Camera Programs Swarm to Oppose Reform

A Maryland state senate committee hearing was held on three speed camera bills on  Wednesday February 20th.  The bills were prompted by admissions from Baltimore City and Xerox Corp that their speed camera program had systematically issued erroneous citations to hundreds of innocent motorists.  Representatives from speed camera programs as well as camera company lobbyists were sent to oppose reform of the state's speed camera law designed to protect the innocent.

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Rockville's Million Dollar Right Turn Cameras

WTOP Reports that the City of Rockville's 5 red light cameras issued 15,133 in the last 5 months of 2013, compared with only 3423 issued by ten cameras in the previous year, after reconfiguring them to ticket motorists for making slow moving right turns on red or stopping past the white line.

The tickets issued by the five cameras in less than half a year would have a potential value of over $1.1 million in fines.

Rockville had replaced it's 10 red light cameras with 5 of a new model in August of 2012, which were specifically configured to ticket for rolling right turns.  The City has plans to go back to 10 cameras in the near future.

According to city data, one single camera at Gude Drive and Gaither Road, saw 258 citations from August and December of 2011.  During the same 5 months of 2012, 4304 citations were issued: a factor of 14 increase.
See Rockville's 2012 Ticket Data
2011 Ticket Data

Speed Camera Repeal Bill Introduced in Senate

A bill to repeal speed cameras, Senate Bill 785, has been introduced for consideration by the state senate.

The bill's sponsors are senators E. J. Pipkin(R, Kent, Queen Anne's, Cecil, and Caroline Counties), Richard Colburn (R, Caroline, Dorchester, Talbot, and Wicomico Counties), and Nancy Jacobs (R, Harford and Cecil counties).   The synopsis for the bill states that it's purpose is: "Repealing the authority of counties and municipalities in the State to use speed monitoring systems to enforce highway speed laws; repealing the authority to use work zone speed control systems to enforce highway speed laws within work zones; etc."

We earlier covered the House Version of this bill, HB251.

Restitution Bills Under Consideration

Legislation has been submitted to the House of Delegates which would financially penalize local governments which ticket innocent motorists.

Some Lawmakers Want to Weaken Ticket Review Requirements

In the wake of the irrefutable proof that speed camera contractor Xerox Corp systematically issued faulty  camera citations to innocent motorist in Baltimore, there has been much buzz about the possibility of legislation which would be enacted to reform the state's requirements for speed cameras to help protect the innocent.  While some lawmakers have sponsored real reform bills, others legislators will have none of that and are instead sponsoring legislation designed to weaken an existing protection in the law.

Senate Bill 389 would remove  the requirement that police officers review speed camera citations, and allow cities to hire private contactors to approve tickets instead.  The bill's sponsors are senators
Jamie Raskin(D, Montgomery County), Jennie Forehand(D, Montgomery County),and Jim Rosapepe (D, Prince George's and Anne Arundel Counties).  The legislation is largely being pushed by the governments of cities of Rockville, Gaithersburg, and Greenbelt.