know the camera was wrong. Weeks later, unless you NEVER speed, you likely wouldn't remember. You should also have a right to know if the radar for the camera has been calibrated properly.
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bUSTER, 2 Nov 2010 @ 6:07am

420MPH
I'm sure the guy who got a ticket for going 420MPH has that posted on his wall to brag to all his friends
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- Anonymous Speeder, 2 Nov 2010 @ 7:48am
  
  Re: 420MPH
  We are the guilty party.
  During a shake down run the driver was about to kick in the afterburner on the LSR vehicle when several kangaroo's were sucked into the turbine forcing a shutdown.
  The goal for this run was 520MPH, we'll be back!
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  - marak (profile), 2 Nov 2010 @ 3:25pm
    
    Re: Re: 420MPH
    Yeah ive had that, bloody kangaroos getting stuck in the intakes on my small jet/car :P
    
    The drop bears are worse.....
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    - Ben, 2 Nov 2010 @ 9:57pm
      
      Re: Re: Re: 420MPH
      stick to roads and stop driving under trees.
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Papa Fox, 2 Nov 2010 @ 6:10am

The Victorian State government is declining to refund the 68,000 infringement notices. Apparently a clock skew is not a "systematic error."
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- Any Mouse, 2 Nov 2010 @ 7:10am
  
  Re:
  Yeah, did you read that one all the way through? It says that 9 were wrongfully fined since 2007. They are refusing to refund on the others until after the system has been audited by a third party.
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Overcast (profile), 2 Nov 2010 @ 6:50am

What wonderful "justice".
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marak (profile), 2 Nov 2010 @ 3:23pm

*waits patiently for his letter in the mail with his refunds!*
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