THIS PROGRAM IS MADE BY MPT TO ENRICH THE DIVERSE COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT OUR STATE AND IS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE GENEROUS SUPPORT OF OUR MEMBERS.

THANK YOU.

[♪♪] CONNECTING MARYLANDERS TO THEIR GOVERNMENT, THIS IS "STATE CIRCLE".

>> Jeff: WELCOME TO "STATE CIRCLE".

COMING UP, LIFE IN THE FAST LANE NEW RESEARCH ON ATTITUDES ABOUT SPEEDING AND THE STATE'S NEW TAX ON DIGITAL ADVERTISING GETS DELETED BY A PANEL OF JUDGES.

FIRST, CALVERT COUNTY BECAME THE LATEST AREA WITH A TEMPORARY BAN ON NEW DATA CENTERS.

OUR NEWSMAKER THIS WEEK IS LOUDOUN COUNTY SUPERVISOR MIKE TURNER HE TELLS US HOW NORTHERN VIRGINIA BECAME AMERICA'S CAPITAL OF DATA.

[♪♪] >> IT HAS A THROUGH SPECIFIC IN 1988, 1999.

A COUPLE THINGS HAPPENED THERE.

A.O.L.

AND WORLD KOM CAME TO TOWN AND LAID FIBER.

AND THEN THEY WERE BEGINNING TO DEVELOP AND OUR ZONING ADMINISTRATOR A COUNTY STAFF MEMBER, THAT ADJUDICATES ZONING ISSUES WASN'T SURE WHAT THEY WERE LIKE WE DIDN'T KNOW.

I THINK THEY ARE LIKE OFFICE PARKS WHICH IMMEDIATELY MADE THE AT THE TIME THREE LAYER SIX LANDS PARCELS THAT ALLOWED OFFICE PARKS BY RIGHT, MEANING THEY COULD BUILD IF THEY BOUGHT THE LAND THEY COULD BUILD ON WHATEVER WAS ALLOWED ON THE LAND WITHOUT THE APPROVAL.

THAT STARTED FOR THE COMBINATION OF A LOT OF UNDERGROUND FIBER OPTIC CABLE IT WAS ACQUIRED BY A LARGE DATA CENTER.

WHICH DEALS WITH LATENCY THE SPEED WITH WHICH DATA MOVES FROM POINT A TO POINT B, WE MIGHT HAVE THE LOWEST LATENCY RATES IN THE WORLD.

>> Jeff: I THINK SOME HUGE PERCENTAGE OF GLOBAL INTERNET TRAFFIC GOES THROUGH YOUR DISTRICT?

>> WE USED TO SAY 70% BUT NOBODY CAN PROVE THAT.

WE'VE STOPPED SAYING IT.

IT IS A LOT.

WE HAVE 253 DATA CENTERS IN LOUDOUN COUNTY HAD IS THE HIGHEST CONCENTRATION OF DATA CENTERS IN THE WORLD.

>> Jeff: IS IT A GOOD THING OR A BAD THING?

IT LOOKS LIKE A MINI SILICON VALLEY AND IT'S MAYBE NOT AS MANY JOBS AS YOU MIGHT THINK?

>> IT DEPENDS WHERE YOU ARE AND WHERE YOU LOOK.

WE HAVE NOT ALLOWED DATA CENTERS IN OUR WESTERN LOUDOUN COUNTY AREA WHICH IS WINERIES AND FARMLAND.

THEY ARE LARGELY CONTAINED AND WERE LARGELY CONTAINED IN OUR INDUSTRIAL AREAS.

AND THAT WAS FINE THAT'S WHERE WE WANTED THEM TO GO AND THAT PROBABLY WAS THE CASE UNTIL AROUND 2015, 2016 AT THAT TIME NEIGHBORHOOD.

SO MAYBE A DECADE-AND-A-HALF OF PRETTY WELL CONTROLLED AND CONSTRAINED DATA CENTER GROWTH.

AND THEN IT SUMMER OF 22 WAS THE WATERSHED.

IN SUMMER OF 22 THREE THINGS HAPPENED.

