Should I get a mic?
To the editor:
Perhaps you feel that if you have no kids that go to school or you never drive in school zone this issue does not concern you, but trust me, this is about how the city is very talented at squeezing dollars from us in petty ways (that amount to a generous profit) all in the name of our children or whatever other good cause.
The city hired a company that installed cameras in school zones. Many of us, parents that drive every day to and fro in those areas got ticketed along with other casual drivers. Some paid, even if they did not agree with the ticket(s). Especially because if you lose the dispute you will pay your fine plus $200 extra, Some received multiple tickets and got most of them dismissed without a hearing, evidencing that the cameras and the testing in use are fallible.
The city presented videos, numbers and test results. All very impressive and hard to argue with because the way that the calibrating and testing work is unknown even to the city lawyer who was present.
Some cases had wrong date, time, speed, and some of the videos were transparently showing the cars going very slow and following the speed limit.
But how do you prove that you are not speeding? If you articulate inconsistencies related to the speed, timing and distance recorded in the video of your case, they want you to provide evidence. Would you hire a land surveyor? Are you hiring a lawyer just to prove the you are right? If you lose you will pay more money than what you were fined for. You are punished for disputing.
Which brings me to the conclusion that this battle is lost. We have no one to back us up. The city share for the tickets is more than $500,000 in a few months. The city has the judge to defend its interests along with the hired lawyer who is also backed up by the city judge.
First thing I noticed arriving at the hearing room was that the city staff had a mic but the defendants did not. The judge kept saying “Please speak louder, I can’t hear you.”
I pay taxes to be served, not to be bullied.
Wendy Cherenek
Cape Coral