'Stringent checks are made'
Discussion
www.thisisdorset.net/display.var.803514.0.i_knew_it_wasnt_me_caught_on_camera.php
This is Dorset said:
AN investigation has been launched after a motorist was wrongly given a speeding ticket on Bournemouth's Wessex Way because an overtaking car had triggered the camera.
The incident follows recent controversy over more than 6,000 unlawful parking tickets issued in the town in the last five years. They have been cancelled and £26,000 of fines refunded.
Now mother-of-two Donna Frampton is wondering whether she is the only motorist to be stung in error on a dual carriageway.
She received a notice through the post a few days ago telling her she had been going 58mph near the Richmond Park Road exit of the Wessex Way at 1.20pm on June 7. The road has a 50mph limit and four fixed camera points between Westbourne and the Cooper Dean flyover.
continued...
But luckily for Donna, 32, of Southbourne, Bournemouth, she remembered that day well. "I was so adamant it wasn't me.
"I knew I was driving, but I know the road and know the camera is there," she said.
She rang the central ticket office and left a message asking for a picture to be sent to her.
"Two hours later, they rang back and said it wasn't me and there was a car in the other lane.
"I'm relieved it wasn't me, but how many people wouldn't have queried it and just handed over the £60? I can remember a car shooting past me, but I don't remember the camera flashing or anything."
Pat Garrett, head of fixed penalties for the Dorset Safety Camera Partnership, said that because an offence had been committed, he could not comment on the specific details until the case had been resolved.
But he admitted: "There was a mistake, for which the DSCP unreservedly apologises. The partnership would like to reassure the public that stringent checks are in place to ensure that only those who have broken the law are prosecuted and that every case is dealt with on an individual basis."
He promised that a full internal investigation would be carried out to look at processes and procedures, and to make any necessary improvements to ensure there was no repeat of the error.
"While the partnership accepts that any error is regrettable, its most recent survey shows that it has achieved a 99.99 per cent detection accuracy record since commencing operation in April 2002," he added.
The incident follows recent controversy over more than 6,000 unlawful parking tickets issued in the town in the last five years. They have been cancelled and £26,000 of fines refunded.
Now mother-of-two Donna Frampton is wondering whether she is the only motorist to be stung in error on a dual carriageway.
She received a notice through the post a few days ago telling her she had been going 58mph near the Richmond Park Road exit of the Wessex Way at 1.20pm on June 7. The road has a 50mph limit and four fixed camera points between Westbourne and the Cooper Dean flyover.
continued...
But luckily for Donna, 32, of Southbourne, Bournemouth, she remembered that day well. "I was so adamant it wasn't me.
"I knew I was driving, but I know the road and know the camera is there," she said.
She rang the central ticket office and left a message asking for a picture to be sent to her.
"Two hours later, they rang back and said it wasn't me and there was a car in the other lane.
"I'm relieved it wasn't me, but how many people wouldn't have queried it and just handed over the £60? I can remember a car shooting past me, but I don't remember the camera flashing or anything."
Pat Garrett, head of fixed penalties for the Dorset Safety Camera Partnership, said that because an offence had been committed, he could not comment on the specific details until the case had been resolved.
But he admitted: "There was a mistake, for which the DSCP unreservedly apologises. The partnership would like to reassure the public that stringent checks are in place to ensure that only those who have broken the law are prosecuted and that every case is dealt with on an individual basis."
He promised that a full internal investigation would be carried out to look at processes and procedures, and to make any necessary improvements to ensure there was no repeat of the error.
"While the partnership accepts that any error is regrettable, its most recent survey shows that it has achieved a 99.99 per cent detection accuracy record since commencing operation in April 2002," he added.
Why aren't they grilled about this? If I was a journalist reporting this story I'd ask them to show me the office the whole scam operates from. I'd want to give them the opportunity to show these crack operators processing the invoices and doing these "stringent checks". Surely they'd be delighted to show me. Or at least they would be if they weren't operating a fraudulent business where demands are issued routinely to secure the best profitibility without regard to that annoynig little "justice" thing.
