The House Environmental Matters Committee held a briefing on speed cameras on January 15 and received an update from officials on the status of the State’s work zone program.  Recent concerns with local government speed camera programs were also briefly discussed.  Delegate James Malone, Chair of the Motor Vehicle and Transportation Subcommittee, chaired the briefing.

The primary presenter was State Highway Administrator Melinda Peters.  Ms. Peters stressed that the first priority of the work zone speed camera program was safety.  She noted that 4 out of 5 work zone crashes involves drivers only and  there has been a reduction in both work zone fatalities and accidents since the program was started.  No local officials were invovled in the briefing.

Delegate Malone stressed the public safety importance of speed camera programs and provided a brief overview of the many limitations on the program already in the law, including limited hours of camera operation in school zones and the review of all tickets by a law enforcement officer.  However, he also discussed the need for some kind of grievance mechanism that would provide for the investigation and potential sanctioning of local programs or vendors.

Delegate Malone announced that the Motor Vehicle and Transportation Subcommittee will examine issues related to the speed camera law throughout the Session and plans to provide further details in an upcoming press conference.

January 15 Baltimore Sun article