Three thousand motorists who were victims of a miscalibrated speed camera in the town of Lausanne, Switzerland were issued full refunds along with a letter of apology on Wednesday. The photo radar device, which had been located at the intersection of Bethusy and Victor-Ruffy Avenues, accused drivers who were not speeding of exceeding the 50 km/h (31 MPH) limit during a four-month period between November 20, 2008 and February 13, 2009.

After innocent motorists began complaining to the local media, police began to look into whether the automated ticketing machine may have malfunctioned. The investigation concluded that a manufacturer's defect had caused a "technical problem" forcing the detected speeds to read high.

"After checks were carried out by the manufacturer and confirmed by the Federal Office of Metrology (METAS), it appears that a defective electronic component distorted the reality of the measurements, creating violations that did not exist," a Lausanne Police press release stated.

Despite the false readings, the device had passed all of the standard calibration and approval tests required for issuing citations. Police insisted all other speed cameras in the area were perfectly accurate and that a new test would be performed to ensure this error does not return.

The problem with the Swiss camera is not unique. Throughout the world, officials have been forced to refund tens of thousands of speed camera tickets issued to innocent motorists.