I'd do the same thing with that bozo from the Norfolk Speed Tax Collectors, asking him to explain these laughable 40%+ claims he's supposed to be improving accident rates by (whilst at the same time seeing no change in accident rates by regions).
I'm certain there is political pressure on the press not to ask hard questions. Either that or people attracted to journalism are Vauxhall Vectra driving sandalists who actually believe that "speed kills", and don't want nasty little facts getting in the way of a good story.
SM
I'd do the same thing with that bozo from the Norfolk Speed Tax Collectors, asking him to explain these laughable 40%+ claims he's supposed to be improving accident rates by (whilst at the same time seeing no change in accident rates by regions).
I'm certain there is political pressure on the press not to ask hard questions. Either that or people attracted to journalism are Vauxhall Vectra driving sandalists who actually believe that "speed kills", and don't want nasty little facts getting in the way of a good story.
SM
I wonder if the local press would like to get everone who was pinged say last week to ask for their evidence & check it out. I KNOW Dorset SCP do this on a regular basis as I have a friend in the legal profession & they've come across sveral cases. Plus this was publicised only last year.
ALWAYS ASK FOR THE EVIDENCE
ALWAYS ASK FOR THE EVIDENCE
MilnerR said:
Stringent checks? Would that be looking at the reg plate and sending out a NIP?
Dorset use a system called StarTraq which automates offence processing, basically they feed in the photos and camera data card one end and the paperwork is spat out the other end (the reg. no is OCR'd). There is *supposed* to be an operator monitoring everything though, they are meant to review each image and confirm that the correct vehicle has been identified and authorise the offence processing. I doubt they set it to "full auto mode" (if that is in fact possible), my guess is that the operator was getting sloppy and not paying attention to the images.
It has happened before too - one chap in Hampshire was sent a NIP when in fact he was travelling in the opposite direction - the camera operator zapped an oncoming car and quickly panned it to the opposite side of a d/c and StarTraq picked up his number place for the preceeding offence. The PR guy at Hampshire (Julian Hewitt) was similarly incredulous:
www.safespeed.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1269
SCP guy said:
“The digitising system that picks up the offences identified the wrong car,” he said.
Mr Hewitt said normally such an error was picked up during the rigorous checking system in his office.
“This is a very rare coincidence of three failures in that system, and we are confident that it does not represent a significant problem,” he added.
But not so rigorous, eh? How do they know that it is "very rare"?
Gareth
Edited by g_attrill on Sunday 25th June 02:43
This is Dorset said:
The incident follows recent controversy over more than 6,000 unlawful parking tickets issued in the town in the last five years. They have been cancelled and £26,000 of fines refunded.
6,000 x £60 = £26,000 refunded seems I need to go back to school as maths has changed so much since I was there.
voyds9 said:
This is Dorset said:
The incident follows recent controversy over more than 6,000 unlawful parking tickets issued in the town in the last five years. They have been cancelled and £26,000 of fines refunded.
6,000 x £60 = £26,000 refunded seems I need to go back to school as maths has changed so much since I was there.
They were not all £60 as some were not contested. You could pay £30 iwithin so many days before it went to £60. motorists wouldn't have contested because they were not to know that the correct orders were not in place giving the council authority to collect fines.
rewc said:
voyds9 said:
This is Dorset said:
The incident follows recent controversy over more than 6,000 unlawful parking tickets issued in the town in the last five years. They have been cancelled and £26,000 of fines refunded.
6,000 x £60 = £26,000 refunded seems I need to go back to school as maths has changed so much since I was there.
They were not all £60 as some were not contested. You could pay £30 iwithin so many days before it went to £60. motorists wouldn't have contested because they were not to know that the correct orders were not in place giving the council authority to collect fines.
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