Almost 2000 speeding tickets cancelled after glitch

1778 people had been contacted by police as soon as the error was brought to police attention early this month. Photo / Steven McNicholl

Almost 2000 speeding tickets handed out to Wellington drivers have been cancelled after a glitch with the camera, police say.

Police announced the decision this morning, after it came to light that 1778 tickets had been affected by the malfunction on the Ngauranga Gorge speed camera.

The glitch was caused by Daylight Saving, police said.

All the infringement notices affected by the glitch have been voided, and anyone who has already paid the fine will be refunded.

Road policing head Assistant Commissioner Dave Cliff said all 1778 people had been contacted by police as soon as the error was brought to police attention early this month.

To date, 473 people had paid in error, and they would be refunded, he said.

"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 Ngauranga Gorge camera automatically reverted back to old Daylight Saving hours after Daylight Saving ended, despite initially correctly updating itself to standard daylight hours, police said.

That meant a number of infringements were issued with the old, incorrect Daylight Saving time, which differed by an hour.

The glitch has now been fixed, and checks across the speed camera network had shown that no other police cameras had been affected by the malfunction.

The total face value of the infringements was $151,880, with the vast majority of the fines for speeds ranging from 4km/h to 20km/h over the limit, which attracted fines ranging from $30 to $120, Mr Cliff said.

The glitch affected camera notices issued between April 5 and May 8, he said.

"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."

Anyone with a question about an infringement notice issued during the specified period is advised to contact the police infringement bureau.