Small changes in state law may mean big losses for Montgomery County’s speed-camera program, as the county stands to send out 40 percent fewer speed-camera tickets and lose $5 million for public safety programs, according to a new report.
Currently, the county sends tickets to drivers caught going 11 miles and hour or faster over the speed limit. A new state law that goes into effect Thursday will change that to 12 miles an hour or faster.
According to a new County Council report, 32 percent of ticketed drivers were caught going exactly 11 mph over the speed limit.
And state law will require the county to turn off speed cameras in school zones between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. and on weekends. About 47 percent of speeding violations caught on those cameras are caught during those periods, according to the report.
Added together, the county is looking at total drop of 40 percent in tickets, leaving a $5 million hole in the profits the county is expecting, according to the report.
Currently, the county has 60 fixed cameras and six mobile cameras that can be deployed to 59 temporary sites. The county plans to issues 28,798 tickets during this fiscal year and make nearly $13.2 million in profits from the cameras that will go toward public safety efforts such as a pedestrian safety outreach campaign.
The county is currently the only jurisdiction where speed cameras are legal in Maryland. That will change Thursday when other government agencies can join Montgomery County and start sending tickets of up to $40 to speeders caught on automated cameras.
County officials expressed displeasure that the state law would limit when speed cameras can operate in school zones, saying schools are hubs of activity both in the evenings and on weekends.
“Now we’re effectively saying, ‘well you can’t speed, except during these hours,” said Councilman Mike Knapp, D-Germantown. “I think it’s shortsighted on the part of the state.”
Knapp said safety was his key concern and the resulting drop in likely revenue from the new state law was a “not the issue.”
The report showed that speed cameras have reduced speeding and accidents near the cameras a year after the county started the program in 2007. The amount of accidents involving injuries or fatalities fell 39 percent.
But speed-cameras opponent Sen. Alex Mooney, R-Frederick, said he doubts the accuracy of the county’s report. He added that county officials are complaining about the new state law limiting speed camera operation in school zones because it “hampers their ability to make more money off the cameras.”
