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>Baltimore Banner: What are the takeaways from the first months of data collection from the I-83 cameras?

>BCDOT : We are seeing evidence of slower speeds on I-83. Below is the breakdown of the total 153,251 citations issued:

>Northbound I-83, W 41st St.: 70,933

>Southbound I-83, W 41st St.: 82,318

>During the 90-day warning phase, 202,071, warnings were issued. During the first 90 days of live citations, 109,851 warnings were issued, indicating that the effects trickled down. This corresponds to a 54.3% drop in warnings and citations issued since the program’s implementation.

>Meanwhile, the average issued warning/citation speed has dropped from 65.9 mph to 65.3 mph, indicating that motorists are slowing down. Official crash data for the corridor will not be available until summer 2023 when it is submitted to city DOT by the Maryland Highway Safety Office.

65.9 to 65.3 is.... weak. Good info in this article though. And there are two reader questions that are answered.

when they first turned on the difference was noticeable. it's still better than it was a year ago but you do see people trying to weave at 80 again. the crash data will be interesting.

I mean i applaud them, but they need to be all along 83 to do anything. What I see more than anything is everyone slamming on their brakes causing backups as they approach the cameras and then speeding off after they pass them.

Yeah. I commute 83 daily and still haven't seen a bad wreck around the Northern Parkway bend since they installed these whereas it felt like it used to happen every other week or so in the past. It really felt like you could expect atleast one accident there every time there was a decent bit of inclement weather in that area.

The biggest difference for me anecdotally seems to be that most people just don't weave 80 around that bend anymore, and the ones that try to largely can't because all lanes generally slow to ~55 because of people dodging the cameras. Even if they're successful in going 80 around there for a week or something, I'd bet they'd stop pretty quick after getting pelted with a barrage of $40 tickets.

E: on a slightly unrelated note, I think this is the first time I've seen them actually acknowledge that they can't pull people over even if they wanted to because of the lack of road shoulders...

> BCDOT: Traditional methods of speed enforcement are not possible on I-83 within Baltimore City due to the existing width of roadway shoulders, fiscal and engineering constraints, and resource challenges.

yeah the flow of traffic feels much safer now, for whatever that's worth.

Thank you for posting! (You beat us 🤣)

Haha, no problem! When I posted the clip I thought about that you're on here. I probably should have tagged you.

No, we genuinely appreciate it! This program has been a huge success in terms of slowing down and keeping people much much safer.

109,851 tickets at $40 a pop adds up to $4,394,040 in 90 days.*
Does this money go to the city or the police department? I assume the company that maintains the cameras gets a solid portion of the profits too

Edit:ticket price change

> the legislation for the I-83 speed camera program requires that all revenues be directed toward the cost of operating the camera program on I-83 and I-83 roadway safety improvements within Baltimore City.

Incoming gold guard rails and diamond encrusted pot hole fills

Definitely need them along 83 between Cold Spring Lane and Eager St. That section is an engineering nightmare.

It's much better driving on this roadway now, imo.

Perhaps with some of the money they will add additional cameras.

If the state police want some easy money they should find a place to squat just across the Baltimore City line by the Baltimore sign. Because people take off for 695 at that point. 🤣

I haven't seen the slamming on the breaks so much, but I do see people gun it and drive like complete dicks when they know they are out of camera range.

I would like to know why they put up infrastructure for 6 cameras but we are now only using 2 of them. I remember that The Sun said that there would be 6 installed but only 2 active at once. Does anyone know if that is still the plan?

They need a camera at every entrance/exit that timestamps your plate and calculates your average speed when you exit. If average speed greater than speed limit then you get ticket. Too many people just slam on the brakes for the camera and then go right back to 80mph.

I thought they were $40? Genuinely unsure of the correct number.

Every camera ticket I've gotten in the city has been 75$. If these ones are 40 I'll correct my math lol

While yes, also, they don't even have that on the EZ pass express lanes

If there's no stats on accidents, injuries, and fatalities, then it's nothing more than a revenue stream.

Does anyone know why the speed limit going north from downtown is lower than going south into downtown? The roads feel pretty similar to me, but one is set at 40 and the other at 50.

I thought it was announced as $40, but $75 sounds more realistic. In DC they’re like $100.

/u/BmoreCityDOT

> Official crash data for the corridor will not be available until summer 2023 when it is submitted to city DOT by the Maryland Highway Safety Office.

/u/BmoreCityDOT

Yeah, but that's the speed drop for people who are issued warnings or citations, not everyone driving by. Quite obviously, average speeds have slowed down considerably where the cameras are installed.

This is correct. We're still gathering. The goal is safety, not revenue generation.

No one would use EZPass if they did that. The benefits must outweigh that decision.

> I've seen them actually acknowledge that they can't pull people over even if they wanted to because of the lack of road shoulders...

I had a cop light me up on 83. I was between Cold Spring and Northern and so I went to Northern, exited 83 and pulled over where there was a nice big shoulder. Cop went ballistic on me accusing me of ignoring him.

I got off with a warning. So maybe he recognized I was looking out for his well being.

Curious how are you defining success?

As someone with 3 fines sitting on my desk, they’re $40

People just avoid speeding in front of the cameras now there's always a slowdown where the camera is and then as soon as people are past the camera it's right back to 80 mph and weaving out of traffic.

With all the red tape you have to go through to do government construction work, 4 million dollars will probably pay for 10 feet of road repair.

Seems like a good argument for adding a camera at the next bend in the road north, too. Anywhere people need to slow down and instead hit eachother on the regular.

Diamond would last a lot longer than what they've been putting down every week into the same old potholes.

Checking on this for you!

Honest questions- did you know about the cameras? Do you not care? Why do you $40 prioritize speeding?

Right, I get that. I was just curious if there was a reason why the speed limit is different northbound vs. southbound between Howard St and Pleasant St.

Oops! Totally replied to the wrong comment. We're checking with the Traffic team on this for you.

We are currently authorized to operate two live speed cameras at one time on I-83.

No worries! I appreciate all the outreach that you do.

Thank you! As soon as we have an answer, we'll get back to you.

I am kind of curious why they haven’t done that. It seems like it would be pretty easy to set up.

County legislators who argue local control all day love to prevent Baltimore from having the same authority because they're hypocrites who speed to their downtown law firms.

Definitely don’t prioritize speeding lol. All accidents, one mph too fast. I do care. I’m not a fan of throwing away money like this. Obviously an expensive lesson.

I can see the stretch of 83 by Union/Woodberry from my house. Used to see/hear accidents multiple times a day on that really bad stretch of road. From what I can tell there has been an incredible decline in accidents that started as soon as that camera came online, and such accidents are now unusual rather than nearly constant.

My only complaint is that the flash isn't aimed -at all-, and I get strobe lights through my bedroom window with every ticket almost 1/2 mile from the camera. How hard can it be to put some hoods on those things?

Can you tell us more about what sections of road you’re talking about?

Going south, the speed limit is 40mph from Exit 4 to Exit one because of the curvature of the road.

Going south, the last place I see a 50mph sign is just south of the Pleasant St. exit (it should be visible on street view). Going north, the first place I see a 50mph sign is just north of the North Ave. onramp (you might have to spin the street view around).

Maybe I've just missed it, but is it possible the signage on the road is wrong?

(edited to fix southbound link)

Is there a reasoning behind this limit?

Can you please have all of those damaged attenuators and crash cushions along I-83 replaced? Seems like every single one of them is destroyed and have been for years. They no longer function and are now fixed objects that will increase the severity of a crash if they're struck.

Y’all should randomly turn on 2 at a time. Keep us guessing.