Published on: Wednesday, March 16, 2011

By Jeffrey Benzing

Speed cameras will not go up until fall, but Hyattsville City Council voted 7-1 March 7 to create school zones and authorize the speed control program to go forward.

Before any cameras are installed, the city will conduct a traffic study on camera locations to be approved by the council.

“I’m going to support the enabling legislation, but beyond this, it really remains to be seen whether I’ll support the program. The devil’s in the details I think,” said Councilman Timothy Hunt, Ward 3.

Hyattsville Police Chief Doug Holland said the 42 active officers Hyattsville employs are not enough to enforce traffic laws and that cameras curb speeding.

“This is something that I personally feel needed to be explored, both in terms of traffic safety and reducing the overall speeds in the city,” Holland said. “Part of my job as head of the agency is to continuously look at ways that we could be more effective.”

Tickets will only be issued to drivers exceeding the speed limit by at least 12 miles per hour and only from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays. This is in accordance with a state law that also sets the maximum fine at $40 and requires a police officer to review every ticket.

Still, the cameras will put money directly in the city’s pocket to be spent exclusively on public safety or on the program itself, something some residents take issue with.

“There’s clearly no reason here for this to happen other than for the city to get a few extra dollars,” resident Jamie Aycock told the council. “There seems to be no rational basis for this law if there hasn’t been anything that’s been identified as a potential safety threat.”

Laurie Micalof the Pathways School and Dave Gardiner of DeMatha Catholic School told the council that they thought speed cameras could improve student safety.

Holland said he hasn’t seen studies stating that the number of accidents near schools is reduced by cameras, but he said he has seen evidence that speeds are reduced when cameras are installed.

But some residents aren’t sure cameras have improved safety in nearby cities.

“When I’m driving through College Park, I’m looking around to avoid getting a ticket,” resident Anne Spaulding said before the meeting. “Is that making me a safer driver? I don’t think so.”

Money from moving violations currently goes straight to the state if a driver is stopped by an officer.

Money collected from speed cameras goes to the state only if the city does not spend it on public safety within two fiscal years — or when the amount remaining after system costs exceeds 10 percent of the city’s revenue for the year.

“The trend has been that the numbers of citations are high initially,” Holland said. “Once folks are aware that the cameras are there, the number of citations and then the amount of revenue goes down.”

The maximum fine of $40 is a civil penalty that won’t put points on a driver’s record or have an impact on insurance rates. Anyone pulled over by an officer going 12 mph above the speed limit would pay a $90 fine and have two points put to their record — and this fine could be doubled if an officer catches a driver in a school zone.

Holland noted that most of the city’s streets are in school zones, although a traffic study would tell the department where cameras are most needed.

A camera vendor would most likely help the city with the study, Holland said. Pending council approval, this could happen this summer, with cameras to go up as early as September.

Additionally, the department would have to hire an officer specifically to review tickets issued by cameras.

Councilwoman Nicole Hinds Mofor, Ward 5, voted against the ordinance and said she thought the city should find ways to reduce speeding without installing cameras and hiring an officer.

Councilman Marc Tartaro, Ward 1, left last Monday’s meeting prior to a vote on speed cameras and Councilman David Hiles, Ward 2, was absent from the meeting room during the vote.