Alexandria Refunding Thousands of Speeding Tickets After Faulty Speedometer Testing
Alexandria, VA – Ever gotten a speeding ticket that wasn’t your fault? Sure, sure, we believe you, but actually – looks like some drivers who got speeding tickets can get refunds because the Alexandria Police Department was testing speeds using police speedometers that “were not sufficiently tested,” according to a city news release.
“We recognize the burden placed on those affected, and we have taken significant proactive steps to restore public confidence and prevent future errors,” City Manager Mark Jinks said in a statement. “Our community and our police officers should be able to expect that speeding tickets are based on properly tested equipment, and we sincerely regret that the City did not meet that expectation in certain cases.”
All eligible drivers were sent letters on Oct. 2, and can get their refunds by March 15, 2020, at alexandriava.gov/SpeedingTickets. The problem was discovered in Oct. 2017, when a city supervisor found speedometer tests were “not properly conducted,” according to the city. In January, Jinks ordered an investigation, which revealed that from March 2016 to May 2019 inconsistent test standards were not applied on equipment throughout the department.
Alexandria identified 2,169 speeding tickets out of 19,658 issued from March 2016 to May 2019 that were connected to the bad tests. Additionally, the Department of Motor Vehicles is working to eliminate lost demerit points and driving record notations.
All police speedometers will now undergo a regular review process.
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