It's happened to all of us.  You get pulled over and you start begging, pleading with the police officer to get out of the ticket.  But with speed and red light camera technology, you don't get that chance.  Instead, a citation just shows up weeks later.  ABC2 News Investigator Joce Sterman shows us how a new tool can help you beat the system by avoiding the flash. 

It shows up in your mailbox without a warning, an unpleasant surprise that lets you know you've been busted by a camera breaking the law.  Nathan Abraham knows the experience well.  He says, "You get those tickets in the mail, nobody stops you on the road.  They just pop up with pictures.  What do you do?  You've got to pay it."  Abraham’s job keeps him on the road for as many as 3,000 miles a month.  As a result, he’s racked up his fair share of tickets in Baltimore and Washington, handing over hundreds of dollars after getting caught in the flash.  He tells ABC2, "These speed traps, red light cameras.  I couldn't keep up with that.  They just kept popping up."

Those cameras are popping up all over our area, nailing drivers who blow through red lights in Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Howard counties as well as Baltimore City and the town of Bel Air.  And in Montgomery County, cops are now allowed to go Kodak to help catch speeders in more than 30 locations.  Captain John Damskey says, "This is not a gotcha program.  We give drivers 10 miles per hour.  At the 11th mile, our camera is taking pictures." 

Those pictures could end up costing you big money.  But one company now says it has a way to help you fight back.  They’re selling a little device they say will help you beat the system so you don't have to shell out cash because of a camera.  Joe Scott is the Vice President of Marketing for PhantomAlert.  He says their product is a simple GPS receiver.  But it’s so much more because their receivers let you know when a red light, speed camera or speed trap is coming up.  PhantomAlert tracks that information on the web in a giant database with a little help from drivers out on the road.  Scott says, "It's local motorists that know the area, know the neighborhood.  They tell us what the location of the red light camera, speed camera or speed trap is.  Then other motorists come behind them and verify the accuracy of the database."

But we wanted to see just how accurate, so we took the PhantomAlert receiver out for a spin.  It gave us a heads up about red light cameras all over Baltimore City, notifying us with a loud audio tone and flashing lights.  The receiver also told us to slow down before hitting a school zone and speed camera in Olney in Montgomery County.  It’s an area that’s gotten Nathan Abraham in trouble before, but now anymore.  He says, "It's not just saving money, it's makes you a better driver.  It made me a better driver, more aware of my surroundings."

That's why even tells us they don't mind losing ticket revenue to products like the PhantomAlert.  Captain Damskey says, if this kind of system slows down drivers, he's all for it.  He says, "It's not about money.  It's a public safety issue.  If we can reduce those citations to zero, that means we're doing our job."  It’s their job to crack down on drivers in a flash, but now those motorists are fighting back to avoid the fine.