[MADN3SS]

Scottsdale, Arizona Refunds Nearly 2000 Photo Tickets
Nearly $175,000 in bogus speed camera tickets in Scottsdale, Arizona will be refunded or canceled.

The city of Scottsdale, Arizona is being forced to refund nearly two thousand photo radar tickets that were improperly issued over a period of more than three months. The city has been busy preparing to expand its photo radar program by installing fixed speed cameras on the Loop 101 freeway. Last year, the city issued $9.3 million in photo tickets causing a near doubling in the city's fatality rate.

The latest setback to the city's plans began on July 28, when a mobile speed camera van operator for Australian contractor Redflex Traffic Systems made a change in the software that removed date, time and speed information from every alleged violation issued from that device. Over the course of fourteen weeks, no police officer or Redflex employee verified that the required information was actually present in any of the 1964 citations mailed out. The problem was not discovered until November 7.

So far, 580 refunds worth $51,000 have been processed and Redflex has paid back $33,548, its cut of the camera profit. Redflex will also refund the cost of traffic school for those who have paid to attend as a result of a faulty ticket.

Source: Photo mix-up gets drivers city refunds (Arizona Republic, 12/31/2005)