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Pocomoke looks into school-zone speed cameras

The installation of school-zone speed cameras is being examined by the Pocomoke City Council, following a presentation from Mario Hernandez, Redspeed Maryland project manager, on Monday.
In Maryland speed cameras are only permitted in school zones and can be in operation from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. between Monday and Friday.
Following changes to traffic laws in 2014, Hernandez said merchants like Redspeed are now required to submit annual reports to the Maryland Police Training Commission. Prior to 2014 he said speed camera vendors were attempting to overachieve by issuing an exorbitant number of tickets.
Hernandez said local police are required to list the number of officers involved in traffic enforcement and the total and net revenues collected, as well as how the funds would be allocated.
“All the rest of the information regarding the cameras, the certification and calibrations, all the things like that are going to be included,” he said. “We fill out all the forms and information that is necessary.”
Redspeed’s turnkey automated photo enforcement improves the efficiency of local law enforcement, Hernandez said.
“We try to reduce the effort of local police,” he said. “They technology we use is the same as the police.”
The 2014 legal revisions established a three-tiered structure to provide improved oversight, starting with the program administrator, Hernandez said.
“Local law enforcement are the guys who understand how traffic moves in town,” he said.
The chief of police typically fills this spot, Hernandez said, and also provides consultation on camera placement.
Second is the local designee, who provides an interface between citation recipients, local police and Redspeed representatives prior to making a court appearance.
“This allows a person to argue their case before going to court (and) allows a third party to review if it was a fair ticket,” he said.
Lastly, a reviewer is required to examine daily logs for erroneous citations. Speed camera vendors are fined if more than five percent of yearly citations are found to be in error.
“If we as a vendor are providing the police department information that it believes to be correct and … it turns out to be wrong, it makes everybody look bad,” he said. “These things can become quite expensive if we don’t do our job.”
For those who are cited for a speed camera violation, Hernandez said the case would be dismissed if either the vehicle involved was stolen, or there was a transfer of liability, meaning someone else was driving.
Prior to the 2014 legal revisions, Hernandez said if a vehicle’s registered owner went to court claiming someone else was driving the car when cited, the judge would require the other parties’ information and would subsequently issue a citation to the accused.
“Now you just need to prove you weren’t driving,” he said.
Any vehicles recorded going at least 12 miles over the speed limit will be issued a ticket, generally for $40, but Hernandez said that figure is typically reduced if the person makes a court appearance.
“If you do show up in court it’s usually a $25 fine,” he said.
Asked by Mayor Bruce Morrison what installation of the camera would cost, Hernandez said upstart costs for the town would be nil, with Redspeed providing associated signage and deploying equipment.
“The local municipality just has to install signs,” he said.
Hernandez said Redspeed would generally keep about $15 from each citation, and also noted that any money the town generated from speed cameras is required to be spent on public safety.
The town is also required to give 30 days legal notice, including the proposed locations, before deploying speed cameras, which are permitted within a half-mile circumference around schools.
“It starts with locals and out of towners and usually within six weeks it’s just out of towners because residents learn about it,” he said.
Morrison said the council would examine the proposal in detail at an upcoming council work session before making any decision