Maybe I should have smiled for the southbound speed camera on North Albany Road on June 10.
Believe it or not, the North Albany speed cameras have provided fodder for yet another story, and this one has a satisfactory ending.
The story starts with my wife and I driving to town on the afternoon of Wednesday, June 10, the next to last day of the school year in Albany.
The school zone warning lights on North Albany Road are not flashing. But as we go through the intersection of Thornton Lake Drive, the camera’s strobe light goes off.
That’s weird, I think. It’s not supposed to go off when the flashing lights are not operating.
Then I forget about it. Until Thursday.
The mail brings a ticket from the Albany Municipal Court: $165 for driving 33 miles per hour at 1:42 p.m. on June 10. The citation claims the speed limit was 20 mph. When the flashing lights are not on, the posted speed is 40 mph.
I’m reasonably sure the ticket is a mistake, and I contact Albany Police Chief Marcia Harnden, who has always been helpful with information about the photo enforcement program the city council approved in 2023.
Let her take the story from here, in the form of an email from the chief:
“Thank you so much for your patience while I looked into this matter. I wanted to share what I’ve learned regarding the speeding tickets issued on North Albany Road on June 10th. Due to a change in the [school] district calendar, there was a misalignment between the adjustment of the flashing lights and the enforcement period. As a result, we are dismissing all tickets issued on that day for speeding violations.
“Here’s how we arrived at this decision: During the school year, GAPS made a schedule change for that date, which is typically an early dismissal day. Unfortunately, we received late notice of this change. While the city was able to adjust the school zone lights, Verra Mobility [the camera system vendor] was not able to update the enforcement timing quickly enough. We have already contacted the court and requested that all tickets be dismissed, impacting a total of 82 citations. We are posting this same information to our social media accounts.
“In your specific case, I recommend confirming with the court next week that your ticket has been dismissed. If you have any questions or need further clarification, please feel free to reach out.
“One other driver called us today. And looking at the amount of tickets that came in a specific time we knew something was off. When we looked at the videos, we confirmed that the timings were misaligned, so it’s just best to dismiss all the tickets.”
So, as I said, all is well that ends well.
That’s my aging Civic right in the middle of the intersection, as photographed by the camera system on North Albany Road and Thornton Lake Drive.
10 and 2 on the wheel! Great form Hasso.
AARP Driver Safety Class now teaches that 4 and 8 are the safest positions for hands on the steering wheel. 10 and 2 can cause injury in a car crash to the arms and shoulders..
Oh, good … no matter how hard I’ve tried to stay at 10 and 2, they’ve always ended up at 4 and 8.
Your 2013 Honda is not old in my book! My Honda is a 2004….oldest car I have ever had. These are not the former times we lived in when pretty much anyone could trade in a car and make the payments on a new one. Those former times started with a bubble of prosperity after World War II. My Dad said those times would end, and he was right.
I still have my ’97 Nissan pickup. Bought it brand new with 27 miles. Now it has 366k and going strong.
I bought my Nissan pickup in the summer of 92. It’s a keeper!
Sounds as though a Media Influencer was manipulating a long time “special” relationship with the Cop Shop in order to avoid behavioral consequences.
You’re right. Not many of us can phone the Chief of Police when we get a ticket. But, Hasso can.
“Behavioral consequences”? What behavior? I would not consider driving 33 mph in a 40 mph zone a behavior that should entail consequences.
I, for one, think you are right, Hasso. There’s nothing wrong with driving 33 miles an hour in a 40 mile-an-hour zone. But, many of your blog commenters want those of us who do not drive at least 10 miles over the speed limit banned from the roads!! (I would just take the “with” out of the sentence and type something like: Here’s the story: My wife and I were driving to town, etc., etc.)
Great clarity from the camera. Now about those Bigfoot videos . . .
I was under the impression that ALL photos were reviewed by an officer before issuance. From this information it would seem that someone was not very attentive to the task or the program does not provide date and time.
Any explanation as to this question?
Evidently, the officer who reviewed this ticket was unaware that the 20 mph school zone speed limit was not in effect at the time.
There’s a lot of people getting tickets by Petco in Albany and I know I wasn’t going over the speed limit but the judge doesn’t listen to anyone
You are absolutely right. I went to traffic court and contested a ticket issued by the only camera Albany had at the time….the one at Queen and Geary. The officer showed the camera footage, and the Judge actually exclaimed “the light is green,” when he saw my vehicle entering the right turn on red in the camera footage. But, the judge still found me guilty, and it cost me $220. The judge would not go against the opinion of the officer who reviews the film and issues the tickets. They are all in cahoots!!! That is, the city is crooked.
I concoure with you !!
Hopefully they revise your ticket to driving 7 under the posted speed limit and impeding the flow of traffic.
Maybe a formal letter of apology would be in order for undue stress and incovenience.
There maybe a lawsuit in there somewhere
Hasso, please forgive this excursion into grammar but … I would have started your second paragraph like this: The story starts with my wife and ME driving to town … That’s because of the preposition “With” with object(s) “Wife and Me.”
More to the point: I’d say justice was done re the tickets!
Bill
You are absolutely right on both points, the grammar and justice.
This all would have been avoided if you’d only been riding your bicycle.