Study says 80 percent of German speed traps flawed

The study, which surveyed 1,810 speeding cases over two years, found that more than 80 percent exhibited some kind of error. In five percent of cases, the mistakes were so serious that no fine should have been issued in the first place, the organisation said.

Using video, radar and laser pistols to check speed measurements, investigators found errors ranging from incomplete case files to incorrect equipment installation and even fining the wrong for speeding. Just 15 percent of cases had no errors at all.

“These figures are terribly high,” AvD transportation law expert Dorothee Lamberty said in a statement, adding that “a standardised measuring system exists only when the measurement device has been … installed according to the manufacturer’s instructions and calibrated.”

Often officials place too much trust in the technology and overlook whether measurement requirements have been met, according to the AvD. The group argued that more training is needed to make those working on speeding cases more “sensitive” to potential pitfalls.

Motorists won’t truly accept speed traps until they can verify that their fines were correctly calculated, the AvD said.