(Insert negative comment here!)

Why are tickets being issued when school is out for the summer??

Sigh.
This is not journalism. This is lobbying for the GOP.

OK I'll take you at your word, drivers learn which 50 yards to slightly apply their brakes before speeding up again. Was that the goal? Because that does NOT automatically equate to better safety.

There are other ways to reduce average speeds using non-Orwellian traffic engineering solutions. This study found a 9mph reduction in speeds when 'radar speed display signs' (your speed signs) were used in school zones:
http://trb.metapress.com/content/3028rr500u381630/

This study shows not only that such 'your speed' signs improved compliance with speed limits, but that compliance increased over time:
http://www.radarsign.com/Files/Documents/Radarsign-Effectiveness-Decline-In-%20Average-Speed.pdf

There's a whole bunch more studies here:
http://www.informationdisplay.com/httpdocs/traffic-calming-research-studies.php
all of which draw the same conclusion, radar speed display signs are an effective, cost effective way to reduce speeds.

But you will not see speed camera funds used for this particular 'public safety' expense. Local governments now have an incentive to treat all 'speeding problems' as 'law enforcement problems' to be solved with revenue generating cameras, when what they *really* have is a *traffic engineering problem*. Worse yet the incentive will be to create 'law enforcement problems' by lowering speed limits just so cameras can "solve" them, which has happened in some PG county towns. If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

FYI the specific PG county locations where "speeding problems" were "created" to lower speed limits I refer to are in Mount Rainier, Brentwood, College Park, and Cheverly. There are enough examples now that I do not consider this to be 'isolated'. There has also been the widespread creation of new school zones not next to any school(which has happened in Baltimore City as well). Baltimore county is very different politically than PG, so they chose to do a small 'pilot program' first which is why you have not seen all of this **yet**. But if you'd like to see more obvious scams unfold in Baltimore County, go ahead and approve unlimited #s of speed cameras and open the floodgates.

I think one of the problems is that the door was left open to a gauntlet of unanswered questions prior to the announcement of the cameras which fueled the flames of emotions among this sites readers.

I was chided for lacking the where-for-all to ask the necessary questions. I too was relying more on emotions than research.

For example, what was the average speeds before and after the cameras were installed? What were the crash rates? Where any school children injured? What are the cost factors vs revenues? Are the cameras reliable based on current data? Were public forums held? Were the cameras set to be in use only during school hours? Would the assessment of points be part of the equation? What and how effective are the cameras as they relate to the presence of a police officer using speed measuring devices such as radar and lazier devices?

The Baltimore County Police has a Traffic Management Unit designed to answer these questions. Had this been done in conjunction with Councilman's Quirk's proposal many of the public's concerns could have been addressed.

StopBigBrotherMD raises some interesting issues on the lines of the "cop on every corner" mentality.

There is the reality that in order to maintain the public services we demand, the issue of revenue, no matter how its interpreted is necessary. We don't hesitate in funding sports stadiums, just the roads to get there.

From the Patch Terms-of-Use document, clickable at the bottom of each page:

"Patch believes in transparency, and we ask that all your registration information be truthful. You may not use any aliases or other means to mask your true identity."

So why is it that this discussion includes contributors identified as "Buzz the Fuzz," "Tiger Woman" and "StopBigBrotherMD" ?

I am more than a bit reluctant to enter into discussions with people who know my identity, but are hiding their own. Possible reasons why someone would hide his/her identity in such a forum are unsettling.

Stan, thank you for standing up for the integrity of this site. On another topic when the person using my registered blogg name on another site of BuzztheFuzz, which was backed up by my real name in the signature, starting violating the policies of this site, Bryan Sears took action to stop these comments.

You are correct in you assessment that the highest standards must be maintained on this and other sites and should be enforced, otherwise those of us who engage in robust debate may become targets of this cyber bulling stalking along with other acts of possible reprisals.

The next step is criminal prosecution under MD Cyber Stalking 555.c. The law is very clear.

I have found that most people who choose to use pseudonyms abide by the sties Terms-of-Use. Its the ones that don't that face criminal penalties and I hope they remember that computers leave IP addresses.

I believe it is in the best interest of Patch and other news related sites that this type of conduct be negated, otherwise those of us who abide by the rules of conduct will be dissuaded from our right to free speech.

The county police have a traffic management unit designed for this type of study. They can provide the council with all the necessary information for them to utilize in one of their work sessions.

Some of the issues would include speed surveys, crash data, other studies that would reveal before and after data regarding speed along with crash stats, including severity.

I also think that this information be disseminated to the public which could lead to subsequent robust public debate base on some solid information.