THE FIRST WAS PJM THE NORTHEAST GRID AUTHORITY THAT CONTROLS ALL ELECTRIC GRID GENERATION AND TRANSMISSION LINES IN 13 STATES IN THE NORTHEAST INCLUDING MARYLAND, NOTIFIED THE ELECTRIC UTILITY THAT THEY HAD SUBMITTED A FIVE YEAR INTEGRATED RESOURCE PLAN THAT SUGGESTED THEY NEEDED 65 MILLION OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND DOMINION THEY SAID NO YOU'VE UNDERESTIMATED BY A FACTOR OF 10.

YOU WILL NEED 650 MILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF INFRASTRUCTURE.

SURPRISED DOMINION AND THE REST OF US AND DOMINION IMMEDIATELY PUT THE CENTERS ON A FREEZE FOR THE POWER AND FIGURED OUT YOU WILL BE CONSTRAINED YOU WILL ONLY GET 20% OF THE POWER WE AGREED TO IN DATA CENTER ALLEY UNTIL WE TELL YOU.

AND THEY DIDN'T LIFT THAT UNTIL DECEMBER OF 25.

SO THAT HAPPENED IN THE SUMMER OF 22.

CHATGPT HIT THE STREETS FOR THE FIRST TIME, THE FIRST TRUE COMMERCIAL A.I.

MODEL AND EVERYBODY WOKE UP FROM COVID AND FIGURED OUT THEY LIKE THE DIGITAL WORLD AND THEY WANT MORE OF IT.

ALL OF THOSE THINGS HAPPENED IN THE SUMMER OF 22.

AND WHAT HAPPENED IS THAT CONFLUENCE OF VARIABLES SUDDENLY MADE LOUDOUN COUNTY A VERY, VERY HIGH DEMAND LOCATION FOR DATA CENTERS.

AND NOW, WE WERE LARGELY BUILT OUT BY THAT POINT IN THE SUMMER OF 22.

AND THEN I WROTE MY PAPER AND STARTED WRITE TO GO IN 23 AND FINISHED AND RELEASED IT IN THE SUMMER OF 24 WHICH BASICALLY SAID HEAD'S UP THIS DEMAND IS GOING THROUGHED ROOF.

AND WE'VE GOT SERIOUS POWER GRID ISSUES THAT ARE GOING TO COME UP AND WE NEED TO START LOOKING AT THE DATA CENTERS AND FIGURE OUT WHERE WE WANT THEM TO GO.

>> Jeff: THE PAPER IS ON YOUR COUNTY WEBSITE, IT'S ABOUT 50 PAGES AND THE INTEREST OF IRONY I HAD A.I.

SUMMARIZE IT FOR ME.

AND YOU GAVE A POPULAR TALK AT THE MARYLAND ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES CONVENTION IN OCEAN CITY RECENTLY.

TELL ME WHAT WAS YOUR KEY MESSAGE FOR LOCAL ELECTED OFFICIALS?

>> THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A GOOD OR BAD DATA CENTER THAT FLIES IN THE FACE OF SENTIMENT AND IN THE LAST NINE MONTHS THAT POPULAR SENTIMENT HAS REALLY ELEVATED TO HYPERBOLIC LEVELS OF YOU ARE FOR DATA CENTERS OR AGAINST THEM.

AND I TOLD THE MARYLAND COMMERCE THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS GOOD OR BAD DATA CENTERS THE COUNTY GOVERNMENT HAS A THE RESPONSIBILITY TO PREEMPTIVELY ENGAGE WITH THE DATA CENTERS BEFORE THEY ARE BUILT.

AND HAVE A SEAT AT THE TABLE FOR DECISION MAKING.

AND THEY MUST ADDRESS SIX FORTORS, NOISE, WATER, POWER, EMISSIONS, SETBACK AND APPEARANCE.

IF YOU ADDRESS THOSE SIX FACTORS TO YOUR COMMUNITY'S SATISFACTION YOU CAN END UP WITH A GOOD COMMUNITY PARTNER THAT PUMPS TAX DOLLARS INTO YOUR COMMUNITY.

IF YOU ALLOW THEM TO COME INTO YOUR COMMUNITY AND YOU DON'T HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS THE DATA CENTERS WILL FOLLOW THE PATHS OF LEAST RESISTANCE AND THEY WILL BUILD WHERE AND WHAT THE FASTEST AND EASIEST THING TO BUILD IT AND THAT MAY OR MAY NOT BE GOOD FOR THE COMMUNITY.

>> Jeff: LET ME ASK YOU A QUESTION AS A HOMEOWNER IN THE MIDDLE OF MARYLAND.

