CAPE CORAL, Fla. — A Cape Coral family is challenging a school zone speeding ticket, because they say the warning lights weren't working when they received the citation.
Fox 4's Bella Line shows us the video the family got of the lights not flashing when they should be:
Carolyn Hofacker got a ticket for driving 38 mph in a school zone near Cape Coral Christian School. She recorded video that shows the warning lights were not flashing at 7:51 AM on a Friday.
"It does say 20 miles an hour, when flashing. So, I don't feel like I should keep paying tickets when they're not flashing," Hofacker said.
The school zone sign indicates a 20 mph speed limit from 7:30 to 8:15 a.m., but Hofacker's video shows the warning lights were not working at that time.
The Cape Coral Police Department responded in a statement: "There are signs posted that dictate times that the school zones are active. Even in the rare cases that the lights are not working, the signs reinforce the times the school zones are active."
Hofacker's husband Brad argues that drivers depend on the flashing lights as their primary indicator.
"I'm not looking at times, you're counting on them flashing," Brad Hofacker said.
According to the city's annual school zone speed enforcement report, that particular camera on Santa Barbara Blvd. issued more tickets than any other location in Cape Coral, generating 1,877 citations in just three months.
The experience has changed how Carolyn drives through the area.
"I have these people cutting me off, giving me terrible signs, yelling at me, honking at me, but I've gotten two speeding tickets already, and I don't want a third," Hofacker said.
Police say drivers who notice non-functioning lights during school zone hours should contact the Florida Department of Transportation or the Lee County Department of Transportation.
Lee County officials confirmed that technicians are investigating the lights and will repair them if necessary.
Hofacker plans to contest the ticket in court.
"They don't always work. Please get them fixed," she said.
For more information on the RedSpeed cameras, click here.
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