Details about this story

• Source: Baltimore Sun
• Date: February 03, 2008
• URL: Read the story
• Bylines: Michael Dresser
• Topics: Courts , Safety
• Data Types: State Data
• Description/Excerpt: In Maryland it doesn't pay just to watch your speed. You'd better watch where it is you're speeding. In Baltimore and Baltimore County, fewer than 10 percent of speeding tickets charge the driver with exceeding the limit by less than 10 mph. More than half go to people charged with going 20, 30 or even 40 mph faster than allowed. But in Montgomery County, police give 60 percent of speeding tickets to someone charged with going 1 to 9 mph over the limit. Only 20 percent of ticketed motorists are caught for exceeding the limit by more than 20 mph. The stark contrast among jurisdictions was revealed in an analysis by The Sun of statewide District Court records from 2006. According to police and law enforcement experts, such extreme variations are less a reflection of driver behavior than of police practices in the state's 23 counties and Baltimore City.
• Database or Graphic: Go to site (flash)