IT DOESN'T REALLY MATTER TO ME ASSUMING THESE THINGS ARE GOING TO GET BUILT SOMEWHERE IN THE PJM UTILITY GRID IT DOESN'T MATTER SO MUCH TO ME WHERE BECAUSE THE WAY PJM WORKS MY ELECTRICITY BILL IS STILL GOING TO GO UP?

>> THAT'S TRUE.

LOCATION, LOCATION FOR YOU THE CONSUMER AND FOR PJM IS IRRELEVANT.

IF IT'S IN THE SERVICE AREA IT WILL TAP INTO THE SERVICE AREA AND IT WILL AFFECT EVERYBODY.

BUT THERE ARE PRETTY EGREGIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES AROUND DATA CENTERS THAT ARE BEING BUILT WITHOUT PROPER CONTROLS AND PROPER LOCAL GOVERNMENTAL RESTRAINT.

EXAMPLES THERE IS AN XAI DATA CENTER BY MUSK OUTSIDE OF MEMPHIS NEXT TO A LOW-INCOME NEIGHBORHOOD THAT IS OPERATING ON 40 INDEPENDENT GAS TURBINES WITHOUT EMISSIONS CONTROL THAT EGREGIOUSLY BAD.

A SITE BEING BUILT IN UTAH WHICH IS ILL ADVISED.

AND SO IT ALL COMES DOWN TO LOCAL CONTROL.

GOVERNOR JOSH SPAN ROW OF PENNSYLVANIA ISSUED AN EXECUTIVE ORDER AND I'VE TALKED TO THE ASSOCIATION OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF PENNSYLVANIA MULTIPLE TIMES AND I WAS PLEASED HIS EXECUTIVE ORDER SOUNDS TO ME LIKE HE WAS AT MY PAPER WHEN HE WROTE IT NOT TO PAT MYSELF ON THE BACK ONE OF THE FEE FEATURES WAS HE WILL NOT ALLOW A DATA CENTER TO BE BUILT IN PENNSYLVANIA WITHOUT LOCAL GOVERNMENT APPROVAL.

AND THAT'S KEY.

>> Jeff: WELL, YOU HAVE A MILITARY BACKGROUND.

SO JUST BY THE WAY YOUR DISTRICT IS SITUATED YOU'VE BEEN ON THE FRONTLINES OF THIS AND AND YOU CAN SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCES.

ONE THING IN THE PAPER THAT CAUGHT MY EYE IT'S BETTER IN THESE THINGS ARE CITED NEXT TO A MAJOR POWER LINE.

BUT MAYBE NOT TOO CLOSE YOU SAID.

WHAT IS THAT ABOUT?

>> WELL, YOU WANT -- THE RULE OF THUMB THAT I USE RIGHT NOW IF YOU ARE GOING TO BUILD A DATA CENTER YOU WILL GET AN OVERHEAD TRANSMISSION LINE AND ONE OR TWO SUBSTATION.

IT CAN BE THREE TO 10 ACRES OF LARGE INFRASTRUCTURE ABOVE THE GROUND.

SO IF YOU WANT TO MINIMIZE THAT POWER LINE IMPACT, THEN BUILD YOUR DATA CENTER NEAR A POWER LINE.

THEN YOU HAVE A MINIMAL IMPACT ON YOUR COMMUNITY.

DATA CENTER ALLEY IS RIGHT IN THE HEART OF OUR RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD IN EASTERN LOUDOUN COUNTY AND TO GET POWER TO IT THEY ARE RUNNING THREE OVERHEAD TRANSMISSION LINES THROUGH OUR RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOODS AND IT'S UPSETTING TO OUR RESIDENTS AND NEIGHBORS.

LOUDOUN COUNTY FACED A UNIQUE POSITION BECAUSE WE LATCHED ON TO A RUNAWAY TRAIN BEFORE ANYONE KNEW IT WAS ARUN AWAY TRAIN NOW PUTTING IN PLACE THE KINDS OF CONTROLS IF COMMUNITIES PUT IN BEFORE THEY SAY YES TO A DATA CENTER YOU CAN ARRIVE AT A COLLABORATIVE COMMUNITY DECISION.

>> Jeff: NOISE, IS A BIG COMPLAINT.

AND MOST OF THE NOISE IS WHEN THE BACKUP GENERATORS ARE RUNNING.

IS THAT CORRECT?

