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Laurel Deploys 'Decoy' Cameras To Slow Traffic

LAUREL, Md. (AP) -- Laurel police are trying something new in the push to slow down speeders with automated speed cameras, deploying decoy cameras instead.

The department this week has installed speed camera boxes with sandbags inside. Two were installed on Main Street and on Montgomery Street in front of Laurel Elementary School. The city also has six real speed cameras that issue $40 tickets.

The city is hoping that the decoy boxes will remind drivers to slow down.

Police Chief Richard McLaughlin says it's "a crapshoot" whether a box has a real camera in it or not.

AAA spokesman John Townsend says the decoys seem to be a new approach to speed enforcement.

Police say real cameras have been effective in Laurel and elsewhere, though they are sometimes controversial for generating significant revenue.

(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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