News10NBC Investigates: Discrepancies in photos and late notices lead to dismissals of DOT speeding tickets on I-490 in Rochester court
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The first of 25,000 drivers who received a New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) speeding ticket had their day in court. The state’s work zone photo radar caught 25,000 drivers in 24 days on I-490 downtown, averaging more than 1,000 a day. The statewide average is 182 a day.
The main argument from drivers is that there was no posted 40-mile-per-hour speed limit sign at the work zone. For many drivers entering 490 east downtown, the first posted speed limit sign says 55 miles per hour.
“I’ve had a clean record for 30 years,” said Kevin Gee.
He got six DOT speeding tickets in the fall. His case was postponed because the court didn’t have the paperwork for all six tickets.
Reggie Dyche was clocked at 55 mph. The court didn’t buy his argument that there was no 40 mph sign, nor did it accept the same argument from Sam Falotico, although it dismissed one of his three tickets.
“When you see a work zone you slow down,” Judge LaMarr Jackson told Falotico.
News10NBC Chief Investigative Reporter Berkeley Brean asked Falotico how he felt after the ruling. “Not that great, honestly,” Falotico responded.
As the cases were called, the court started to side with the drivers.
The court dismissed one of Ibrahima Kourouma’s two tickets where he was caught going 57 miles an hour. It got rid of both tickets for Ed Mattson, clocked at 53 miles an hour, because he didn’t get the notice within 14 days and the photo evidence didn’t match the video in his case.
David Chapus was ticketed for going 52 miles an hour. He hoped the judge would see it his way and dismiss the charges, which is what happened. The photos didn’t match, and one of his two tickets was dismissed.
“I’m still waiting on another one so we’ll see how that turns out, but I’m happy the system worked today and that the judge dismissed the case,” Chapus said.
Ken Andrews received four tickets and was clocked at 53 and 60 mph. By the time his case was called, the court started to believe there was no 40 mph sign.
“There is discrepancy with the photos and the video,” Judge Jackson said. “They’re not even close.”
That, along with late notices, got all four of Andrews’ tickets thrown out.
Berkeley Brean, News10NBC: “The court just said you hit the jackpot.
Ken Andrews: “I hit the jackpot. All four dismissed.”
Brean: “There will be more drivers coming. What would you suggest they prepare for?”
Andrews: “Be mindful of the photographs and make sure they match what the video shows.”
There will be court cases like this every second Wednesday because there are more than 300 cases in the city from those tickets downtown. If you are attending, pay attention to two things: Make sure you have a clear explanation that you didn’t see the 40 mph speed sign or that there wasn’t one, and check to see how long it took for you to get that ticket. If it’s beyond 14 days from the time the ticket was issued, the court has a record of dismissing those because they didn’t arrive in a timely fashion.
Even if a ticket wasn’t dismissed, the court waived all the late fees. To watch all of News10NBC’s reporting on these tickets that led to this day in court, visit WHEC.com and find them under the “Investigates” tab.
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