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Speed cameras appear near approval for work zones on highways in Md.
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The exemption Tuesday was a compromise offered by some rural senators who said the proposal, backed by Gov. Martin O’Malley, invades motorists’ privacy.
Current law exempts marked police and fire vehicles from speed limits but does not address the unmarked vehicles commonly used by volunteer fire crews in the state’s rural areas.
“You’re taking away police discretion and substituting automatic judgment unless you take a day off from work to go to court,” said Sen. Andy Harris, R-Baltimore and Harford counties.
“We can’t punish our volunteers.”
The proposal allows each jurisdiction to pass legislation authorizing speed cameras in work zones, a move supporters say will reduce the number of construction-zone fatalities, which has hovered around 15 per year since 2002.
The proposal sparked conversation about police officers in Montgomery County — where speed cameras have been used for about two years — who were caught speeding on camera while they were off-duty and refused to pay the fine.
About 148 citations issued to officers without an excuse were not paid, according to an Associated Press analysis.
Sen. Brian Frosh, D-Montgomery, who was floor leader for the bill, said those officers are now paying up.
He urged lawmakers to vote against the exemption and other proposed amendments that failed. These included exempting Eastern Shore counties, requiring counties to hold referendums on the issue and exempting highway work zones on bridges.
“Because there is no shoulder, they can’t enforce speed limits in their cars,” Frosh said.
“This is the only way to do it.”
A call for a five-year sunset provision also failed in the Senate, where a final vote could come Wednesday.
Similar legislation is pending in the House of Delegates.
jmalarkey@baltimoreexaminer.com
Comments from Examiner Readers
12:58 PM MST on Wed., Jul. 16, 2008 re: "Speed camera measures roll through legislature"
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12:14 AM MST on Tue., Apr. 15, 2008
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11:16 AM MST on Thu., Feb. 21, 2008
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2:35 PM MST on Sat., Dec. 1, 2007
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Examiner Reader said:
So um when are MDer's going to stop voting for democrats just because they are democrats? They are obviously the most corrupt party in this state and all they do is screw over the voter over and over again. e are the richest state in the country but yet we don't have enough money for anything? Martin O'Money just wants more money to spend spend spend. None of this would have happened if Ehrlich was Governor. Good job MD, I hope he increases taxes to 100% maybe then we'll vote him out.
3 agree | 2 disagree
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reader said:
Maryland voters are getting exactly what they deserve.There's more to come.So lap it up!
5 agree | 3 disagree
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defense for the defenseless said:
Maybe the union and Lanier should work on the officers that were unfairly terminated under Ramsey. That alone woudl put more officers on the street, many are coming back but there really isn't a big dent in the unjustice that Shannon Cocket created under Ramsey....
3 agree | 2 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
owemalley is singing mo money mo money mo money
2 agree | 2 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
marty o'taxme the teflon lepreCON will be happy more money for him.
3 agree | 3 disagree
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Mark said:
Have to make up for all the parking tickets they won't be able to write now that that scam was exposed. The government of Maryland is very good at coming up with new ways to screw the people that put them where they are. Sooner or later the stupid voters will get it but it will be later rather than sooner.
3 agree | 4 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
This is not to make construction sites safer,but the money it generates.What lobieist is/are responsible for this scam?
3 agree | 4 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Where is John Adams when we need him?
4 agree | 5 disagree
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P. Ackerman, Columbia said:
Does anyone else care that the driver of the car is NOT the one charged with the violation? The owner of the vehicle is the one fined. Holding someone guilty without proving that individual is responsible is dictorial, immoral, and oppressive. It's no basis for any type of decent legal system. Traffic cameras allow the citizens of Maryland to be fined for crimes they did not commit, do not make the roads safer by removing bad drivers, and cost more money than the state has. Why else did the legislature just raise taxes? Tell your delegates now that you do not want the state spending money of traffic cameras!
29 agree | 26 disagree
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Joe said:
Nothing like using a tragedy to implement a random tax increase. Hey, if you just want the money, don't do it on the backs of the victims.
