A Maryland speed camera contractor is investigating whether its cameras have been miscalculating the speeds of large vehicles in Prince
George’s County.
Lanham-based Optotraffic is analyzing a dozen citations that recorded buses and trucks exceeding the speed limit by more than 25 mph, Optotraffic CEO Marcos Sirota told The Washington Examiner.
Sirota began investigating citations when a camera on Rhode Island Avenue and 38th Street in Brentwood caught bus driver Kathleen
LaFortune driving 58 mph in a 25 mph zone.
“I was absolutely devastated when I saw the ticket,” said LaFortune, who told The Examiner she drives past the camera 11 times daily on her bus route — which she has driven for the last year. “I have never broken the speed limit. There is just no way this is possible.”
Sirota said he is determining whether LaFortune’s ticket is valid. “Nothing immediately indicates there’s been a mistake,” he said. “We
are identifying instances with some commonality sowe can compare.”
Prince George’s County’s Fleet Management Department says an increasing number of bus drivers are getting nabbed by speed cameras
across the county.
Another driver is contesting a ticket that says his bus barrelled 78 mph through a 35 mph zone on Bladensburg Road — just one-half mile
from where LaFortune was ticketed.
“These tickets are just exploding,” said Rick Hilmer, fleet management administrator. Hilmer said his office — which collects county bus drivers’ tickets—is averaging 30 citations a day.
Susan Hubbard, spokeswoman for Prince George’s Department of Public Works and Transportation, said she could not imagine a bus nearing 60 mph where LaFortune was ticketed. But LaFortune could not contest her July 28 ticket.
She says she was not notified of the violation until Aug. 26, seven days past the deadline for requesting a court date. Fleet management did not receive the ticket from Brentwood officials until Aug. 16, Hilmer said.
State law requires camera operators to mail citations within two weeks of the violation. Brentwood Police Chief David Risik did not return The Examiner’s calls to confirm the ticket was mailed within the legal time frame.
LaFortune’s employer, Veolia Transportation, received the ticket Aug. 20, Hubbard said, and LaFortune said another six days passed before
Veolia notified her of the violation.
Veolia then suspended LaFortune on Aug. 27 without pay, enrolled her in a three-day “refresher” training course and warned of termination if
she gets another ticket, according to an internal notice from the company’s assistant general manager.
