(AP/Brennan Linsley)
There are many politicians in Maryland who think that speed cameras are a great way to protect citizens from dangerous drivers. In reality, there are countless flaws in administering traffic cameras and their true purpose is to gather revenue for budget deficits instead of protecting citizens.
The state should protect school children and construction workers yes, but speed cameras are not the answer. If the state truly cared about its citizens’ safety, it would place a police officer (with car) in front of schools during dismissal. The police officer’s presence would prevent speeding as opposed to speed cameras catching speeders after the fact.
The state could also place a police car with its blue and red lights on before construction sites on the highways. Anyone who drives on I-95 knows that seeing a police car with its lights on will get anyone to immediately slow down.
I believe it is a greater deterrent to have a police officer directly engage [the speeder]. There is a certain amount of shame involved when there is direct contact with an officer. - County Executive John Leopold (R-Anne Arundel)
Will the speed cameras be turned off when school is not in session or when construction workers aren’t on the job? Of course not. Most schools dismiss at the latest 3 or 4 p.m., but the cameras won’t turn off until 8 p.m.
Are the speed cameras about public safety or are they about perks for politicians? Last year, speed camera lobbyists treated some politicians to dinner at an expensive restaurant where the check was more than $3,700. Some speed camera companies and insurance companies combined gave almost a million dollars in campaign contributions to Maryland politicians over the years to implement speed cameras. Baltimore Sun writer Michael Dresser called speed cameras “a wise and courageous move.” Yes, a wise move for crooked politicians.
Any self-righteous supporter of the speed cameras that catch drivers over the speed limit by 12 mph are simply hypocrites. All drivers have gone at least 12 mph over the speed limit in their lifetimes. Should the state then mail a fine to every driver in Maryland?
Police officers in Montgomery County refused to pay fines for speeding after being caught by cameras. Some were even photographed giving the middle finger to the cameras when caught.
You can’t have one set of laws for police officers and another one for the rest of the world.” - County Council member Phil Andrews (D-Gaithersburg/Rockville), chair of the Public Safety Committee
Because there are no points assessed to a driver’s license for being caught by a camera, some people do not contest the fine. It is also impossible to face your accuser (the camera) in court. These are clever marketing tricks by the oppressive politicians in Annapolis.
The cameras also seek to punish the car’s owner, not the driver. If your spouse or child borrows your car and is caught by the camera, you pay the fine not them.
The state isn’t even in charge of running the speed cameras, a private contractor is. This means that the contractor could take measures to increase their profit without government oversight. It is predicted that of the estimated $65,335,400 that will be brought in by traffic cameras, $9,787,700 will go to the private contractor.
Senate president Mike Miller (D-Calvert) knows that traffic cameras are not about safety, they’re about generating revenue. Proof is in his statement about the camera installation programs:
Because of the economy, it's going to be embraced immediately.
Every citizen of Maryland wants schoolchildren and construction workers to be protected from dangerous drivers, but traffic cameras are not the answer. The generation of revenue is the primary purpose of speed cameras, not public safety.
Comments
Is this a news article or an editorial?
One of the benefits of the cameras is that they free up the police to combat more serious problems. You seem to want to have them at every construction site and school zone. This seems like a real waste of valuable resources and I believe when you reflect on it you'll conclude that your proposal really does not make sense.
You also seem to advocate that drivers be given points instead of fines; I'm sure that if this is your desired result and it's achieved you would not be writing for many publications in the future as you would be run out of town.
Other than to say it's ludicrous I won't address your stupid 12 MPH comment.
It's a shame you wasted this space with a bunch of nonfactual information but rather a bunch of biased statements to support your preconceived conclusion. You could have studied the results of the Montgomery County programs in terms of fewer accidents at schools and other locations and perhaps have contributed to your readers knowledge; but, this would take some work and might interfere with the conclusion you wanted.
By the way I hated the idea of the cameras but they have actually made the neighborhoods and school zones safer. I would also submit that any Maryland resident who gets more than one $40 ticket probably deserves it! Thanks
I think this is a well-written opinion piece that makes its fairly narrow case: that speed cameras have numerous conceptual and execution flaws and that some politicians are looking to them as revenue sources.
I am not sure that the piece as a whole makes the case against speed cameras in an absolute sense. To Clark, I would note that (we) Examiners are brought on not necessarily as gumshoe investigators but as commentators in many cases.
if you don't like these cameras you should check out a gps camera detector like www.gpsangel.com
Maybe a little over board on the speed camera hate. You must see the benefit in them to a degree. I do see your points for revenue gain -but that's capitalism - and our goverment is no different sometimes. Perhaps it will lessen state taxes...
More policemen at schools and construction zones cost OT and wasting of money. Speed camera implementation is what this article should have been about, not its presence in the first place. If you want to editorialize you have suggested taking pictures of money and sending that in as payment for the fines. Speed camera send a message to slow down through gossip and rumor, and thus people may really start slowing down all together.
I'm in Germany right now, and they have cameras here too - yes in the land of no speed limits (which is actuallt not true) because they work.
If this legislation were about safety and not revenue than we merely have to put in speed bumps in front of all our schools. Speed Cameras do not slow people down but almost no one will speed over a speed bump. And the case of constructions sites on the beltway all you have to do is put up one of those signs that tell you how fast you are traveling, everyone slows down for those. This bill has absolutely nothing to do with safety it's just another revenue stream. You have to ask yourself why are the politicians that signed this bill into law exempt from following it themselves?
JS,
Speed humps - 18 year olds think they are fun to drive over at 50 mph i.e doesnt cost money if caught.
Beltway construction - how fast am I going? o wow - cool.... Not effective
As sean as said, we dont live in a perfect socitey where we all act responible all the time. Sometimes we need a little encourgment, and unfortuately, hitting our wallets works best.
If we want to agrue about the revenue, agrue about the allocation revenue. Argue for it to replace parking meeters in Baltimore or somethng, but dont bitch blindly...
Well sean, Yet another well written article. I like the part especially where you point out that a police car with the lights on makes me slow down even if I am not breaking the law. I had a good laugh at that.
Keep making a difference,
Be Blessed;
Harm............:)
Great Article, I think your missing the point people.
I've read a lot of useless dribble about safety with no hard facts to support it.
It has already been proven that red light cameras cause accidents and rear end collisions, not to mention countless instances of inocent people getting 80 dollar
tickets while stuck in the middle of an intersection during rush hour traffic.
Speeding cameras are only the beginning of a complete loss of freedom in America, and companies are making huge profits in the private sector based on percentages then split with Government officials. (Maybe Clark works for one of these Companies)Hmmm?
Those who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.
- Benjamin Franklin
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