by Joshua Curtis
Daily Lobo
Student Chris Torres had three $150 speeding tickets mailed to him in about a week.
Torres can't appeal the tickets, he said.
"I called APD, and they said all I could do is pay them," he said.
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Torres was ticketed all three times by an automated camera system, which takes pictures of speeding vehicles and their license plates.
John Walsh, Albuquerque Police Department spokesman, said the cameras are reliable and accurate.
The first cameras were installed in 2004, but they only cited people for running red lights, Walsh said.
The police began using the cameras to issue speeding tickets in 2005, he said.
The cameras use the same technology that an officer does, whether by radar or measuring distance over time, he said.
There are seven intersections that have cameras for drivers who run red lights. Five of those also check for speed.
The cameras are concentrated around Montgomery Boulevard, he said.
The cameras have issued about 31,000 citations in the past 16 months, Walsh said. At an average fine of $100, $3.1 million in tickets have been issued.
Walsh said it costs about $30,000 to install the cameras at an intersection.
Torres said he was concerned about what the money collected from tickets is being used for.
"I think that Albuquerque should inform the public about what they are doing, what the money is going toward - why don't they just use police?" Torres said. "Are the police being used for something else? Are we going to see any benefits from this money?"
Torres said he would not have sped in the same area if an officer had pulled him over. He said he didn't stop speeding in that area until he received the tickets in the mail.
Walsh said the police plan to have 20 intersections equipped with cameras by the end of the year. The cameras are contracted to a company, Redflex Holdings, which collects a flat fee for operating the system, Walsh said.
Representatives from the police department review the tickets, Walsh said.
"When I mail in my check, I mail it to Oregon," Torres said. "It's not the city that's doing it. It's a company, which is pretty weird."
Student Alexia Seebeck said she was cited by an officer and received a ticket from a camera in the mail a day later.
Seebeck was charged twice for committing the same offense, 47 mph in a 35-mph zone, she said.
The speeding fines range from $100 to $400 plus a $59 fee depending on how many miles over the speed limit a driver is, according to the city of Albuquerque's Web site.
"I totally forgot that they were taking pictures for speed," she said.
She said the delay from when a citation is given and when it reaches you is unfair.
"I think it was a good idea when it was just for red lights," she said. "But when it's for speeding - if I would have gotten a ticket from a cop, there is no way I would speed there again."
The citation from a camera is a civil violation, while one from an
officer is a criminal violation, said Greg Wheeler, assistant city attorney.
Speeding can be classified as a public nuisance civil charge in the court, which is legal because of case precedent, Wheeler said.
Wheeler said the tickets from the cameras do not go on drivers' records.
The revenue from the cameras can only be applied to public safety purposes, Walsh said. The police department is purchasing more cameras with the revenue, he said.
