1 of 14 DOCUMENTS 

Copyright 1997 The Washington Post 

The Washington Post 

May 29, 1997, Thursday, Final Edition 

SECTION: WEEKLY - MD; Pg. M01 

LENGTH: 919 words 

HEADLINE: Motorists Have Day In Court; Judges Short on Mercy As Police Crack Down 

BYLINE: Wendy Melillo, Washington Post Staff Writer 

BODY: 
 
Prince George's County District Court Judge Melanie M. Shaw-Geter dispatched the 141 traffic violations before her in a brisk manner, brooking no nonsense from a packed courtroom of citizens caught speeding, following vehicles too closely or failing to yield. 
As police officers crack down on the Washington region's aggressive drivers, more and more transgressors in Maryland are ending up in court, hopeful of avoiding points on their driving records, which can boost insurance rates. 
Maryland State Police officials say their goal is to write more tickets, paying particular attention to the "aggressive driver" -- one who frequently changes lanes without signaling first, tailgates, runs red lights or speeds 10 to 20 mph above posted limits. 
"It is a misconception that if you are going 65 mph, you won't get stopped," said State Police Trooper Guy Ramsey Sr., who wrote tickets that resulted in more than 100 cases in traffic court in Prince George's on a recent weekday. "My job is to keep everyone safe." 
County and state police officers have issued 800,855 traffic tickets in Maryland since last July. And since law enforcement officers in the District, Maryland and Virginia began a joint crackdown on aggressive drivers April 29, more than 12,000 motorists have been ticketed for traffic violations. Many of those motorists will end up in traffic court. 
Area courts in Maryland, which typically handle about 300 traffic violation cases a day, expect the numbers to increase this summer because of the crackdown. A recent survey of traffic courts in Prince George's and Montgomery County shows that motorists can expect little mercy if they have less than pristine driving records. 
Prince George's Judge Shaw-Geter said that although she is aware of the effort to target aggressive drivers, she treats each case on an individual basis. 
"In this area, there are a lot of people who commute long distances for their jobs," Shaw-Geter said. "Because people drive a lot, they are not always observant of the speed limits and sometimes, they just need a reminder. Others may need driver- improvement school." 
For motorists who will not abide by the speed limits, Shaw-Geter said the courts have few options other then to fine people and let the points remain on their records. 
In Shaw-Geter's Upper Marlboro courtroom on a recent weekday, speeding was the most common offense. 
"What do you do, get one ticket per year?" Shaw-Geter asked Kevin Lamauris Combs, of Largo, who received a speeding ticket March 21 and admitted to the judge that it was not his first in recent years. "You are going to agree to slow it down," she snapped before fining him $ 70. 
Samuel Tramel, of Mitchellville, thought the judge might be sympathetic to his story of how he drove his wife's car and was unable to show an officer his registration card because his wife had it in her purse. Not so. Tramel had to pay $ 30. 
"Your honor, that is the same charge I paid when I sent in my ticket," Tramel protested. "It really does no good to come to court." 
The excuses -- rushing to a son's basketball game, speeding to take a sick daughter to the doctor, accelerating to maneuver around a tractor trailer-truck on the Capital Beltway -- were as lengthy as Shaw-Geter's responses were short. And they reflected the changing attitudes toward driving in a region where a clogged transportation system has pitted more drivers against each other as they attempt to reach their destinations on time. 
Ramsey said he finds that there is something about the "power of the pedal" that makes people lose it. 
One person caught speeding on the Beltway felt he did nothing wrong. 
"I don't think anyone does 55 mph on the Beltway," said H. Steward Mitchell, who told the Shaw-Geter he set his cruise control to 60 mph while traveling on the inner loop, but was ticketed by an officer for going 70. Mitchell, who had a good driving record, was fined $ 50. 
Some cases reflect the difficulty officers say they face in gathering sufficient evidence against motorists. Such cases have prompted authorities to consider installing more video cameras in police cars to record speeding drivers. 
Ramsey said he tracked Benjamin Johnson, of Capitol Heights, by radar for a 10th of a mile as Johnson's white 1995 Eagle entered the Beltway's inner loop from Route 202, and is convinced the car was traveling 70 mph. 
Johnson, adamant that he was not speeding, said Ramsey mistook his car for another speeding vehicle. "Did you see that other white car that passed me?" Johnson asked the officer. Shaw-Geter agreed with Johnson, and dismissed the ticket. 
Despite winning the case, the experience has left the Johnsons wary, his wife, Catherine said on his behalf. "This was the first time I have ever attended traffic court, and I hope I never wind up there again," she said. "We were lucky, but in some of the other cases, I felt the judge was not listening to what people were saying." 
Montgomery County District Court Judge Eric M. Johnson handled more than 150 cases on a recent weekday. 
Rose M. Eiland, of Silver Spring, caught traveling 41 mph in a 25 mph zone, told Johnson that she was driving her father's car, a vehicle with which she was unfamiliar. Her own car was in the shop because the gas pedal was slow to engage. Eiland said she made a mistake because she typically pressed the gas pedal to the floor to get her own car to go. 
Johnson waived the points, but Eiland still had to pay the fine.  

LOAD-DATE: May 30, 1997