CUMBERLAND — County officials will consider speed cameras to control dangerous drivers on local roads, including state Route 51.
Commissioners in 2019 voted unanimously to prohibit the use of traffic law photo-monitoring devices on county roads.
Sheriff Craig Robertson at a recent county work session asked commissioners if they would reverse that decision.
“I personally do think that there is a need for them,” he said of speed cameras.
However, the devices can only be used in areas designated for school zones, Robertson said.
“Route 51 does not have a school,” he said and added he’s spoken to local state delegates about changing legislation to allow the cameras locally. “There is law in Maryland … that allows the operation of speed cameras in areas that do not fall under the school zones.”
If the speed cameras could be posted on Route 51, “I would have to designate an actual deputy (who) would sit down and review every … violation of the law,” Robertson said.
“Having an extra tool for law enforcement cannot hurt,” he said. “I’ve seen more fatal accidents in Allegany County lately than I ever did when I first started on this job.”
Robertson has worked for the sheriff’s office for more than 20 years.
He said in the past 18 months he’s frequently traveled Route 51 — which is a shortcut from Cumberland to Winchester, Virginia — to visit his granddaughter.
Robertson said he spoke to some residents on Route 51 that would allow the county to post speed cameras on their property.
The road in many spots is too dangerous for some police methods, Robertson said.
“I direct my deputies not to make traffic stops on Route 51, especially in certain places,” he said. “When you get into Route 51 all the way down to Paw Paw (West Virginia), there are very few locations that a traffic stop can be safely initiated without jeopardizing the life of one of the officers as well as the operator of that particular vehicle.”
County Administrator Jason Bennett said he recently spoke to Maryland Department of Transportation officials about safety concerns for Route 51.
“We think it can be legislated … to allow the speed cameras,” he said.
Attorney T. Lee Beeman said commissioners could reverse the county’s 2019 decision to prohibit speed cameras.
That would open the door for new legislation, which would allow the cameras in Allegany County, to be introduced at the state level.
On Thursday, Sandy Lippold, who spoke to commissioners at a recent public meeting about an accident on Route 51 that killed her 19-year-old brother 38 years ago, said she was “extremely upset” to hear Robertson’s presentation.
“So, we don’t have a police presence in Oldtown on Route 51 because it’s not safe?” she said. “That’s an excuse. Excuses are not acceptable.”
Early Saturday, a hit-and-run accident seriously injured a motorist on state Route 51.
Police are seeking a light-colored pickup that fled south on Route 51, deputies said.
The injured driver was flown by Trooper 5, a Maryland State Police medevac, to Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and was in critical condition, deputies said.
Route 51 was closed for about two hours.
Anyone with information about the crash should call the sheriff’s office at 301-777-1585.