A drivers advocacy group and two lawmakers are calling for Maryland officials to tighten a loophole on speed cameras they say allows police departments and a private contractor to operate a bounty system that earns money on each ticket.
Chevy Chase Village, for example, brings in more than $1.2 million annually from its speed cameras, more than the police department’s $1 million budget. About 40 percent, or $16.25 of each $40 ticket, goes to the private company that owns the cameras.
“We support the speed cameras as long as they are used for safety, not money,” said AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesman Lon Anderson.
He specifically cited one notorious spot in the community where speed cameras issue tickets to drivers breaking the 30 mph limit on a stretch of Connecticut Avenue popular with commuters heading into the District.
“Would you say a six-lane boulevard like Connecticut Avenue is a residential street?” Anderson asked. “The cameras shouldn’t be there.”
Chevy Chase Village placed two fixed cameras at the site in March, but also has used two portable cameras around 11 spots in the community since October 2007. The cameras are triggered when vehicles drive 11 mph or higher than the limit, leading to $40 tickets, said Chevy Chase Village Police Chief Roy Gordon. Then, $16.25 of each ticket goes to the vendor, Dallas company Affiliated Computer Services Inc.
State law prohibits contractors that operate such cameras from earning fees contingent on the number of citations issued. But, the police chief said, “They’re not operating the program, we are.”
However, he acknowledged, ACS installed the cameras, processes the tickets and handles drivers’ calls. The police department signs off on each ticket.
AAA Mid-Atlantic said it supported the Maryland law allowing such cameras as long as the cameras were revenue-neutral and were intended to promote safety.
Gordon said the speed cameras do promote safety. Money left over once the 40 percent is paid to ACS goes to a program to build sidewalks on a neighboring street, the police chief said.
“We know the program is working,” Gordon also added. “It is having an impact, people are slowing down.”
The area now has about three to four collisions a month, he said, compared with 13 to 14 per month before the camera program began. Furthermore, he said, the Connecticut Avenue area fits the state’s definition of a residential road.
State Sen. Mike Lenett, D-Aspen Hill/Rockville, and Del. Saqib Ali, D-Gaithersburg/Germantown, have drafted legislation called the Speed Camera Fairness Act, to be heard when the legislature convenes in January, that would prevent vendors from making money based on the number of tickets collected, regardless of who operates the cameras.
In the meantime, Gordon said Chevy Chase Village is talking with ACS about modifying the contract to move away from a fee-per-ticket payment model.
