Just ask Montgomery County, Maryland, they seem to have it figured out.
The Washington Examiner had a story today that mentioned that Montgomery County speed cameras, in action for nine months now, were averaging 20,000 tickets per month and that, in total, the county had handed out 178,000 speeding tickets from the cameras.
The story goes on to mention that Montgomery County has collected more than five million dollars from drivers so far and expect to collect ten million more in the next year.
And what is the result of this massive ticketing effort?
According to an insurance industry study, the average speed — at the camera sites — has dropped from 42 MPH to 38 MPH.
Think of all the lives that 4 MPH drop has saved!
Especially when you consider that some of these cameras are placed on roads with speed limits of 35 MPH and that undoubtedly, once most drivers pass the cameras, they resume traveling at the speed that is comfortable to them.
But when it comes to ticket cameras, it’s all about safety though, and not about the money. It’s never about the money.