Just last month we blogged about the trouble with Baltimore speed cameras. But B-more isn’t the only metropolitan area having issues with these money-making headaches. Metro P.D. Sergeant Mark Robinson tried to get the city of D.C. to pay attention to the problems with their cameras, but they wouldn’t listen. It wasn’t until he got nailed with one himself and challenged it in court that he found success. And this level of success could be a major problem for D.C. city officials. [Read more…]
Baltimore-Area Speeders Take Out Aggression on Speed Cameras
No one likes to feel caught red-handed, especially when it’s for something they know everyone is doing and done without warning. This could be part of the reason Maryland drivers are taking out their frustrations on speed cameras and the vehicles that carry them.
According to the Baltimore Sun, several area speed camera vans and stationary speed cameras. have been vandalized in recent years. They have been pelted with rocks, covered in spray paint, beaten with hammers, nailed with marbles, and covered in post-it notes.
There are about 100 of these cameras in the Baltimore area. Some are hidden in vans and other vehicles while others are mounted on posts. They monitor passing cars and generate traffic tickets which are mailed to speeding drivers.
Many people see the speed cameras as sneaky traps, ways for the city or area to raise revenue without working for it.
A 2009 state law allowed local jurisdictions to install them. Since then, areas have collected generous revenue. In Howard County, who has only been using the cameras for six months, more than 15,000 tickets have been sent out and more than $480,000 has been collected.
“I think most of the citizens I’ve talked to in the county resent the ‘Big Brother’ policy that the camera represents,’ says Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold. Anne Arundel County is not using the cameras largely because the residents there don’t want them.
Way back in 2008, cops tried to figure out who was covering the cameras in post-it notes. Now, however, vandals have gotten a little more advanced, spraying them with paint, nailing them with marbles as they pass, or even setting them on fire.
One man, who admitted to throwing marbles at the speed camera vans was actually followed by one of the vans until he stopped. Then the police were called and the suspect was charged with second-degree assault, destruction of property, and reckless endangerment—far more than a speeding ticket.
Some of the cameras are difficult to see, leading people to feel like they’ve been tricked. But municipalities make a good point when they say, you shouldn’t be speeding whether or not a camera is there.
Vandalism at the expense of speed cameras may seem sometimes-humorous, like a prank committed in frustration. But, these “pranks” can lead to serious criminal charges.
If you are accused of vandalism, reckless endangerment, or other criminal charges for something you regret, you need someone on your side working for your best interests. Contact our offices today to discuss your case. We can offer a free consultation and some potentially valuable legal advice.
Maryland Red Light Cameras Doing Away With Officer Privilege
If a red light camera catches you speeding through an intersection it will lead to a ticket—regardless of who you are. As a matter of fact, red light cameras aren’t only catching off duty police in driving infractions, they’re catching on duty ones as well. And according to officials, it’s up to the officer to prove that they were legitimately responding to an emergency in order to get out of the ticket.
As this article from the Baltimore Sun points out, cops used to get off from a ticket simply by flashing their badge, regardless of where they were headed or if they were on duty. Red light cameras, however, seem to be the equalizer, however, turning cops into just another driver.
When an officer is caught speeding or running a red light, investigators review dispatch records to confirm whether or not they had a legitimate reason to be in violation. If not, they face penalties like any of the rest of us would.
While the president of the Baltimore Fraternal Order of Police union states he hasn’t heard too many complaints, a few officers actually sued the department and lost.
Like “regular folk”, police officers don’t want to be caught on camera. Last year two were accused of using fictitious plates on their unmarked cars. It was assumed they were hiding from the cameras or trying to stay inconspicuous among local drug dealers.
Whatever the case, there’s not a whole lot you can say when you are caught violating the law on camera. A dire emergency would perhaps be the only thing that might garner you some leniency in court. Such footage is perhaps the most damning evidence there could be in a criminal case.
Right up there with video footage is eyewitness testimony, or at least this is true in the eyes of jurors. We’re not talking about speeding tickets here though, we are talking about serious criminal charges. Jurors are said to put a lot of weight on eyewitness accounts at trial—this despite the fact that eyewitnesses are prone to error.
Just like the cops caught speeding on tape, being told someone saw you commit a crime or heard you confess can be a slap in the face. This is particularly true if you know their account to be untrue. Overcoming such evidence in court can seem to be an insurmountable obstacle.
Consulting with a criminal defense attorney in Maryland can help put the evidence in perspective. If you’re curious about your options and wondering how the evidence against you might affect your case, contact our offices today.
Increased Penalties for Speeding/Reckless Driving?
Michael Dresser at the Baltimore Sun thinks that people who speed are as bad as sex offenders.
That is certainly bad enough, but he also believes that Maryland should adopt Virginia’s extremely tough reckless driving laws, and charge anyone speeding 20mph over the limit as a criminal. Currently, reckless driving here in Maryland is typically a civil charge, though it can lead to a suspended license.
The fact is, tougher reckless driving laws do little to prevent so called “dangerous driving”. The primary goal of most aggressive/reckless driving crackdown laws is revenue for the state. These laws are extremely profitable, and cost drivers thousands of dollars in fees, fines, lost work time due to court dates, increased insurance costs.
And there is absolutely no evidence that they make the roads safer.
Virginia tried to push the envelope even further when then enacted “abusive driver fees”, a shameless effort that state officials admitted was merely to extract even more revenue from hapless citizens. That law was repealed after less than a year due to citizen outcry. And rightly so.
Maryland doesn’t need to follow this same path in severely punishing relatively minor driving offenses.
For advice on a driving citation, traffic ticket or other criminal charge in Maryland, please contact us.