VIDEO: Speed Cameras Hit the Streets of Howard County
Enforcement with school zone speed cameras began Monday.
Videos
Speed cameras have arrived.
Two speed cameras mounted on vans will be on the streets in school zones around Howard County.
According to the police department, for one month, drivers who travel 12 mph or greater over the speed limit will receive warnings. Beginning in November, however, violators will be sent citations that carry a $40 fine, but will not add points to a violator's driving record.
According to Sherry Llewellyn, spokeswoman for the Howard County Police Department, the two vans carrying the speed cameras will be moved throughout the day.
This week, they will be on the following streets:
- 5600 block of Cedar Lane
- 11500 block of Frederick Road
- 12700 block of Folly Quarter Road
- 6100 block of Montgomery Road
- 9200 block of North Laurel Road
- 2900 block of St. John’s Lane
- 6000 block of Tamar Drive
- 4600 block of Ten Oaks Road
- 13300 block of Triadelphia Road
- 15000 block of Triadelphia Road
- 8900 block of Whiskey Bottom Road
- Carrs Mill Road
- Centennial Lane
- Dobbin Road
- Freetown Road
- Ilchester Road
- Kilimanjaro Road
- Northfield Road
- Old Waterloo
- Road Seneca Drive
Cameras will be operational Monday - Friday, from 6 a.m. - 8 p.m. For all locations, cameras will be operational only along the stretch of the road that is marked as a school zone.
In addition, expect some additional signage, warning drivers that their speeds are being monitored.
Check back weekly for an updated list of roads where the cameras will be operational or visit the Howard County Police Department's website.
Click here for answers to some frequently asked questions about speed cameras from Capt. John McKissick, commander of the special operation division.
Sean Colin
6:36 am on Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Where is the side walk? Where are all the children walking to school? There isn't even a house in sight, how is this protection?
H.R. Pufnstuf
12:18 pm on Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Sean is correct. There are no sidewalks because NO KIDS WALK TO SCHOOL in the western part of the county. The public safety is nothing more than a smokescreen for the real issue- tax revenue. This whole program is a joke.
LRD
12:10 pm on Wednesday, October 19, 2011
You guys clearly didn't watch the video. There is a house 2 seconds in. And I guess you missed all those kids playing soccer or whatever at the end of the video. Not to mention, you're both wrong! I have a son who walks to Bushy Park ES.
H.R. Pufnstuf
3:47 pm on Wednesday, October 19, 2011
You let your kid walk to Busy Park ES? You fail as a parent. I certainly hope your child is not walking on Rt. 97, and even walking on Carrs Mill is dangerous b/c there are no sidewalks. We pay for buses, your child should use them. I think you're full of it.
LRD
8:48 pm on Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Yes, walking on Carrs Mill is dangerous. Ergo, there are speed cameras there. See how it works?
H.R. Pufnstuf
9:57 pm on Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Walking on Carrs Mill Road is dangerous, regardless of how fast cars are going. You claim you let your kid walk to school along Carrs Mill. Ergo, you fail as a parent or are full of crap. Yeah, I see how it works. Do you?
Sean Colin
10:01 pm on Wednesday, October 19, 2011
To LRD, If your child does something wrong, do you correct the child as soon as it happens or wait two weeks? I would hope you correct the child at the time of the misbehavior, that way he/she knows they have done something wrong and can correct it. The speed cameras DO NOT stop a vehicle from speeding, they simply photograph it and send a bill to the vehicle owner two weeks later. The state has trivialized speeding by making it a civil penalty with no points, a small fine and even said that is acceptable to exceed the speed limit by 11 mph. The cameras are essentially a sin tax, you can speed all you want, you'll just have to pay.
LRD
12:00 pm on Thursday, October 20, 2011
Ohai, I never said my kid walks to school along Carrs Mill. Nice try though. Sean, I would argue that speed cameras DO stop vehicles from speeding. If motorists know cameras can be in school zones, they will not speed through them since they don't want to get tickets.
