New speed cameras won't eliminate errors, radar experts say

Baltimore transportation officials have set high expectations for the city's new speed cameras, telling state lawmakers the devices won't be susceptible to errors that plagued the system over the past three years."We won't have this problem moving forward," said Barbara Zektick, acting deputy transportation director, at a recent briefing for the city's legislative delegation."The new cameras have tracking radar," said Frank Murphy, the agency's acting director.

But radar experts say tracking radar isn't necessarily the cure-all it might seem. They predict the new cameras will reduce — but not necessarily eliminate — the kinds of errors that have cast a shadow over the city's automated enforcement system. Ricoh Shows Off Camera That Captures a 360-Degree Photo in One Shot.Those errors, many of which came to light in a Baltimore Sun investigation, have included generating excessively high speed readings and tagging the wrong vehicle as the speeder.

Speed cameras will be on the agenda in Annapolis this week. A wide-ranging reform bill sponsored by Sen. James Brochin, a Towson Democrat, is scheduled to be heard Wednesday at 1 p.m. by the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. One provision would more explicitly bar the so-called "bounty system" that pays contractors based on the volume of citations.