"We just want to take advantage of technology to add to our toolbox," McMahon said, vowing to mount a thorough publicity campaign so that motorists are not caught unaware.
McMahon said that one-fourth of all collisions are speed-related, and speed is a factor in about half of fatalities. A much larger number of lives are forever altered by injuries sustained in nonfatal collisions, he said.
"A big part of any program is a public awareness campaign," McMahon said.
Some legislators are concerned that the cameras are intended more for raising revenue than for law enforcement. Del. Gail H. Bates, a skeptic of the speed-camera idea, noted that Montgomery County, which has had the cameras since May, has collected $2.7 million, even though its cameras are allowed only on roads where the speed limit is under 35 and the fines are lower -- $40.
Del. Warren E. Miller said Montgomery motorists are encountering longer traffic jams in some places now, too, implying that the cameras may have slowed traffic too much.
"The last thing I want to do on our county roads is have horrible traffic jams," Miller said.
McMahon had a quick rejoinder: "What does traffic do when we close Route 99 due to an accident? This is all about changing behavior," he said.
Another critic of speed cameras, Del. Frank S. Turner, complained that a $75 ticket plus court costs if a ticket is contested, is too expensive for middle-income, working people.
"I have a real problem with the cost," Turner said.
McMahon shot back that speeding tickets now start at $135 and escalate quickly as speeds increase. "Seventy-five dollars is a bargain," he said. If people slow down, they won't have to pay anything, he added.
Bates also complained that the tickets will go the vehicle's owner, identified through the license plate, not to whoever was driving at the time.
"It looks like the car is the violator, not the individual. We're not going after the speeders. We're going after the car owner," she said.
A sunset provision, ending the law after a five-year period, was a suggestion from State Sen. Allan H. Kittleman, and McMahon said that would not be his preference, but he intends to continuously evaluate the program if he gets the right to start it.
The General Assembly passed a statewide bill authorizing speed cameras during the term of Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., who vetoed the measure. Montgomery County legislators got a local speed-camera bill passed last year.
