Amnesty has been declared for school-zone speed camera tickets issued in Nassau County this summer—meaning ticket recipients can rip their citations up and anyone who paid a fine will be refunded.
The move comes amid widely reported mounting driver complaints that the public was unable to tell whether summer school was in session at schools where the dozens of new speed cameras were deployed earlier this year under the new program.
“As a matter of fairness, County Executive Mangano has declared amnesty for all summer school speed camera tickets,” his spokeswoman, Katie Grilli-Robles, told the Press on Friday. “If you paid your ticket, you will be issued a refund from the county comptroller. If you have not paid yet, have fun ripping up your ticket!”
New York State had authorized Nassau to install 56 cameras this spring, but so far only 33 have been deployed. Suffolk County was also approved to install 69 speed cameras in school zones, but those cameras are not expected to be installed until early next year.
Shortly after gaining state approval, Nassau amended its red light camera contract with American Traffic Solutions (ATS) to have the Arizona-based company run the speed camera program as well. ATS is also lobbying state lawmakers to approve school bus stop arm cameras, as the Press exclusively reported.
Officials say about 40,000 school-zone speeding tickets were issued this summer for a total of $2.4 million. Fines issued by the speed cameras are $50 each, plus fees.
How soon the refunds will be issued was not immediately clear. A spokesman for County Comptroller George Maragos said his office is awaiting the list of those that will be receiving a refund for review before repayment is done by the county treasurer’s office.
Drivers caught on camera speeding more than 10 mph in a 25-mph school zone will not be so lucky once school starts Sept. 2.
