Maryland law requires ‘setup log’ every day
Montgomery County police say they are not violating state law by not testing speed cameras daily.
County police test cameras for proper functioning once every three to five days, according to maintenance records.
“We’re not going to do this [test] every day,” said Capt. John A. Damskey, director of Montgomery’s traffic enforcement. “We’re just not going to do that.”
Damskey said he doesn’t believe state law requires daily testing, contrary to a district court judge’s ruling.
Judge J. Michael Conroy Jr. threw out a Bethesda woman’s speeding ticket last month because the Gaithersburg camera that ticketed her had not been tested the day it photographed her license plate.
Conroy based his decision on a state law that says camera operators “shall fill out and sign a daily setup log” that proves the operator “successfully performed the manufacturer-specified self-test of the speed [camera].”
“I don’t believe the judge had all the information, all the facts, to make a decision,” Damskey said.
Montgomery County and Gaithersburg operate separate speed camera programs. The Washington Examiner reported that Gaithersburg police have failed to perform daily tests — sometimes waiting up to 10 days before testing a camera.
Damskey said Montgomery’s cameras don’t need a daily checkup because they shut down if they malfunction and can be assessed remotely.
Lawyers from the Maryland Attorney General’s Office said they could not interpret the law “on first glance” because they are “not familiar with the technology,” said spokeswoman Raquel Guillory.
Timothy Leahy, a lawyer with Byrd & Byrd LLC in Bowie, said the law needs no interpretation.
“Daily means daily,” he said. “The law does not say that they can create a log that states the self-test was performed ‘a couple of days ago.'” Leahy has filed a class-action lawsuit against Montgomery County and other jurisdictions for giving speed camera contractors a commission on paid tickets.
The Washington Examiner pulled maintenance records on three days for three cameras under the county’s jurisdiction. On Nov. 27, 2009, the cameras issued 176 tickets; on Dec. 27, 2009, they issued 137 tickets and on Jan. 3, 2010, they issued 90 tickets. Montgomery officials did not perform tests those days.
