Speed cameras proposed statewide

Expressway work zones, some highways targeted

General Assembly 2009

Several lawmakers on the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee considering the bill questioned whether the intent of the proposal was to improve safety or make money. "It's the safety versus cash cow argument," said Sen. Bryan W. Simonaire, an Anne Arundel Republican.

Simonaire also asked why speeders should be subject to two sets of rules - higher fines and points if they are caught by a police officer and lower fines and no points if they are caught by cameras. W. Kevin Hughes, a legislative aide for O'Malley, said the $40 fee and lack of license points reflected a compromise brokered last year.

The speed-camera legislation squeezed through the Senate committee last year on a 6-5 vote, and Sen. Jim Brochin, a Baltimore County Democrat who cast the deciding vote, said he has since rethought his support.

"We're in a major recession, and I just don't think this is a good place for people's paychecks to be going," he said after the hearing. "The economy has made me rethink things."

THE NUMBERS

Montgomery County's speed camera program:

* Began in 2007

* Uses 46 cameras; increasing to 66 cameras this spring

* Brought in $2.6 million in extra county revenue after paying the vendor and all operational costs.

* In the first six months of the program, the proportion of vehicles going 10 mph or more over the speed limit in active camera zones decreased by 70 percent.

* Speed violations fell by almost 40 percent in areas with camera warning signs but no cameras.

Information from 2007 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety evaluation and Montgomery County Police