Every driver wants to be kept safe while on the road and many states employ a number of methods for ensuring driver safety. In the past years, many states have started increasing the number of traffic cameras on their streets in order to catch drivers who are violating the law. In fact, the number of Maryland traffic camera locations has seen sharp increases recently, and what many drivers do not know is that these cameras are often run by private security firms.

Traffic cameras are typically employed to catch drivers who run red lights or perform other illegal actions. These devices work by taking photos of drivers as they are in the process of committing the illegal act. Once the photo has been taken, the license plate is identified and the driver is sent a ticket via the postal service.

Many cities depend upon the money brought in by traffic violations. This money is used for a variety of city run programs and to pay other fees. When cameras are installed, the amount of money the city receives typically increases.

Most drivers believe that the installed cameras are installed and run by city officials. However, this is no longer true. Many of these devices are now owned by privately held companies who operate on the basis of increasing their profits.

The amount of traffic violations in many cities has been increasing quite a bit since these privately run cameras have been installed. However, it is important to note that most of the money generated by tickets usually goes to the privately run security firms and not to the city. Many municipalities have been seeing an increase in revenue from traffic tickets, though, even after paying off the security companies.

Many drivers have been outraged by the installation of the cameras and there have even been accusations that tickets are issued unfairly. For example, there have been cases where the driver did not actually commit any kind of an illegal act, but since the camera took a picture, a ticket was issued anyway.

For drivers, these types of tickets are near impossible to fight because the fact that the photo was taken is usually enough of a reason for the ticket to be validated.

Many people have also noted that tickets are issued to drivers who go through a yellow light, which quickly turns red right as they cross the line, meaning they would not have time to make a safe stop.

Due to the increase of cameras in locations across Maryland and many other states, some innovative companies have come up with a series of products to help drivers combat being unfairly ticketed.

Some of these products have been designed as sprays to obscure the license plate in the event that a picture is taken. Also, there are license plate covers that shield the plate when a photo is taken.

Other companies have created downloadable programs that show Speed Camera locations and Red Light Camera locations right on your GPS or iPhone or Android cellular phones.

It is unlikely that the rise in privately run Maryland traffic camera locations is going to stop. To safeguard yourself from receiving a ticket, try to always obey the laws, and when in doubt...slow down!