In collaboration with Zapp Legal
Sometimes the way is just as important as the result.
This was the case with a man who was convicted three times of speeding offenses according to which it was claimed that he drove at a speed of 100 km/h and 120 km/h on a road where the permitted speed limit is only 90 km/h.
The driver decided to fight for his innocence and attacked the reliability of the speed camera system of the Israel Police known as "A3".
Due to the importance of the method and its implications for all the speed reports in Israel that are given using cameras, a convoy of experts from Israel and abroad appeared in court who tried, and failed, to prove the reliability of the method.
The case was handled on behalf of the defense by attorney Tomer Gonen, during which, among other things, the opinion of the manufacturer's representative, the head of the automotive engineering laboratory at the Technion, the head of the compatibility and electro-magnetics branch at the Standards Institute, and other opinions of engineers and computer specialists were heard. The manufacturer's representative also came from the Netherlands At the height of the corona epidemic in order to convince the court that the system is reliable.
Thousands of pages of exhibits and thick binders, some translated from Dutch, were presented to the court.
Despite this and despite the fact that the court conducted no less than 19 evidentiary hearings, including the judges' visit to the site where the system was installed as well as to the command and control center of Unit A3 in the Israel Police, the court was not convinced that the system was reliable beyond any reasonable doubt.
The expert from the Technion convinced the court
In the end, it was the opinion of an expert from the Technion Automotive Engineering Laboratory, who convinced the court of the reliability of the system.
The same expert performed an experiment, a sort of field test that included over 700 measurements using other measuring devices that work with completely different methods.
One of them uses at least seven different satellites and is considered very reliable.
The experiment proved unequivocally that the A3 system reached the same results as the results reached by the other measurement systems.
At the same time, the judgment included a list of comments for improvement and recommendations of the court to the Israel Police in relation to the phase of establishing the system, its operation and maintenance.
Although the result was not what the driver had hoped for, the in-depth investigation that was done is of the utmost importance, and the court addressed this and praised his defense team.
According to him, "the defendant's attorney, who deserves all praise for his professional and matter-of-fact conduct in this case, left no stone unturned and interrogated every witness through complex cross-examinations."
Lawyer Michael Decker, photo: Shiri Decker - Israel Hayom
The speed cameras are still under
court test
But a case that was conducted several years ago in a traffic court in Acre and dealt with the exact same cameras (A3) ended with a completely different result.
In that case, a number of drivers who received speeding reports as a result of the recording of these cameras joined together and claimed that their reliability had not been proven.
A similar case is still pending in the traffic court in Ashdod, but a decision has not yet been made.
In this case, which is also managed by Attorney Tomer Gonen, it is claimed that not all the questions were asked and that the defense has additional exhibits to present, and therefore there is room for cautious optimism.
The police were helped by the testimony of Ilan Carmit, a former senior official at the Standards Institute, who initially said that he was present at the experiments conducted for cameras abroad in order to prove the reliability of the results they provide. However, later in the trial, Carmit admitted that he was not present at all the experiments as he initially testified.
The court had no choice but to state that the state did not prove the correctness of the device and therefore the drivers who were party to that procedure were acquitted of the offenses attributed to them in the indictment.
The public importance of this test is great.
The public must believe that an automatic system, which is a main tool in considering the registration of police fines and operates without human contact, should be very reliable and accurate.
Hence, the inspection procedure carried out is an important public service that proves why there is a need for optimal legal representation in the field of traffic law.
Our office will continue to act for the public in general, and for the public of our clients in particular with updates and innovations in the field of traffic.
The law firm of Dekar
,
Fax
,
Ofir & Co.
specializes
in
traffic law
,
torts
,
labor law
,
visas for foreign workers in Israel
,
relocation and other areas
.
For more details and to contact us, you can contact us
here
or by phone at
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In collaboration with Zapp Legal
