Leadfoot lobbyist Bereano collects more tickets
In June of last year, the Getting There column chronicled the amazing driving career of Bruce C. Bereano, the jolly good felon and back-slapping State House lobbyist turned anti-speed camera crusader.
Bereano (right) had ample motivation for his advocacy because he had amassed a hoard of at least 22 traffic tickets since 1996 -- most of them for speeding. Last year's column gave due credit to Bereano for beating the rap on many of those tickets. And even when he did pay a fine, he often caught breaks from judges.
A little more than a year later, neither sanctions nor leniency appear to have influenced Bereano's driving habits. So far this year, he's collected two speeding tickets and one for driving without a seatbelt.
Court records show Bereano pleaded guilty June 11 to an April 3 speeding violation in which he was clocked at 70 in a 50-mph zone in Queen Anne's County. For some reason, the judge cut him a break and convicted him of going only 59 mph -- reducing his fine to a laughable $60.
Bereano was so chastened by that punishment that he went almost a weekk without being cited for speeding again. This time he was charged with going 88 mph in a 65-mph zone of Interstate 97 in Anne Arundel County. At least he picked the right county. Anne Arundel District Couty judges are notorious cream puffs when it comes to Bereano -- having twice before overlooked his driving record and given him probation before judgment on speeding violations. Trial is set for Sept. 1.
Sun photo
Bereano recently added to his ticket trove by collecting one for driving without a seat belt on Somerset County. Funny thing, that was the day of the J. Millard Tawes Crab and Clam Bake in Crisfied. It was the second year in a row Bereano has received a ticket after that annual event.
Here, for those who are interested, is last year's column about Bereano's daredevil driving. It will remain a subject of humor until someone gets killed:
In the lost cause of reversing Maryland's recently adopted speed camera law, few soldiers stormed the barricades with more gusto than Annapolis super-lobbyist Bruce C. Bereano.
The Baltimore Sun reported that Bereano claimed to have collected more than 1,500 signatures in the failed effort by hauling petitions to political fundraisers and other events."I just feel personally very strongly about this," Bereano told The Sun. "The state presumes guilt, which is contrary to American tenets of law; ... it's making a mockery of justice."
There may be another explanation for Bereano's vehemence than a passion for justice. The felonious lobbyist - he was convicted on federal mail fraud charges in 1994 - is a chronic speeder who has collected traffic tickets at the rate of almost two a year since 1996.
Since 1996, the earliest year for which the District Court of Maryland keeps electronic records, Bereano has been ticketed 22 times in the state. Eighteen of those citations have been for speeding. In nine of those cases, court records show, the officer who issued the ticket clocked Bereano at speeds of 80 mph and above - the highest a whopping 90 mph in Caroline County in 2007.
Though he was disbarred after his conviction, Bereano has a pretty good record as an advocate for himself. On his 22 moving violation citations in Maryland, he's been found not guilty seven times - three times in speeding cases, including that one in Caroline.
Bereano was also the beneficiary of multiple acts of mercy by tender-hearted Maryland judges - many of whom have an abiding faith in the power of the break known as probation before judgment to nudge a sinner toward redemption. The lobbyist received two PBJs in his home county of Anne Arundel - in 1997 and 1999 - even though he had several speeding convictions over the previous years.
Most of Bereano's citations and convictions took place on the Eastern Shore, the personal NASCAR track where he's racked up 14 tickets over the past 13 years - including nine for which he has had to pay fines. Just last week in Dorchester County, he was found guilty of going 73 in a 55-mph zone in January. He received that speeding ticket six days after getting another one in Queen Anne's County, for which he got a PBJ. Isn't it about time the Eastern Shore delegation to the General Assembly staged an intervention? It's their constituents whose lives he's putting at risk.
Bereano is due back in court this week to face a charge of going 85 mph in a 55-mph-zone - worth $290 and 5 points - in Montgomery County. That doesn't mean he'll show up. He failed to appear for trial on that charge on Jan. 22 - the seventh time he's been a no-show since 1997.
If past is prologue, he'll probably get a break. After his previous convictions, he has seldom been hit with a maximum fine.
Given this history, it seems pretty clear by now why Bereano is such a dedicated opponent of speed cameras.
(Disclosure: Bereano stopped talking to me long ago. Our history goes back to my days covering Annapolis, when he was unhappy with my reporting on his lobbying activities. He did not change his policy for this column: "I have no comment for you whatsoever.")
The real point here is not Bereano and the way he tools around the state in his Mercedes-Benz. He's just one scofflaw among many on our roads.
What's more worrisome is his legion of enablers: the judges who have given him break after unwarranted break, the lawmakers who have given him the time of day when he blathered to them on issues of highway safety, and the General Assembly that has long tolerated a body of law too weak to get chronic speeders off the road.
But public opinion may be getting ahead of them.
When the opponents of speed cameras failed in their petition drive, they were quick to whine about how Maryland's referendum laws were stacked against them. But here's another theory:
The reason the petition effort failed was that a sufficient number of Marylanders, when asked to sign, said "hell, no" because they realized that speeding is a menace and that their families need to be protected near schools and in work zones from drivers like Bruce C. Bereano.
The upshot? Smile, Bruce, you're on candid camera.
, bereano's driving recordAccording to the District Court of Maryland, lobbyist Bruce C. Bereano has received 18 speeding citations in the state since 1996, the earliest year for which computerized records are available. Four citations for other traffic violations are not listed. Bereano also has a 2008 speeding conviction in New Jersey. PBJ = Probation before judgment; NG = Not guilty.
