ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A man who commutes to Rochester for work said he received a bus stop camera ticket in March for a violation he says he did not commit. Even after submitting evidence, he was still instructed to appear in court.
Curtis Pound’s ticket was eventually voided after News10NBC launched an investigation.
What the Video Shows
Pound told Kristi Blake that the ticket included video footage clearly showing a different vehicle passing a stopped school bus on North Clinton Avenue. He said his SUV has a luggage rack that appears in other frames, proving it was not the vehicle that committed the violation.
The footage shows Pound’s SUV passing the bus while it is still moving. At that point, the stop arm has not extended and the warning lights have not been activated.
“That’s not my car,” Pound said. “Luckily, I have the luggage rack because otherwise it would be hard to tell. But when you stop it, you can see my luggage rack is on the car.”
The Monroe County Bus Patrol Coordinator reviewed the footage and determined that Pound had received the violation by mistake. After contacting the city, officials voided the ticket and canceled his scheduled court appearance.
Pound said he likely would have paid the ticket if the video evidence had not been available. He also questioned how the automated system matched his license plate to the violation when his vehicle had already passed the bus before the stop arm extended and the warning lights activated.
The Numbers
As of mid-June, Monroe County said technicians had reviewed 35,579 citations and issued 19,031 tickets through the county’s bus stop camera program. In the city of Rochester, technicians reviewed 46,199 citations, resulting in 21,216 tickets.
Pound said he mailed a response explaining the mistake and included proof that he had purchased a luggage rack. Despite that, he said he never heard back and instead received a notice with a court date.
Communication
Pound said he called the phone number listed on the notice, but the automated system only gave him the option to pay the fine. He said there was no way to speak with a representative or dispute the ticket over the phone.
“The only thing that this phone number allows you to do is pay the bill,” Pound said. “You can’t talk to anybody.”
“I agree with the program”
Pound said he supports the bus stop camera program because it helps protect children. He said the driver who actually committed the violation should face the penalty. His concern, he said, is not with the program itself but with the process for challenging tickets. He noted that his court appearance was scheduled for a Tuesday at 8:30 a.m., making it difficult for working people to attend.
“I believe in the program,” Pound said. “I just think that if they’re going to have the program and if there are times when there are issues, as with all programs, there should be a way to grievance without you having to go in person.”
“You have to go downtown in person to basically contest this,” Pound said. “I think that’s burdensome for all people, especially working people that may not have the time to be able to do that or the flexibility.”
Price Tag
The fine is $250 and does not add any points to a driver’s license. Pound said some people may choose to pay the ticket instead of taking time off work to fight it.
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