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Health & Fitness

Cardin Applauds Baltimore City Speed Camera Overhaul, Maintains There's Still Work To Be Done

Cardin applauds Baltimore City speed camera overhaul but maintains there is still work to be done.

January 8th—I applaud Baltimore City’s announcement that they will overhaul their speed camera program by installing state of the art speed cameras at all 83 fixed camera locations. Baltimore City, Mayor Rawlings-Blake, and Baltimore City Police Commissioner Batts have stepped up to do the right thing.

Even as Baltimore City embarks on this overhaul, my office continues to be inundated with letters from Marylanders aggrieved by erroneous speed camera enforcement statewide. While the City’s action is a step in the right direction, Marylanders time and again reiterate to me that they remain suspicious of the government’s ability to fairly enforce speed camera laws. In an era of increasing distrust in government, we must do more to earn the trust of the citizens we represent.

Towards that end, I remain committed to introducing legislation to audit speed camera programs statewide including requiring that all speed cameras come equipped with a verifiable mechanism so that citizens have a means of knowing their ticket is accurate and fighting a violation in court if they believe they have been wrongly accused. Additionally, my legislation will fine any speed camera operator $1000 per citation issued due to faulty speed monitoring systems.

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I believe this legislation will make speed camera programs more transparent, fair, and accountable while keeping our schoolchildren, construction workers, drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians as safe on our roads and highways as possible. I hope the Governor and my colleagues in the Legislature will join me in supporting these important reforms.

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