Traffic ticket-fighter to launch class-action lawsuit challenging photo radar ticketing

A Winnipeg traffic ticket-fightersays he's making moves to launch a class-action lawsuit by the spring on behalf of all individuals who received tickets based on photo radar evidence.

Todd Dube, founder of ticket-fighting groupWise Up Winnipeg, said he hopes to file a statement of claim by the end of March, arguing photo radar evidence used to support the tickets is hearsay.

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"We would make one claim, in that all photo enforcement cases are not supported by proper evidence criteria," Dube said of the potential lawsuit.

"This program should have been challenged in this way years ago."

Last November, a Quebec judge ruled in favour of a driver who challenged a $1,160 ticket on the grounds information from a fixed photo radar machine is not enough to support a ticket.

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In his ruling, Justice of the Peace Serge Cimon called photo radar evidence "hearsay"because no officer directly witnessed the violation.

A Montreal man is currently seeking permission to launch a class-action lawsuit similar to the one Dube has planned.

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Legal action underway

Dube said he has already contacted legal counsel to prepare the action. They are still in the process of naming parties but he said the City of Winnipeg and the Province of Manitoba will both be listed as defendants.

Dube said Wise Up Winnipeg had previously considered a lawsuit challenging photo radar technology, but the Quebec decision "compelled us to put it at the top of our list of things to do."

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"We always thought it was most appropriate for this challenge to happen in Manitoba,"Dubesaid, citing the age and size of Winnipeg's photo radar program, which was introduced in pilot form in 2001 and formally rolled out in 2003.

Dubeand Wise Up Winnipeghavealso criticized the city'sKnow Your Zone program and school zone speed limits.

Impact on tickets

The Quebec case applies specifically to intersection cameras, but Dube argues the logic can be applied to the mobile units, too.

He argues the operators in mobile units can't know for sure if their equipment is working and he doesn't think they always see the vehicles as they pass.

Dube said that if the lawsuit is successful, millions of dollars worth of traffic tickets might be thrown into question.

TheCity of Winnipeg has safety cameras stationed at around 50 intersections across the city in addition to 10 mobile units armed with photo radar equipment.

According to statistics on the Winnipeg Police Service website, the city's 10 mobile units issued more than 108,000 tickets in 2015. In thatsame year, intersection cameras captured more than 38,000 offences.