Maryland Mamas Better Go Slow!

I’m all for safety. I don’t want kids who are walking to school hurt by a passing motorist. But I’m a librarian. I read 1984. So, no. No, I don’t think a law allowing cameras to automatically ticket anyone speeding within a five mile radius of a school or work zone is a good idea.

For one thing, if you’re not familiar with an area, you don’t always know the speed limit. You’re thinking that nice, straight road – it has to be 45. So, you’re sailing along and…Whoa! Speed limit 30! You hit the brakes and now that you know, you’re going the speed limit. Too bad you passed two cameras before you saw that speed limit sign. That’ll be 80 bucks, please.

Oh, and that joy rider that swiped your car and decided to see just how fast it would go? He gets a fun ride. You get a tab of $160 and then you get to try to prove that you weren’t the driver. Oh, it’ll only take a few hours of your time. Maybe a missed day of work or two.

Sigh. Maryland Senate, what were you thinking? Maybe that you’d all get another 8 million or so in your county’s coffers like Montgomery County? Umm. And Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr? Just so you know, a cap of 10 percent of a jurisdiction’s total budget will not reassure voters that it isn’t a revenue issue. When you’ve got a deficit, you want to make up the difference and 10 percent is 10 percent.

Thanks to the 20 Senators who voted against the bill and didn’t switch their vote just to make other politicians happy or to raise revenue.

(Although the House hasn’t yet passed the bill, it did pass it last year, which means there is about a 99 percent chance we’re getting camera issued speeding tickets.)

Go slow, Mama. And don’t let anyone else drive your car. In Maryland, it kind of feels like Big Brother is watching and, while he’s not a threat to your health, it sure seems like he’s after your cash!