40 agree | 39 disagree
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fed up said:
Wake up people. We are slowly having are rights taken away. They tell us what we will and will not do. Can't smoke, have to weare seat belts. the list goes on and with all this there is money to be put out.
31 agree | 19 disagree
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Ditto D said:
I love telling people where to comment. I love the examiner. No giraffe dies if you put in a toll booth on all access roads and who is running this show anyway, Geez. Carrol County and Montgomery County and all the counties are known speeders. Slow down and pay the tolls, taxes and get a life.
33 agree | 13 disagree
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Noreen said:
How about stop whining and SLOW down? Talk about personal responsibility -- If you don't want to pay the fine, don't speed.
33 agree | 22 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
I think that what we need here is a re-evaluation of speed limits. If they're going to give a 10 mph grace, then why not make say a 35 mph limit 45 and enforce that? I'm in favor of speed cameras, since speeding in Baltimore County through residential areas is a major problem. I live on a street that is 35 mph and police clock people doing 75. What worries me is how long before they're along the highways, where speed limits are too low. Yes, the entusiasm may be over increased revenue, but if they do slow folks down, and I bet they will, maybe it's worth it.
32 agree | 15 disagree
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A giraffe dies said:
Speed cameras = revenues, pure and simple. Just ask DC, the city government there let slip that that was the reason for their cameras. The funny thing is, though, that camera tickets are the easiest to beat because you have a constitutional right to question your accuser. All you have to do is ask for it.
30 agree | 30 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
They should change all signs at the State Line to read "Welcome to the Peoples Republic of Maryland". This whole thing gained momentum once Montgomery County announced how much money they made in only 6 months time. If you drive in MoCo, you know it's had no impact on drivers whatsoever, it's another money maker pure and simple. I voted for Kittleman, that won't happen again.
39 agree | 33 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
The cameras are only there for making money. They don't improve safety. On one road down in DC the speed is 35.. people go 25 through the camera zone and then speed right back up. I would rather see a way of doing speed bumps or something if they want to control the speed of cars through an area. The camera's don't control it, they just profit from it.
40 agree | 21 disagree
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City Resident said:
well, if you dont speed, then you wont get a ticket! i heard something similar in that article about bail being unfair. how about riding a bike? :)
37 agree | 21 disagree
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Robin Ficker, Broker Robin Realty said:
Mongtomery County is cheating on this, saying every highway adjoins a residential zone, even a six lane highway. On River Road a 35 ft. green space, then a 4 ft. bike path, then another 15 ft. green space, then a row of trees, and finally a 4 1/2 ft. wall separates the road from any yard. The county is using this as a fundraiser for new programs, not to cut police overtime. Thousands of police man hours are being freed up.
40 agree | 32 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
If it were about safety, there would not be the 10 mph margin in a 35 mph zone. Isn't that about a 30% margin? How about the disgruntled employee who racks up several tickets on a company vehicle then quits? Worse yet, how would you feel after loaning your car to a friend and a month later getting a ticket after forgetting that you loaned your car out? There are just too many unintended consequences. It is a cash grab. Shame on Sen. Kittleman for supporting it.
39 agree | 48 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Now our rulers will employ machines to extract monies in an electronic revenue generating scheme. Will these machines work like our touchscreen voting machines? The prison grid is being slowly installed over Maryland.
53 agree | 63 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
"It is not a revenue measure. It is a safety measure." Yeah, right. I guess the $1.5 billion recently given to us by the Governor were really revenue enhancements and NOT new taxes. If it's all about safety and not money then just take a picture and send a warning ticket. Porcari is nothing more than an unelected bureaucratic dirt bag. Once the lying thieving politicians get the green light to put them in "work zones", the entire State will become a "work zone" and they will put them everywhere.
41 agree | 40 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
how could you not want spped cameras? after all, they are for the children. the cameras are nothing more than revenue generators. and robey is a life long government employee, never having to worry about a budget or where the money was going to come from.
72 agree | 59 disagree
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