Providence — A Rhode Island court was flooded with people contesting speeding tickets on Monday after a new school zone speed camera programme resulted in 12 000 tickets in 33 days.
WPRI-TV reports more than 2 600 tickets were on the docket at Providence Municipal Court, which usually has about 300 people on the daily docket. The courtroom holds 90 people.
A court spokesperson said not everyone is expected to show up, although hundreds of people did. They filled the waiting areas outside the courtroom at the Providence Public Safety Complex and snaked out the door and around the building on Monday morning to get into court.
Municipal Court Judge Frank Caprio, who presided over a morning session, dismissed many of the tickets because of errors, according to The Providence Journal. The errors included different notices with conflicting information, such as one notice saying the posted speed limit was 30mph and another saying it was 20mph.
"The City has to get it right the first time," Caprio said.
The station reported last week that the city issued 12 193 tickets between January 16 and February 22 from five new speed cameras. The tickets cost $95 each and can be issued when a vehicle is caught traveling at least 11mph over the posted speed limit at certain times.