AND CAN YOU JUST PROHIBIT THEM FROM HAVING BACK UP GENERATORS AND BACK UP POWER IT HAS TO BE BATTERY?

>> YOU CAN DO THAT.

I DON'T KNOW THERE ARE SUFFICIENT BATTERIES THAT WILL TAKE ACREAGE TO GENERATE ENOUGH POWER THEY WILL TAKE A LOT OF ROOM.

YOU WILL SACRIFICE ACREAGE.

NOISE TO BE MITIGATED.

LIKE YOU SAID I USED TO BE IN THE AIR FORCE AND WE COULD TEST JET ENGINES IN HANGARS AND SOUNDPROOF TEST SELLS AND YOU COULD CARRY ON A CONVERSATION WHEN THE ENGINE WAS AT FULL POWER.

IF THEY WANT TO DO IT THEY CAN MITIGATE THE NOISE AND YOUR ORDINANCE WILL SAY YOU ARE LIMITED NO MORE TO 50 DECIBELS OF THE NOISE WE HEAR ALL THE TIME AND YOU ARE ANOT ALLOWED INFRA SOUND A LOW FREQUENCY HUM.

IF YOU WRITE THAT INTO THE ORDINANCE AND COMMUNITY BENEFIT AGREEMENT THE NOISE IS NOT AN ISSUE.

>> Jeff: I JUST HAVE A MINUTE.

WHAT IS THE STORY WITH WATER USE?

>> WE HAVE 253 DATA CENTERS IN EASTERN LOUDOUN COUNTY.

AND THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF WATER USE OF OUR 253 DATA CENTERS IS ABOUT 10% OF OUR TOTAL SUPPLY MORE THAN MANAGE BELIEVE THAT IS EFFICIENT USE.

WHY?

BECAUSE THE MAJORITY ARE CLOSED LOOP WATER SYSTEMS.

I WOULD NOT ALLOW A DATA CENTER TO BE BUILT IF IT WAS NOT ON A CLOSED LOOP WATER SYSTEM.

THEY HAVE TO RECHARGE EVERY FEW YEARS AND TREAT THE WASTEWATER BECAUSE IT PICKS UP HEAVY METALS BUT I WOULD KEEP THEM ON CLOSED WATER SYSTEMS.

>> Jeff: MIKE TURNER JOINING US FROM LOUDOUN COUNTY, THE DATA CENTER CAPITAL OF THE WORLD.

WE APPRECIATE YOUR TIME.

THANK YOU, SIR.

>> THANK YOU, JEFF, I APPRECIATE IT.

>> Jeff: HOW TO THE BIG HIT ON EDUCATION FUNDING FROM A COURT DECISION THROWING OUT A NEW TAX ON DIGITAL AD SALES.

NANCY YAMADA HAS THE STORY.

>> WELL, THIS IS ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE I TOLD YOU SO MOMENTS.

OBVIOUSLY WE OPPOSED THIS BILL AND THIS BRAND NEW TAX WHEN IT WAS ON THE FLOOR.

GOVERNOR HOGAN VETOED IT.

>> SENATE MINORITY LEADER IS NOT SURPRISED THE MARYLAND TAX COURT STRUCK DOWN THE DIGITAL ADVERTISING TAX THAT LAWMAKERS PASSED IN 2021.

MARYLAND WAS THE FIRST TO PASS THE LAW TO TAX REVENUE THAT LARGE COMPANIES MAKE ON ADVERTISEMENTS SHOWN IN MARYLAND.

THEY WERE TAX THE AT 2.5% UP TO 10%.

THE TAX COURT ORDERED THE STATE TO REPAY THE TAX MONEY ALREADY COLLECTED BY APPLE, GOOGLE AND PEACOCK TV.

>> WHAT WE HAVE BEEN TOLD IS THE COMPTROLLER FENCED THIS MONEY OFF.

I THINK IT'S UPWARDS OF $530 MILLION NOW.

AND IT WILL HAVE TO BE REPAID.

IT WILL ALSO HAVE TO BE REPAID WITH INTEREST.

LET'S SAY THE COMPTROLLER FENCED OFF ENOUGH MONEY BUT IF THEY HAVEN'T GAINED ENOUGH INTEREST IN THIS THEN THEY WOULD HAVE TO COME BACK TO THE TAXPAYERS TO PAY THE INTEREST.

