tangent4ronpaul
11-21-2012, 04:23 PM
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/bs-md-speed-cameras-multiple-tickets-20121121,0,3505635.story
Parker, a retiree who lives in Woodlawn, professed bewilderment that so many of the $40 citations have piled up, many from a stretch of Gwynns Falls Parkway in the city with a 25 mph speed limit. "I have no idea," he said when asked to explain it. "I don't even know anything about half those tickets."
Parker is one of 585 area motorists whose vehicles have amassed at least 30 tickets courtesy of the region's speed-detecting cameras since they were authorized in Maryland in 2009, according to a Baltimore Sun analysis.
...
More than 25,000 vehicles have received 10 or more area speed camera citations, and 3,000 have at least 20, The Sun found. More than 170,000 vehicles have at least four. Drivers who get four police officer-issued tickets within two years for speeding 10 mph or more over the limit collect enough "points" on their license to have it suspended.
...
But because speed camera tickets are sent to a vehicle's registered owner — the camera can't tell who is driving — Robey said it's "not practical" to consider imposing stiffer penalties once the same car gets a certain number of tickets.
Unlike paper tickets handed to a driver by a police officer, camera citations don't add points that can result in a driver's license suspension or revocation. Nor do they affect auto insurance rates or coverage. However, failure to pay can lead to an unpleasant surprise: The Motor Vehicle Administration will block a vehicle's registration renewal for unpaid tickets, while tacking on a $30 "flag" fee of its own for each citation.
...
In August he appeared before Judge Kathleen M. Sweeney at the Wabash Avenue courthouse to challenge 27 citations.
He pleaded not guilty to all. In some cases his defense fell flat, such as when he denied his Chevy pickup was going 38 mph in a 25 mph zone on Druid Hill Avenue, saying, "I'm not a speeder."
"You could fool me," Sweeney shot back.
But going to court proved well worth Parker's time: Sweeney threw out 17 of his 27 citations.
She dismissed three after an official with the city's speed camera contractor said there was no video footage, even though the cameras should have recorded it.
And the judge found Parker not guilty on 10 others because other vehicles were visible alongside his pickup truck in the recorded images that the contractor presented as evidence.
Even when Sweeney found him guilty by a preponderance of the evidence, she sometimes cut his fine. He wound up owing $330, far less than the $1,080 it would have cost him to pay the tickets.
...
The Sun's investigation also included a broad look at speed cameras throughout out the area and found that the tickets themselves can be inaccurate, and the process unfair. Since the investigation was published, local and state officials have called for greater oversight, a city councilman announced plans for a public hearing and Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has pledged to strive for "a zero-error program."
===================
From MD CFL
In 2010, Affiliated Computer Services (ACS) hoarded over 67 million dollars from the state of Maryland for the deployment and operation of their automated ticketing systems.
On Monday, February 7th of 2011, the Baltimore County Council voted to allow an unlimited number of automated ticketing devices to be deployed across Baltimore county.
In a no-bid, multimillion dollar contract, the Baltimore County Council delivered the sole permit to deploy these machines to ACS.
Shortly after the vote, local reporter Brian Sears exposed the dirt behind the scam.
ACS, the company that held the sole contract for deployment of these "scameras" and the company that would make millions of dollars from the deal, had created an astroturf grassroots group to support the bill.
With the phony group, ACS was able lobby its way to a no-bid contract so that it could funnel millions of tax payer dollars into its own pockets.
Under the current no-bid contract, ACS charges the county $12,000 per camera per month and keeps over 90 cents of every dollar. (of the $40 citations)
Unfortunately, ACS is back and is lobbying to expand these automated ticketing machines throughout the county.
===============
These cameras are deployed around school zones "to protect the children" 24/7/365 - ya know, I just see sooo many kids in school zones in the middle of summer and at 3am... :rolleyes:
It's interesting that at least a third of these camera's have been vandalized...
-t
Parker, a retiree who lives in Woodlawn, professed bewilderment that so many of the $40 citations have piled up, many from a stretch of Gwynns Falls Parkway in the city with a 25 mph speed limit. "I have no idea," he said when asked to explain it. "I don't even know anything about half those tickets."
Parker is one of 585 area motorists whose vehicles have amassed at least 30 tickets courtesy of the region's speed-detecting cameras since they were authorized in Maryland in 2009, according to a Baltimore Sun analysis.
...
More than 25,000 vehicles have received 10 or more area speed camera citations, and 3,000 have at least 20, The Sun found. More than 170,000 vehicles have at least four. Drivers who get four police officer-issued tickets within two years for speeding 10 mph or more over the limit collect enough "points" on their license to have it suspended.
...
But because speed camera tickets are sent to a vehicle's registered owner — the camera can't tell who is driving — Robey said it's "not practical" to consider imposing stiffer penalties once the same car gets a certain number of tickets.
Unlike paper tickets handed to a driver by a police officer, camera citations don't add points that can result in a driver's license suspension or revocation. Nor do they affect auto insurance rates or coverage. However, failure to pay can lead to an unpleasant surprise: The Motor Vehicle Administration will block a vehicle's registration renewal for unpaid tickets, while tacking on a $30 "flag" fee of its own for each citation.
...
In August he appeared before Judge Kathleen M. Sweeney at the Wabash Avenue courthouse to challenge 27 citations.
He pleaded not guilty to all. In some cases his defense fell flat, such as when he denied his Chevy pickup was going 38 mph in a 25 mph zone on Druid Hill Avenue, saying, "I'm not a speeder."
"You could fool me," Sweeney shot back.
But going to court proved well worth Parker's time: Sweeney threw out 17 of his 27 citations.
She dismissed three after an official with the city's speed camera contractor said there was no video footage, even though the cameras should have recorded it.
And the judge found Parker not guilty on 10 others because other vehicles were visible alongside his pickup truck in the recorded images that the contractor presented as evidence.
Even when Sweeney found him guilty by a preponderance of the evidence, she sometimes cut his fine. He wound up owing $330, far less than the $1,080 it would have cost him to pay the tickets.
...
The Sun's investigation also included a broad look at speed cameras throughout out the area and found that the tickets themselves can be inaccurate, and the process unfair. Since the investigation was published, local and state officials have called for greater oversight, a city councilman announced plans for a public hearing and Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has pledged to strive for "a zero-error program."
===================
From MD CFL
In 2010, Affiliated Computer Services (ACS) hoarded over 67 million dollars from the state of Maryland for the deployment and operation of their automated ticketing systems.
On Monday, February 7th of 2011, the Baltimore County Council voted to allow an unlimited number of automated ticketing devices to be deployed across Baltimore county.
In a no-bid, multimillion dollar contract, the Baltimore County Council delivered the sole permit to deploy these machines to ACS.
Shortly after the vote, local reporter Brian Sears exposed the dirt behind the scam.
ACS, the company that held the sole contract for deployment of these "scameras" and the company that would make millions of dollars from the deal, had created an astroturf grassroots group to support the bill.
With the phony group, ACS was able lobby its way to a no-bid contract so that it could funnel millions of tax payer dollars into its own pockets.
Under the current no-bid contract, ACS charges the county $12,000 per camera per month and keeps over 90 cents of every dollar. (of the $40 citations)
Unfortunately, ACS is back and is lobbying to expand these automated ticketing machines throughout the county.
===============
These cameras are deployed around school zones "to protect the children" 24/7/365 - ya know, I just see sooo many kids in school zones in the middle of summer and at 3am... :rolleyes:
It's interesting that at least a third of these camera's have been vandalized...
-t