The grace period for JFX speed cameras ends Wednesday
BALTIMORE -- Starting on Wednesday, drivers caught going 12 miles per hour or more over the limit on Interstate 83 in Baltimore City will receive a $40 citation.
That's because the 90-day grace period for the automated speed cameras installed along the Jones Falls Expressway in April is expiring. So instead of a written warning in the mail, speeders will be ticketed.
The Baltimore City Department of Transportation is trying to slow drivers down on JFX in city limits, saying the roadway handles heavy traffic and can be very dangerous at times.
For the past 90 days, the Department of Transportation has been mailing out warnings to drivers caught on camera going 12 miles or more over the limit. About 150,000 warnings were issued in the first 60 days.
"The first 30 days of the warning period, it was about 85,000 and the next 30 days it was about 65,000," Corren Johnson, deputy director for DOT, said. "So that 20,000 reduction shows we're going in the right direction."
Figures for the final 30 days of the grace period were not available Tuesday afternoon.
Sarah Matthews of Baltimore said she does not speed but she feels like many drivers around her do. She's glad to hear that speeding drivers will be penalized.
"I'm glad [the cameras are] there," Matthews said. "I would prefer to be safe because there's always a lot of traffic. Everyone is in a hurry."
"I'm an older adult and speaking on behalf of the older adults, please slow down," she added.
The DOT said money generated by the citations will go toward the cameras' operations. Any leftover money will go toward road and capital improvements.
Matthews said she hopes the cameras stay operating properly and that money generated for the city will be put to good use.