In Almaty, the Sergek automatic enforcement system mistakenly recognised the registration number of a BMW car as a bus number. The car's owner, Sanzhar Narubayev, reported four fines for driving in the bus lane. After the situation was publicised, the police confirmed the recognition error.
WHY THE DRIVER WAS RECEIVING FINES
A resident of Almaty said on Instagram that he had already received four fines for driving in the bus lane. The latest notice, according to him, arrived on 28 October.
Narubayev claims that the photos and videos from the cameras show a bus, not his BMW. The man attributes the error to the similarity between the registration plates of the two vehicles.
WHAT THE DRIVER DEMANDED
Because of the erroneous orders, the Almaty resident has to spend time contacting the police and appealing the fines. He stated that he does not consider changing the registration plate to be a solution to the problem, and called on those responsible for the system's operation to ensure accurate recognition of plates.
In the post, Narubayev also said that at the administrative police department he saw other drivers who had come to sort out enforcement for not wearing a seatbelt.
HOW ALMATY POLICE RESPONDED
The Almaty City Police Department (DP) confirmed that the order in respect of the BMW had been registered erroneously due to incorrect recognition of the state registration plate.
The department said the order had been terminated due to the absence of an administrative offence, on the basis of Article 741 of the Administrative Offences Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan ("Circumstances precluding proceedings in an administrative offence case").
CONTEXT
In July, a driver from Almaty said that he had received a fine for using a mobile phone while driving. According to him, the camera recorded the moment he held his hand to his ear, but he claims there was no phone in his hand.
At the time, the Almaty City Police Department noted that the violation enforcement system operates automatically, so errors cannot be ruled out. If a check confirms that the order was issued erroneously, officers will make the appropriate corrections.
