Police is cancelling 1778 notices issued by its Ngauranga Gorge speed camera in Wellington following a temporary technical glitch caused by changes to daylight saving hours.
Assistant Commissioner Road Policing, Dave Cliff, said all 1778 people affected were contacted proactively by Police as soon as the error was brought to Police attention in early May and advised their notice would be cancelled. Anyone who has already paid an infringement will get their money back. To date, 473 people have paid in error and will be refunded.
"It's a priority for Police that all the notices we issue are fair, accurate and correct, therefore it was an easy decision for us to waive these notices and refund anyone who has already paid."
The issue arose when the Ngauranga camera automatically reverted back to old daylight saving hours after daylight saving ended, despite initially correctly updating itself to standard daylight hours. This meant a number of infringements were issued with the old, incorrect daylight saving time which differed by an hour.
The issue has since been rectified and detailed checks have shown that no other Police cameras were affected.
Mr Cliff says the glitch affected camera notices issued between 5 April and 8 May. The total face value of the infringements is $151,880, with the vast majority of the fines for speeds ranging from 4km/h–20km/h over the limit, which attract fines ranging from $30–$120. Police does not retain any of the money collected from speed camera fines.
"As soon as Police became aware of the problem, we've advised those affected and fixed it. We've also moved to refund anyone who paid a fine after being ticketed incorrectly. In addition to a thorough assessment by the camera manufacturers, a process is also in place to ensure notices issued are monitored on a daily basis so that any future issues are identified as quickly as possible."
Mr Cliff said road users could be reassured that all Police speed detection equipment, including cameras, radars and lasers, was tested and calibrated to the highest international standards.
Anyone with a question about an infringement issued during the period should contact the Police Infringement Bureau where it would be assessed.
ENDS
Media contact: Police media pager, ph 026 101 082.