Sadly you are very mistaken. Do a little research and you will see thousands of false tickets are issued by jurisdictions yearly. Cameras that randomly flash, the speed programmed wrong, the calibration inaccurate, the cameras flat out wrong, etc

No safety benefits are shown either. In fact in many jurisdictions around the country and world cameras have greatly increased the number of accidents and sometimes deaths! There is one reason for cameras and one reason only - $$$$$$$

Michael Dresser Wrote: " School zones are defined in law as anywhere within a half-mile of a school,"

NO THEY ARE NOT!!!!

The Maryland State Highway Administration has released TWO documents which set the record straight on this.

From
http://www.marylandroads.com/OOTS/SZ-ASE_Brochure.pdf
"What’s a School Zone?
Maryland law allows ASE systems in designated school zones. A clear definition of “school zone” must be established in order to implement an effective ASE program.
The Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) defines a “School Area” as the area surrounding, and within one‐half mile of, a school building or property and within which motor vehicle, pedestrian or bicycle traffic is substantially generated or influenced by the school.
Within this “School Area”, “School Zones” may be designated.
SHA defines a “School Zone” as a segment of highway located within a School Area that is:
(1) Routinely used by pupils for access to or egress from school buildings or grounds,
(2) Established by official action, and
(3) Designated by appropriate signs.
The Maryland Annotated Code (TR § 21‐803.1) allows School Zones to be established within a one‐half mile radius of any school. However, this does not mean that all roads within a one‐half mile radius of a school are considered School Zones. The SHA, or the local authority having jurisdiction over the road, must officially establish a School Zone and designate it with the appropriate signs before it becomes a School Zone. School zones should not be established solely for the purpose of installing speed cameras. Similarly, all school zones do not automatically qualify for speed cameras. Speed camera deployments should be based on a traffic safety study.
** Not all roadways within a ½ mile radius of schools are considered School Zones **"

From the Maryland State Highway Administration ASE guidelines:
http://www.marylandroads.com/OOTS/ASE_Schools_Zone_Guidelines.pdf
'“School Zone” is a segment of a highway located within a School Area that is (1) routinely used by pupils for access to or egress from school buildings or grounds, (2) established by official action, and (3) designated by appropriate signs."'[...]
and
"A school zone is officially designated as such when the required signs are installed. Designated school zone signs should only be installed where school facilities are in actual use for school activities."

I personally sent a letter to the Baltimore City Department of Transportation asking about this back in October. Their response was the following: "You asked if the locations for speed cameras were all pre-existing school zones. No they were not."

So in fact these school zones were _created for the purpose of deploying speed cameras_.

I also asked them whether they WOULD mark the locations as school zones before deploying speed cameras. They responded:
"You asked if the city will ensure that all of these locations have required signage before the speed cameras are installed. The answer is yes."

However in fact many of Baltimore's 'school zones' were not marked as such before those signs went up, are some STILL not marked as such.

The key fallacy in the argument supporting these cameras is that speed is a measure of safety. These cameras do nothing about dangerous aggressive drivers, road rage, weaving, cutting across multiple lanes, ignoring signs and pavement markings, tailgating, right-of-way violations, and many other things that lead to unsafe driving conditions. Some people drive vehicles very fast in our country, on the track, and abroad. Speed by itself does not lead to unsafe driving which is why I reject the implementation of speed cameras.

These cameras are really getting out of control. They're popping up everywhere and it's starting to really bug me. I'm sure I'm not alone. I think you're going to see an industry come to the rescue with countermeasures that work, and the people authorizing these cameras aren't immune to exploits that any person sitting at home with a printer can carry out.

I received a ticket for speeding at an intersection on Erdman Avenue, which supposedly is the top revenue making speed trap. It is marked as a red light camera, but not as a speed camera. I accelerated through a yellow light that I inadvertently entered late, so as not to get a red light ticket and got a speeding ticket instead. I have been driving Erdman Avenue for 10 years and have not ever seen a child or even pedestrians in the area. The area is industrial and the school for children with special needs - which I have visited (1000 ft. from the traffic light)buses the children in. The Archbishop Curley High School, 1800 ft away, is not going to generate street traffic on Erdman in this area...it is industrial and has no homes on the south side. The north side has a service road parallel to Erdman, as Erdman is no place for people, in general, to be walking. And finally, it is summertime and school is not in session! The whole school zone safety issue is fabricated.