According to the Department of Transportation, Baltimore City earned $5.3 million in revenue in 2007 by issuing 87,000 tickets generated by red-light cameras.

As someone who manages to function in this city without a car, I’ve never had the pleasure of receiving one of these tickets in the mail. However, there is a red-light camera on my block (I guess it’s better than having a blue-light camera, but that’s a story for another day). Countless times, I have seen someone stop in plenty of time at the red light, but inadvertently roll maybe a centimeter onto (not over) the line, and a flashbulb pops.

As a pedestrian, I am well-aware that for Baltimore drivers, red is the new yellow. I always count to five after the light changes before stepping off the curb. However, 87,000 tickets generated by only 78 cameras seems excessive to me. Baltimore County, in contrast, issued 2,870 tickets for red-light violations countywide last year with the help of 12 cameras.

Have any of you conscientious drivers out there found one of these in your mailbox? And more importantly, where is this $5.3 million?

(Photo by WBAL’s Anne Kramer.)

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