City Council Members Call For Review Of Baltimore Speed Cameras
BALTIMORE (WJZ)— More problems for speed cameras in Baltimore City. Some council members are calling for an investigation. They're concerned about mounting inaccuracies.
Adam May has details.
The city makes millions of dollars a year on these speed cameras, but some of those fines are once again in question.
A speed camera left on when city officials knew about an inaccurate reading. Thousands of tickets deemed invalid. Some cameras set up in places that are not legal school zones. These are just some of the findings by WJZ's media partner, the Baltimore Sun.
Drivers say it's outrageous.
"I think they should give us all our money back," one woman said.
"I think it's a money-maker," a man said.
"That was a mistake that was caught," one man said. "How many was not caught they have made."
The Sun investigation comes just months after WJZ reported the city had to cancel more than 1,000 fines because tickets from the camera were printing the wrong location.
"That raises a concern," said Councilman Brandon Scott.
Scott says the City Council is planning action to correct problem.
"I spoke with several colleagues. We're gonna hold an investigative hearing," Scott said.
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake says she's already assembled a panel of experts to review.
"We're working very hard with the group to make sure the tickets issued are correct and they are serving their intended purpose which is to make sure kids get to and from school safely," Rawlings-Blake said.
Baltimore has one of the biggest speed camera systems in the country. This latest black eye for the program isn't helping its popularity.
"The city's trying to rip us off. They need to get rid of them. They are ridiculous," one man said.
City officials claim despite this laundry list of problems, their speed cameras has an error rate of less than 1 percent.
The mayor says more than half of citations go to drivers who don't live in the city.
