Police raise threshold for traffic tickets near speed cameras on Watkins Mill Road

To squelch perceptions of a speed trap, Gaithersburg, MD officials have recommended raising the speed limit on a half-mile section of Watkins Mill Road so that the speed is consistent with the rest of the road.The speed limit on the half-mile, city-owned section is 25 mph, while the speed limit for the rest of the road, which is owned by the county, is 35 mph.

City Police Chief John King adjusted the threshold in which a ticket will be issued to speeders caught on camera.

Problems with the set speed limit “didn’t come to light until we put in the fixed speed cameras, and we started getting letters of complaint, which suggested that it was a speed trap,” King said.

In a Feb. 12 letter, the city’s public works department advised Mayor Sidney A. Katz and the City Council that they should raise the speed limit along the city’s section of the road from 25 to 35 mph and extend Watkins Mill Elementary School’s school zone. No date has yet been set for the items review.

Since the city’s Safe Speed Photo Enforcement Program debuted in the fall, officials have received complaints about the 25 mph speed limit posted.

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The Federal Communications Commission is investigating whether neighborhood radar speed traps violate federal regulations.

The Federal Communications Commission’s Enforcement Bureau is investigating whether violate federal regulations. The agency began its inquiry in February when Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) decided to ask for FCC guidance after it had already encouraged elderly residents for more than a year to use radar guns to track the driving habits of neighbors.

“I don’t quite understand why they would offer to train us, buy us signs, encourage us to report to them on a weekly basis and then report us to the FCC,” said James Roberts, the subject of an FCC complaint initiated by CMPD.

Roberts had been using a Bushnell Velocity Speed Gun to monitor traffic in his area. Although this inexpensive K-Band radar unit is exempt from FCC licensing requirements, its manual warns that improper usage “may cause harmful interference to radio communications.” It is unlikely that Roberts violated any rule or faces any sanction for use of the low-powered gun.

Under the Communications Act, the FCC does not generally have the ability to fine someone who does not hold a license without first issuing a warning. Penalties for licensees can run up to $11,000 for each violation, or each day of a continuing violation. Most police radar guns do require a license to operate because they use higher power levels. The department may face questioning if it loaned equipment requiring a license to uncertified users.

Roberts will not operate his radar gun while the inquiry is pending.

Chicago, Illinois suburbs set up speed traps in which no one OTHER THAN A FELLOW POLICE OFFICER can escape a traffic citation.

Police in Chicago, Illinois suburbs are citing terrorism as a reason for “no mercy” speed traps where every motorist stopped by police — other than fellow police officers — receives a traffic citation. A Chicago Sun-Times analysis found that a total of thirty towns had a policy where more than 90 percent of drivers stopped must be ticketed.

“There’s a lot of people who come in and out, and with all this terrorism and everything else that’s going on, we have zero tolerance,” North Chicago Police Sergeant Sal Cecala told the Sun-Times. “There’s no breaks for the officers to give.” (Well, aparently, there ARE breaks…just to other police officers.)

North Chicago has a 99.5 percent ticket issuance rate — only 21 drivers got warnings out of 4372 stopped. To increase ticket revenue further, the city is preparing to install automated ticketing cameras at intersections. Only Prairie Grove beats North Chicago with a 99.9 percent ticket rate, but police officials insist that officers do not have a ticket quota. In Markham, the ticket issuance rate is 99 percent. In Riverside, it is 96 percent.

Only a few suburbs including Geneva and Plano have ticket issuance rates below 25 percent, ensuring that only serious violations are ticketed. Drivers who may have strayed over the limit without endangering anyone receive warnings.

Source: (Chicago Sun-Times, 8/12/2007)

An off-duty Maricopa County, AZ sheriff’s deputy was stopped and cited by Peoria police recently for going 96 mph in a posted 45 mph zone, officers said. Jason Parker was cited and released at Hassayampa Justice Court for speeding AND having no proof of insurance. Police said Parker was observed going westbound at a high rate of speed by a Peoria police motorcycle officer.

A radar reading indicated Parker was going 96 mph in a posted 45 mph zone, police said. Peoria police said Parker admitted he was showing off his new Corvette for a friend. He faces an administrative investigation by the sheriff’s office in addition to paying the speeding ticket.

Well, this is different…

In Carmel, Indiana police have launched a program where ordinary citizens are issued radar guns to clock speeders.

Dubbed the Citizens Speed Monitoring Program, the effort has been underway for about a year. The citizens clock the speed, and if a violation is observed, they report back to police with the speed and vehicle information. Letters are then sent from police to the speeders warning them of the violation. No summonses are issued.

Apparently, similar programs have already been established in communities in California, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Georgia.

It’s a bit early to draw any firm conclusions about such programs without seeing statistics, problems encountered, and other relevant feedback, but definitely an interesting idea.

Of course, not everyone is thrilled with such a program.

“I think it is a little bit offensive,” said Indianapolis attorney Will Gooden, whose criminal practice includes defending clients fighting traffic citations. “I just have a general concern about extending the police power. It’s sort of a slope you start down. What will regular citizens do next for the police?”

I would say that I would have to agree! Ordinary citizens probably aren’t given proper training on the intricacies of operating radar guns and evaluating speeds visually and audibly. But, they aren’t issuing real tickets — just warnings. So, I guess it isn’t all that bad. But… What’s Next!