Over 1,800 fines revoked due to uncertified speed camera in Co Mayo

Over 1,800 speeding fines are to be revoked, including 923 paid fines, due to an uncertified speed camera in Co Mayo, Gardai have said.

On Friday, gardai began writing to motorists to inform them that fines and penalty points issued to them for speeding offences on the N17 near Claremorris are being withdrawn.

There were 1,871 speeding fixed charge notices detected by the N17 static speed safety camera system between December 20 last year and February 12.

Of the 1,871 fixed charge notices issued, 800 notices were paid and penalty points applied.

A further 123 were paid but penalty points were not applied as the error was identified in time.

Of the remaining 948 notices that were issued, no payment was made prior to the error being identified.

Safety camera provider GoSafe identified an issue on February 12 and said the static speed camera on the N17 was “fully functional and accurately identifying offences, but not certified”.

It said the certification for the radar component of the camera had expired.

The issue arose because a camera was found to have a faulty focus mechanism during testing and was replaced with a new camera, which did not have a valid certificate of calibration.

Once this issue was identified, the camera was certified on February 13 and has been operational since February 14.

More than 230 speeding fines issued from the speed safety camera system on the N17 since February 14 are valid.

Gardai said all certificates of calibration for cameras used at average speed and static locations and in safety camera vans are valid.

An Garda Siochana said it would now request proof of camera calibration certification when cameras are installed and/or changed, rather than at prosecution stage.

It also said GoSafe has also put in place measures to prevent it happening again, including weekly confirmation of certification status of all speed safety cameras.

Chief Superintendent Jane Humphries said the error was “very much regretted”.

She added: “An Garda Siochana is committed to reducing road deaths and serious injuries through enforcement of speeding via a variety of speed safety cameras.

“The level of speeding breaches issued since the camera went operational on December 20, 2024 demonstrates the continued need for all motorists using this road to slow down.”

A spokesperson for GoSafe said it was “committed to maintaining the highest standards of quality and safety”.

They added: “During a routine quality assurance check, we identified that the calibration certificate for radar components in a static speed camera on the N17 in Mayo had expired.

“The accuracy and validity of the camera system was not affected at any time and all speeding offences were correctly identified.

“However, it is standard procedure that all cameras used for speeding detection have valid calibration certificates. The radar component of the camera in question has since been recertified and cleared without issue.

“Following a thorough internal review, we have confirmed to An Garda Siochana that all other static, mobile, and average speed enforcement cameras are fully certified. To prevent a recurrence, we have implemented enhanced safeguards within our quality assurance processes.

“We remain steadfast in our dedication to supporting An Garda Siochana and all other road safety stakeholders with reliable, rigorously tested technology that ensures public trust in road safety measures.”

An Garda Siochana said it had informed the departments of Justice and Transport, the Policing Authority, the Road Safety Authority, and the Safety Camera Board of the matter.

Impacted motorists are being told they do not need to do anything, but if they have concerns they can ring the FCN Help Desk at 0818 50 60 80.