By Tyler Ruth ’16

Legislation recently has been submitted to rid the state of Maryland of speed cameras.  Thirty-four lawmakers support the law but it has not reached committee yet, and only four of the supporting lawmakers are on the appropriate committee hearing the law, so its possibility of passing is still unclear.

The legislation has been submitted based off many years of errors and abuse, with cases where tickets were issued by speed cameras to stationary vehicles, or the speeds read by speed cameras were inaccurate, resulting in erroneous tickets.  In Baltimore in 2012 it was found that thousands of tickets were issued after incorrect speed-readings.  The vendor of Baltimore’s speed cameras at the time, Xerox State and Local Solutions, is the current vendor for Montgomery County, where it is found that tickets have been issued on days where speed calibrations were required by law, suggesting that tickets are issued for revenue and not for safety.

The speed camera program also has come under fire recently after it was found that camera manufacturers have the ability to certify their own equipment as accurate instead of using an independent lab.  In a State Highway Administration audit, it was found that certified equipment did not meet the requirements issued by the state.  The sum of these complaints has led to the request for their removal from the state.