The city of Tuskegee in Alabama recently made a decision to refund hundreds of local drivers who paid fines resulting from speeding cameras installed by a German company called Jenoptik. The mayor of Tuskegee, Lawrence Haygood, confirmed that all drivers who were fined by these cameras would receive full refunds. The installation of these speeding cameras by Jenoptik took place in January, but complications with the program led to its suspension and the decision to reimburse the fines.
Mayor Haygood stated that the city chose to halt the program due to various issues with the implementation of the camera ticket system, as advised by legal counsel. Despite the intentions behind the installation of the cameras being to address speeding issues in the city, the program faced challenges that were not fully anticipated at the beginning.
A lawsuit was filed by eight Tuskegee drivers a few months after the cameras were set up, claiming that the cameras inaccurately identified speeding vehicles and charged $25 for appealing a traffic ticket in court. The lawsuit argued that these issues violated the right to due process as outlined in the state constitution. Mayor Haygood clarified that the decision to refund the fines was made independently of the lawsuit.
While the original purpose of installing the cameras was to address speeding concerns, Mayor Haygood emphasized that the tickets were not intended to serve as a revenue source, which would have been unlawful under a state law implemented in 2022. Jenoptik, the company responsible for the road safety technology installed in numerous countries worldwide, including the US, will share the responsibility with the city of Tuskegee for issuing the refunds to the affected drivers.
