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AAA Speed Camera claims in College Park invalidated by Police evidence and Court rulings


optotraffic (select to view enlarged photo)

LANHAM, MD--August 22, 2011: Optotraffic welcomed the decision on August 19, 2011 of Maryland District Court Five Judge Gerard Devlin in the case of the Town of Forest Heights vs. Will Foreman. Mr. Foreman was found guilty on all fifteen of his contested speeding tickets last Friday, and was assessed full fines and court costs.

“Our equipment continues to meet or exceed all tests for accuracy and reliability, and the unfounded claims from AAA have certainly been disconcerting. We look forward to working with local officials and police to ensure roads near school zones in Prince George's county are safer for our children.”

Mr. Foreman has recently appeared, along with AAA representatives, in various forums and presented unproven allegations about the performance and legal status of the systems.

Judge Devlin warned Mr. Foreman several times that he was "close to contempt of court" and admonished him for continually trying to insist the pictures he presented were evidence that the systems were inaccurate. The judge categorically rejected Mr. Foreman's assertions, and repeated that the photographs are used for identification, and not for speed determination purposes. A complete transcript of the trial is available.

At a press conference convened last week by AAA Mid Atlantic, Mr. Lon Anderson and Mr. John B. Townsend of AAA incorrectly accused the City of College Park of placing the speed cameras at locations not allowed by law and of using inaccurate equipment. City officials refuted these claims shortly afterwards in their own press conference. Maryland Transportation Code 21-809 Section 6-3 confirms the legality of the speed camera placement and the advanced lidar technology cameras, provided by Optotraffic, are calibrated daily, and yearly by an independent 3rd party.

Prince George's County Police as well as municipal Police Departments also test cameras with a variety of vehicles. Prince George's County Police conducted some tests last week, verifying accuracy to within 0.5 MPH. Comprehensive testing has been conducted by the Prince George's Police and by the Forest Heights' Police department.

Optotraffic has been awarded the contract to provide Prince George's County with portable speed cameras for school zones. "We are quite proud of the recent award from Prince George's County," said Mickey Shepherd, spokesman for Optotraffic. "Our equipment continues to meet or exceed all tests for accuracy and reliability, and the unfounded claims from AAA have certainly been disconcerting. We look forward to working with local officials and police to ensure roads near school zones in Prince George's county are safer for our children."

About Optotraffic:

Optotraffic, a Lanham, MD company, offers complete red light and speed camera solutions. Optotraffic's patented portable system requires no attendant on site, is housed in a small trailer suitable for deployment on any street and is the only one capable of enforcing dense traffic and multiple lanes simultaneously. This unique portable system can enforce multiple locations so public safety improves over a large geographic area. Optotraffic provides a turnkey solution, and is a vertically integrated organization providing local manufacturing, deployment, service, and processing.