AND THE SAME TIME WE DON'T KNOW WHO ENDS UP PAYING THE ATTORNEY FEES.

>> DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP SAID QUOTE WE RESPECTFULLY DISAGREE WITH TODAY'S RULING AND EXPECT THE LEGAL PROCESS TO CONTINUE.

THEY ADDED MARYLAND'S TAX SYSTEM SHOULD KEEP PACE WITH THE CHANGING ECONOMY AS MORE COMMERCE AND ADVERTISING MOVED ON-LINE, IT WAS APPROPRIATE TO MODERNIZE OUR TAX CODE SO LARGE DIGITAL ADVERTISING COMPANIES CONTRIBUTED ALONGSIDE OTHER BUSINESSES OPERATING IN OUR STATE.

>> IT HURTS THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT IN MARYLAND.

BECAUSE THERE'S NO OTHER STATE THAT WAS DOING THIS.

>> MARY CANE IS THE PRESIDENT AND C.E.O.

OF THE MARYLAND CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

SHE SAYS BUSINESSES HAVE BEEN FEELING THE SQUEEZE FOR FAR TOO LONG IN MARYLAND.

>> TWO YEARS AGO THEY PUT IN THE 3% TECH TAX THAT HAS BEEN AN INCREDIBLY CONFUSING TAX.

IT'S BEEN GOING ON FOR DECADES.

AND UNFORTUNATELY WE'RE SEEING AN OUTMIGRATION OF NOT JUST BUSINESSES BUT ALSO PEOPLE.

BECAUSE THE JOBS AREN'T HERE.

WE'RE SEEING A BIG OUTMIGRATION OF 18-34-YEAR-OLDS AND THEN 65-YEAR-OLDS PLUS.

>> PROPONENTS ESTIMATED THE TAX WOULD RAISE $250 MILLION A YEAR TO PAY FOR THE BLUEPRINT FOR MARYLAND'S FUTURE THE PLAN TO REFORM THE PUBLIC EDUCATION SYSTEM.

>> THE DEMOCRATS ARE LOOKING FOR MONEY IN ANY POCKETS THEY CAN FIND IT.

AS YOU KNOW WE'RE GOING INTO THE JANUARY LEGISLATIVE SESSION IN 2027 WITH A 2.6 BILLION DOLLAR DEFICIT THAT IS GOING TO GROW TO $3 BILLION IN TWO YEARS.

AND IT'S ALL BECAUSE OF THE BLUEPRINT FOR EDUCATION.

THEY DON'T HAVE THE FUNDING TO PAY FOR THAT.

>> I'M NANCY YAMADA FOR "STATE CIRCLE".

>> Jeff: NEARLY A THIRD OF FATAL VEHICLE CRASHES HAVE SPEED AS A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR.

AAA IS OUT WITH A STUDY ON THE SUBJECT AND WE SPOKE WITH RAGINA ALLI.

>> THE AAA FOUNDATION FOR TRAFFIC SAFETY RELEASED A STUDY WHERE WE ACTUALLY LOOKED AT SPEEDING BEHAVIORS ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

THE RISK OF BEHAVIORS AND SORT OF DRIVERS PERCEPTIONS ABOUT SPEED IN PARTICULAR.

AND NOT ONLY DO WE KNOW THAT SPEEDING AND CRASH FATALITIES RELATING TO SPEEDING ARE AN ISSUE IN OUR REGION WE ALSO KNOW IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE SEE ACROSS THE COUNTRY WITH MORE THAN OR NEARLY, I SHOULD SAY, A THIRD OF FATAL CRASHES ON OUR ROADWAYS ATTRIBUTED TO SPEEDING.

SO AAA FOUNDATION FOR TRAFFIC SAFETY LOOKED BACK AT BEHAVIORS AND UNFORTUNATELY WE FOUND, YOU KNOW, DOES ANYONE DRIVE THE SPEED LIMIT?

NO ONE ACTUALLY DRIVES THE SPEED LIMIT.

3-TONIGHT BELIEVE THAT SAINT NO ONE ACTUALLY DRIVES THE SPEED LIMIT.

>> Jeff: AND THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS RESEARCH, IT'S SORT OF IN THE CONTEXT OF THE DAILY NEWS FLOW BECOMES BACKGROUND NOISE FOR PEOPLE UNLESS THERE'S AN ESPECIALLY HORRIFIC ACCIDENT SOMEWHERE.