H.R. Pufnstuf
4:26 pm on Thursday, October 20, 2011
You clearly alluded to that. Don't portray me as the one twisting words, your the one making false innuendos to try and make your weak case. If your kid does not walk along Carrs Mill or Rt. 97, the cameras aren't really doing anything for your child, are they? That's the issue at hand. These cameras are all about revenue generation, not public safety.
Sean Colin
3:54 pm on Thursday, October 20, 2011
To LRD, Don't you want a car to stop speeding now-not weeks later? Only a live police officer can stop that car from speeding-the cameras cannot. Just as a red light camera does not prevent someone from running a red light, speed cameras cannot make someone not speed. The fine is too low and there are no points attached, so really you can speed all you want past a speed camera, you just have to pay for it.
If the county truly thought the cameras will work so well, why do they expect to make over $1 million dollars from them this year.
LRD
8:43 pm on Thursday, October 20, 2011
Darn right red light cameras stop people from running red lights. People know they are there, so when the light turns yellow, they stop instead of hitting the gas to try to beat the light. Works the same way with speed cameras. People know they are in school zones, so they will be more likely to obey the speed limit.
Sean Colin
9:00 pm on Thursday, October 20, 2011
No they do not, they just photograph someone doing it-you can still run a red light and still speed-would you do either if an officer was there?
Washington DC has had speed cameras for years now, the same people pass those speed cameras everyday as they commute back and forth to work, the same cameras in the same locations--have the number of tickets issued been decreasing over the years-NO, they are steady if not rising-they cameras do not work!
LRD
12:04 pm on Friday, October 21, 2011
Sure, people run red lights and speed in front of officers all the time. An officer has to witness an infraction to write a ticket for it so to say these things don't happen in front of officers is nonsense.
Sean Colin
7:31 pm on Friday, October 21, 2011
I think you are missing my point, the county spent a lot of money on these vans and equipment for a return on their investment-since no children have been struck in a school zone this year, last year, the year before, etc., the return on their investment is monetary. The cameras are being utilized nationwide by cash starved cities/towns under the guise of safety, when in fact they are there for revenue generation. This equipment is nothing new, it has been around for years, but now that everyone is broke, there is suddenly a "safety issue" with school zones.
I'll ask you again, if they work so well , why does Washington DC still issue more tickets each year than the previous? The speed cameras in Maryland work zones have issued more tickets so far this year than all of last-please explain to me how the cameras are slowing anyone down?
WHoco Citizen
2:04 pm on Friday, October 28, 2011
Sean, if people choose not to speed and choose to obey the school zone restrictions, then the vans in front of schools become superfluous and non-cost-effective. The only people who are being targeted by the cameras are those individuals who feel the need, compulsion, desire, whatever, to speed. You might even feel that it's a personal liberty thing, however incorrect that viewpoint is. But you'd get laughed off the stage if you came out with an argument like "My right to speed is greater than your kid's right to safety, so get over it." Hence all the lame side issues like "it's a cash flow thing", or "it's big government again."
I don't know if you get out much, but in other parts of the country, 5MPH over the posted limit will get you a ticket. I learned to drive in a state with those restrictions. Here in MD as well as much of the east coast, you're accustomed to a laughably huge grey area of 15-20MPH before you see the cops in your rear view mirror, because they usually only target the really egregious speeders - not enough cops to go around. Commuters count on that grey area And that grey area seems to be what you're trying to preserve in opposing these cameras.
I made the argument in an unrelated post that you can't apply a macro solution to a micro problem. You can't change everyone's mind and get them to meekly obey the speed limit. But you can hit them in the pocketbook when they speed past a school. And we should.
Sean Colin
9:54 pm on Friday, October 28, 2011
to WHOCO; Did you not read my posts above, nowhere in there did I mention Big Brother, grey zones, or my right to speed-those are all your words-not mine. If not please read them again. If you do choose to read them again please answer the questions I posed in them-