Palm Bay woman gets school zone speeding ticket dismissed, ticket troubles continue

Palm Bay woman gets school zone speeding ticket dismissed, ticket troubles continue

A woman has successfully had her school zone speeding ticket dismissed in a Palm Bay court after automated ticket cameras registered an incorrect speed. However, FOX 35's Esther Bower says the problem continues as their are a number of other residents claiming the same faulty tickets.

PALM BAY, Fla. - A woman has successfully had her school zone speeding ticket dismissed in a Palm Bay court after automated ticket cameras registered an incorrect speed.

What we know:

On Tuesday, drivers who didn’t want to pay for the school zone speeding tickets could plead their case in front of a judge. Several did, but very few were successful. 

The woman who won her case had a minute-by-minute print out of how fast the car was going because a GPS tracker was already installed. The case was dismissed by Palm Bay police officers even before she made her argument. Other people who tried to fight the tickets made arguments that the flashing lights weren’t on, or they weren’t the ones driving the vehicle. Those didn’t hold up. 

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Police presented evidence showing the tickets they had sent drivers and the system routine checks the cameras had gone through. Legal experts say you need to have hard evidence like GPS-verified data if you are trying to fight these tickets in court, or you should hire a lawyer. 

The company running the speed zone cameras, RedSpeed, still believes the camera cited an accurate speed and was disappointed police decided to void the ticket.This has been an ongoing issue in the city since the cameras were first installed. Ticketing issues and glitches forced police to suspend the program back in May.

The tickets that were argued in court were from April before police shut off the cameras indefinitely.

What we don't know:

It's unclear if and when the cameras will be turned on and used to ticket people in the upcoming school year.

What they're saying:

The driver who won her case says police told her the cameras added speed together on commercial vehicles.

"They added our speed to another vehicle’s speed, so they dismissed the case. They didn’t have a case," said Christy South, who won her case.

Other drivers say the tickets can’t be trusted when the program was suspended and at least one ticket was so wrong.

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"They suspended the cameras, so how do you know if it was even working effectively then?," asked Paul Moss who had one ticket dismissed but one upheld.

"Them cameras are off. They’re not supposed to be on in Palm Bay. Yet, they’re still collecting $100," said driver Felix, who says his mom was driving at the time of the violation.

RedSpeed issues statement:

The company is standing behind their technology and issued a statement to FOX 35 after the magistrate's decision.

"At RedSpeed, we respect the legal process and the authority of magistrates to make decisions.

"Here are the facts:

"The speed detection device used in this case fully complies with all state standards. It is independently certified, undergoes rigorous testing for accuracy, and performs daily self-checks — shutting down automatically if any issue is detected.

"Every potential violation is reviewed not once, but twice, by RedSpeed professionals to ensure accuracy before it is forwarded to law enforcement for validation.

"In this instance, a sworn police officer independently reviewed the violation and the video of the speeding incident and determined that it warranted issuance of a violation. That officer’s expert judgment confirmed what our equipment recorded.

"In contrast, the speeder cited alleged data from an uncertified GPS device, which is not recognized as reliable evidence. In fact, law enforcement is prohibited from using these same GPS devices to issue citations because their accuracy cannot be verified or trusted. It is troubling that such evidence was accepted in this case while certified, corroborated data and video evidence was disregarded.

"As Florida’s leading provider of automated traffic safety photo enforcement solutions, we stand firmly behind the integrity of our process, our equipment, and the law enforcement professionals who rely on us to keep our roads safe."