BUT MARYLAND AVERAGES, I THINK, 10 A WEEK HIGHWAY OR ROADWAY FATALITIES.

AND AS YOU SAY A LOT OF THEM INVOLVE SPEEDING.

>> SURE.

UNFORTUNATELY THEY DO.

AND YOU KNOW MARYLAND'S NUMBERS DID IMPROVE LAST YEAR OVER THE YEAR PREVIOUSLY WITH CRASH FATALITIES BUT WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS A LOT OF THINGS AS IT RELATES.

WE ARE SEEING MORE RISKIER DRIVING BEHAVIORS.

WE'RE SEEING PEOPLE FLYING DOWN THE ROADWAYS.

AND WHAT IS BECOMING MORE OF NORM IS THAT PEOPLE INSTEAD OF VIEWING THE SPEED LIMIT AS A MAXIMUM THEY ARE ALMOST VIEWING IT AS A CHOICE AND IN FACT IT'S NOT.

BUT POSTED SPEED LIMIT IS THE LIMIT.

IT'S NOT THE MIB MUM IT'S THE MAXIMUM AND WE'RE CONTINUING TO SEE PEOPLE FINALLY DRIVE OVER THE SPEED LIMIT IN MANY CASES DRIVERS TOLD US THAT YOU KNOW, THEY ARE DRIVING TO BASICALLY KEEP UP WITH THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC.

AND IN MANY CASES EVEN THOUGH PEOPLE CERTAINLY ARE CONCERNED WITH SPEEDING, THEY VIEW QUITE A LARGE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE VIEW DRIVING 10 MILES OVER THE SPEED LIMIT AS PERFECTLY ACCEPTABLE.

>> Jeff: AND THE STATE SORT OF REINFORCES THAT A LITTLE BIT BY SETTING THE THRESHOLD FOR A RADAR SPEED CAMERA SETUP GENERALLY A 10, 11, 12 MILES OVER THE LIMIT.

AND YEARS AND YEARS AGO, WE DID RESEARCH ON WHO ACTUALLY GETS TICKETED.

AND HIGHWAY SITUATION IT'S VERY FEW PEOPLE ALMOST NOBODY GOING LESS THAN 10-MILES-PER-HOUR OVER THE LIMIT GETS TICKETED AND MAYBE THAT'S WHY PEOPLE PRESUME IT TO BE SOMEWHAT ACCEPTABLE?

>> I THINK THAT IS A COMMON FALLACY.

I CAN TELL YOU AS A FORMER BALTIMORE POLICE OFFICER PEOPLE WOULD SAY THE POLICE WON'T STOP YOU AS LONG AS YOU ARE NOT GOING OVER 10-MILES-PER-HOUR OVER AND THAT IS ACTUALLY NECESSARILY TRUE OBVIOUSLY.

I THINK WITH THE AUTOMATED ENFORCEMENT WHICH IS FUNNY YOU SHOULD MENTION THAT BECAUSE WHEN AUTOMATED ENFORCEMENT ROLLED OUT YEARS AGO, PARTICULARLY HERE IN MARYLAND THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT PUSHBACK ABOUT THAT.

THAT THAT IT'S GOING TO BE A MONEY GRAB AND NOT IN THE INTEREST OF TRAFFIC SAFETY AND AAA WAS A PROPONENT OF THE ENFORCEMENT RECTIFYING POLICE CANNOT BE EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE.

BUT WE ARE A PROPONENT OF IT WITH THE CAVEAT THESE CAMERAS NEED TO BE PLACED IN AREAS WHERE THERE IS A SITUATION THAT WARRANTS THEM.

AND THE PUBLIC NEEDS TO KNOW THAT THEY ARE THERE AND THEY ARE NOT PERCEIVED AS A MONEY GRAB AND FOR ALL OF THE PUSHBACK THAT WE SAW INITIALLY WHEN SPEED CAMERAS ROLLED OUT NOW PEOPLE ABOUT 70% ARE IN FAVOR OF THE AUTOMATED ENFORCEMENT IN AREAS WHERE THERE'S OBVIOUSLY A HISTORY OF SPEED RELATED TRAFFIC CRASHES AND OR FATALITIES.

>> Jeff: YEAH, I KNOW EXACTLY WHERE THE RADAR UNMANNED RADAR CAMERAS ARE ON MY WAY TO WORK.

