"There really has not been much discussion about this at all," said Vivian Laxton, county spokeswoman.
Gov. Martin O'Malley, a Democrat, sought a statewide expansion of speed cameras, which generated nearly $10 million in fines last year through a pilot program in Montgomery County, the only jurisdiction where they are currently allowed. Lawmakers approved the measure this year, brushing aside critics who said the program is little more than a cash cow for local governments and a major annoyance to drivers policed by machines.
An initiative to overturn the law by gathering enough petition signatures failed.
Baltimore County police Chief Jim Johnson called the cameras "just common police sense."
A 2007 study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that the number 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, according to the study.
When the new law goes into effect next week, only Baltimore City and the State Highway Administration will have cameras operating, joining Montgomery County, which has had them for about two years.
State Highway spokeswoman Valerie Burnett Edgar said the agency will use two van-mounted cameras at several major work sites starting Oct. 1 and over the winter as a pilot.
The locations include the Baltimore Beltway at Charles Street, the express toll lanes being built on I-95 in White Marsh, and Interstate 95 at the Intercounty Connector interchange in Prince Georges County.
She said each location will have three sets of warning signs - an 8-by-6-foot metal sign more than a mile before the work site, another one closer to it and finally a radar screen showing motorists their speed.
"By the time you get to where the van is parked, you should be fully aware you're speeding," she said. The state wants drivers to know the cameras are there so they will slow down. The signs will remain as the two cameras move among the sites, she said. During the first 30 days, only warnings will be issued.
In Baltimore City, officials say they will be continually adding more mobile units after the first one at Glenmount. Similarly, speeders caught on camera going 12 mph over the limit will receive warnings for 30 days after Thursday, said city transportation department spokeswoman Adrian Barnes. After that grace period, they will receive tickets.