Date of ticket County Speed/limit Plea Verdict Fine & Costs
6.2.1996 Somerset 78/55 Dropped
7.10.1996 Queen Anne 80/55 Guilty Guilty 73
2.16.1997 Kent 89/55 Guilty Guilty* $143
3.21.1997 Queen Anne 80/55 Guilty Guilty $73
6.4.1997 Anne Arundel 81/65 N/A PBJ**
12.11.1997 Queen Anne 84/50 Not guilty Not guilty
6.30.1999 Anne Arundel 67/40 Guilty PBJ $33
12.24.1999 Talbot 75/55 Not guilty Guilty $50
5.19.2000 Worcester 78/55 Not guilty Not guilty
5.30.2000 Queen Anne 83/55 Not guilty Guilty $73
7.17.2003 Queen Anne Excessive Not guilty Guilty $63
10.3.2005 Anne Arundel 84/55 Not guilty Not guilty
11.01.2005 Garrett 74/65 Guilty PBJ $75
5.22.2007 Caroline 90/55 Not guilty Not guilty
5.14.2008 Dorchester 74/55 Dropped 10.8.2008 Montgomery 85/55 Pending Pending 1.4.2009 Queen Anne 74/55 Not guilty PBJ $75
1.10.2009 Dorchester 73/55 Not guilty Guilty $90*Judge reduced speed of conviction to 84 mph.
**Circuit Court struck District Court guilty verdict, ordered probation.
Sources: District Court of Maryland, Motor Vehicle Administration
Comments
It seems pretty obvious to me that fear of frequent citations is the only reason most people protest speeding cameras. They try to concoct legal, moral, or even metaphysical arguments against cameras but in the end they're just trying to ensure that they can speed without getting caught.
If there is a battle to be fought here, it is the ludicrously low speed limits on some roads in Maryland (often the same roads where cameras are placed). I am against putting a camera on a road that is engineered for 50mph but limited to 30. The camera is not the problem however. In fact, it's an efficient way to enforce traffic laws, and aren't we always complaining about how inefficient our government is?
Posted by: Youssef | July 26, 2010 11:44 AM
Youssef - good points. We have a lot of unenforceable or unenforced laws, the most obvious ones being the speed limits. There is an unspoken reason why the minimum threshold for getting a speed-camera ticket is 11 miles higher than the posted speed limit. The posted speed limits are, however, generally 15 to 20 miles per hour lower than the speed that a road can be safely driven on.
Practically all drivers, police officers, and judges recognize this - that's why they don't pay any attention to the posted speed limits. What about increasing the posted speed limits by five to ten miles an hour, except in school and construction zones? Then maybe speeders wouldn't get as much leniency in the courts and on the highways since the posted speed would also be the safe speed?
COMMENT: To get a speed camera ticket, one has to be going 12 mph over the limit-MTD.
Posted by: Frank | July 26, 2010 1:30 PM
Michael, I think the time has come for you to disclose what tragedy has happened in your life to make you fixate on speed. At no time was Bereano ever cited for reckless endangerment based on your own findings. I rather be on the road with him than someone who is distracted or has their eyes off the road in front of them. That is the biggest danger to all drivers. In case your forgot, while you are spending so much time on this issue, there is a driver out who isn’t speeding but is reckless and will probably kill someone. Since they were not SPEEDING I guess it ok, because only speeders are dangerous.
Posted by: Wally | July 26, 2010 2:10 PM
Wally, it is not emotionally unbalanced to be worried about people speeding when speed is a major factor in nearly all traffic collisions.
Even when speed isn't the sole cause of a car collision, it heightens the injuries and lives lost.
Its a fact. As sure as gravity.
I only challenge you now because once you have lost this argument with physics and are no longer with us, you will have been just as likely to take someone to the grave while learning this lesson.
If you are still deluded into opining speed doesn't cause collisions, then please keep your inaccurate opinions to yourself . The rest of us would like to live.
Posted by: Luke | July 26, 2010 4:27 PM
I think I've "stormed the barricades" with every bit as much gusto as Bereano, although I've yet to get a speed camera citation. Would you care to look up my driving record Dresser? I mean you're the big fan of Big Brother, so I'm surprised you haven't already done so.
Bereano was NOT one of the organizer of the anti speed camera petition. So why did you not look up the petition organizers? Oh wait, perhaps there was nothing to report?!? So instead let's pick out ONE person out of ALL the speed camera opponents who happens to have a bad driving record, and paint it like he is a representative sample. Is That your game Dresser?
The fact is that EVERY TIME SINGLE photo enforcement has been put to a direct popular vote in the US the people have voted it down. The reason the people did not take to the Maryland petition with sufficient Gusto to meet the extremely strict timelines is that most people bought the line of bull the government was selling that the cameras would only go up in school zones... without realizing that new school zones would simply be created wherever they wanted to put cameras up, sometimes covering entire towns and of course 86% of Baltimore (putting up signs for the zones has also been considered optional in some cases). AFTER that fact became known, a handful of petition gathered were able to meet a far more strict timeline and number of signature in Sykesville and the voters blasted that town's camera ordinance down. Speed Cameras will ALWAYS be used as a cash grab first with any safety purpose as a nice fringe benefit. Meanwhile complying with the law will always be considered optional for the government. Maryland residents are just starting to discover that.
Posted by: StopBigBrotherMD | July 26, 2010 11:26 PM
Roadways may be engineered for certain limits but neighborhoods should have the last word what they want the speed limits to be. What is the posted speed limit in your neighborhood? Do you exceed that limit?
Bereano was/is against the radar equipment officers use too.
Posted by: missnj | July 28, 2010 6:40 PM
Since you're being so holier-than-thou Mikey, how about posting your own driving record?
Can you blame Bereano for not wanting to talk to you?
COMMENT: Anyone here answer to the name Mikey?
Posted by: R686ST | July 29, 2010 10:24 AM