CITY drivers have been reassured that speed cameras are working properly after admitting an "error" led to a ticket being handed out wrongly for speeding.
A driver was handed a speeding ticket after it was wrongly claimed his vehicle was travelling at 57mph on a 30mph city centre street.
West Mercia Police's Road Safety Team said no action was taken against the driver who had received a letter for speeding in the 30mph zone of Tybridge Street.
They claimed it was a "processing error" and the ticket was withdrawn.
The driver, who did not wish to be named, told the Worcester News he had received a ticket for travelling at 57mph in a 30mph zone.
However, the van he was driving had equipment installed in it which was able to prove he was in fact going at 27mph.
The driver told us the cameras were "not fit for purpose" adding he wondered if others had paid fines for speeding when they were driving at or below 30mph.
A statement from the team said: "Radar speedmeters, like the one on Tybridge Street, are approved for use in the UK when they have a second method of calculating the speed of the vehicle that is the subject of the radar.
"It is well known that radar can be reflected from flat reflectors and on some occasions, the radar may show a higher speed than the vehicle is driven at on the occasion of the measurement.
"A second check using the distance between two photographs is used to check for speeds that are distorted by reflections; this is compulsory for approved speedmeters of this type.
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"On this occasion, this human check did not detect the reflected reading before the incident was processed.
"This is a rare, but not impossible, processing error.
"There is no fault with the speedmeter on Tybridge Street or with any similar device. The device remains approved for use and remains operational.
"Please observe the speed limits and drive safely.
"We thank the driver for raising this issue with us and that he was driving lawfully at the time.
"We apologise for any anxiety this may have caused the driver."
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