Federal Highway Administration and Illinois governor urge Maryland, Missouri and Tennessee to use freeway speed cameras.

Officials from Maryland, Missouri and Tennessee joined Illinois Governor Rod R. Blagojevich (D) at a two-day event designed to promote the use of speed cameras on freeways throughout the country. In 2006, Illinois became the first state government to implement a statewide photo ticketing program. This effort was soon copied by Arizona, Colorado and Washington state, each of which also sent participants to yesterday’s “highway safety workshop.” Officials attending heard about how successful these programs have been at imposing automated tickets worth up to $1000 each.

“One of the keys to this success has been the photo speed enforcement vans that have deployed by IDOT and the Illinois State Police,” Blagojevich said in a prepared statement about the event.

The participation of Missouri and Tennessee officials has revealed their states’ interest in using automated ticketing machines on freeways.

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State police embrace electronic ticket system

Many motorists know the age-old speeding ticket routine – get pulled over, wait at least 10 minutes for an officer to write a barely legible citation and hope to remember to mail a check within 15 days.

But fumbling with carbon copies and postage stamps might soon be a thing of the past. By the end of the month, the Maryland State Police, which issues a third of all speeding tickets issued in the state, plans to deploy an electronic citation system, and law enforcement agencies in almost 30 other jurisdictions have expressed interest in doing the same, police and court officials say.

The agencies are following the lead of New Carrollton, whose police department in December became the first agency in Maryland to become certified by the District Court to issue e- citations. The state police – which issues almost 500,000 of the state’s 1.5 million traffic tickets a year – received certification Wednesday, said Roberta Warnken, assistant chief clerk of the District Court.

Police and court officials say the electronic system is more accurate and efficient, and decreases the time officers spend on traffic stops, which can be time-consuming and dangerous. Advocates dismiss concerns that the new system will lead to police issuing more tickets, saying agencies can instead free officers for more productive functions.

“If we’re not taking the time to write citations, we can be more proactive and prevent why we’re giving citations out in the first place,” said Cpl. Chris Corea of the state police, who developed the agency’s software.

Maryland is catching up with much of the country. In 2003, almost 30 states had an e-citation program or had begun implementing one, according to a federal assessment.

In May, Gov. Martin O’Malley signed a bill authorizing electronic citations and removing the requirement for a violator’s signature to acknowledge receipt of a ticket. The law requires a standard form for e-citations throughout the state and certification of software programs by the District Court.

One hurdle has been cost. Local agencies keep none of the $90 million a year the state collects in traffic revenue, and instead must rely on departmental funds or grant money to make the move to e-citations. The cost of equipping a state police cruiser is about $1,000, Corea said.

“The first thing that everybody said is, ‘Who’s going to pay for it?’” said Sgt. Richard Hartnett of the New Carrollton Police Department.

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Speed cameras in Montgomery County, Maryland have been ticketing motorists for quite some time now. Under their program, the tickets go to the owner of the vehicle instead of the driver. This is a common flaw in ticket camera systems across the country.

Local authorities have decided that it’s acceptable to do this to avoid the hassle of tracking down the actual violators.

The average motorist who receives a speed camera ticket can either fight it in court or send in a check. However, the amount of effort and time necessary to get a speed camera ticket dismissed is substantial. As a result, most drivers — even innocent ones — choose to just pay the ticket in order to avoid taking time off work to go to court.

Limited court costs are a key reason why ticket camera programs are so profitable for local governments.

According to the Washington Post, police in Montgomery County are bucking the trend and have decided to use their union resources to avoid paying camera tickets:

Among the thousands of drivers who have been issued $40 fines after being nabbed by Montgomery County’s new speed cameras are scores of county police officers. The difference is, many of the officers are refusing to pay. The officers are following the advice of their union, which says the citations are issued not to the driver but to the vehicle’s owner — in this case, the county.

So basically, they’ve decided to exploit the flaw in the system that they helped create. The article continues:

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