AND NOT BECAUSE I FOUND OUT THE HARD WAY.

YOU SEE THEM.

AND THEY GET PEOPLE TO SLOW DOWN.

IN THE SURVEY THE TOP REASONS THAT PEOPLE DO SLOW DOWN, AVOID GETTING A TICKET, 79%.

AVOID BEING INVOLVED IN A CRASH.

72%.

AND BAD WEATHER AT 60%.

SO I'M GLAD THAT PEOPLE ARE AWARE OF THE FACT THAT THE SPEED LIMIT IS SORT OF WEATHER DEPENDENT?

>> WELL, WE CERTAINLY DO WANT PEOPLE TO SLOW DOWN THE WEATHER CONDITIONS WARRANT IT AS WELL.

AND YOU MAKE A GOOD POINT.

SO AND MANY CASES PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO KEEP UP WITH THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC AND I HOPE THAT THEY ARE LOOKING AT THEIR SPEED LIMIT AND LOOKING AT THEIR ODOMETER AND SEEING WHAT THEY ARE DOING.

BUT WE DO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO OBVIOUSLY BE AWARE OF THEIR SURROUNDINGS.

MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE FOLLOWING AT A SAFE DISTANCE SO THAT THEY HAVE TIME TO REACT SHOULD THEY NEED TO DO SO.

YOU ARE RIGHT, THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE ARE SLOWING DOWN BECAUSE THEY DON'T WANT TO GET A TICKET.

BUT WE ALSO SEE THAT PEOPLE ARE SPEEDING TO GET AROUND SLOWER DRIVERS ABOUT 31%.

THEY ARE SPEEDING BECAUSE THEY WANT TO PASS SOMEBODY WHO THEY VIEW IS DRIVING NOT AS FAST AS THEY SHOULD.

THAT PERSON IS PROBABLY OBSERVING THE SPEED LIMIT, RIGHT?

OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE PEOPLE WHO WHERE YOU WANT TO GET TO, JEFF, IS YOU NEED TO GET THERE QUICKER THAN ME SO THEY ARE TRYING TO GET TO THEIR DESTINATIONS QUICKER.

THEY BELIEVE AND AGAIN, SOME PEOPLE THINK THEY ARE SPEEDING TO AVOID HOLDING UP TRAFFIC THEMSELVES OR AVOID CONGESTION OR BEING A PART OF THAT.

IT'S INTERESTING HOW SORT OF PEOPLE PERCEIVE SPEEDING AND WHAT AAA NOT ONLY DOES OUR FOUNDATION FOR TRAFFIC SAFETY CONDUCT RESEARCH WE DO A TRAFFIC SAFETY CULTURE INDEX SURVEY AND WHAT WE SEE TIME AND TIME AGAIN IS THIS SORT OF DO AS I SAY NOT AS I DO APPROACH OR IT'S OKAY FOR ME TO SPEED BUT NOT YOU TO SPEED.

I HAVE TO BE HONEST WITH YOU I'M ON THE ROADS SIGNIFICANTLY I WOULD THINK ON ANY GIVEN DAY ON THE ROADWAYS, AND I LIKE TO THINKI KEEP UP WITH THE SPEED AND OBVIOUSLY TRY TO BE WITHIN THE PARAMETERS WHAT I'M SUPPOSED TO BE DOING.

PEOPLE ARE FLYING BY YOU, IN AND OUT.

IF YOU ARE NOT.

SO I THINK IN MANY CASES WE HAVE A YOUNG DAUGHTER STILL LEARNING TO DRIVE AND IT'S SCARY FOR ME TO THINK ABOUT HER ON THE ROADWAYS, ESPECIALLY ON THE HIGHWAYS IF YOU ARE NOT KEEPING UP WITH THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC WHICH IN MANY CASES UNFORTUNATELY INVOLVE SPEEDING STHOOR I THINK WE'D LIKE TO COME TO A STORY ON YOU AS THE DRIVING INSTRUCTOR HOW IS THAT GOING?

>> OH, JEFF, JEFF, JEFF.

LET ME TELL YOU... MY NERVES ARE NOT GOOD FOR IT.

I HAVE TO BE HONEST WITH YOU.

OBVIOUSLY LIKE I SAID FORMER POLICE OFFICER, MY HUSBAND IS A POLICE OFFICER.

HE SEEMS TO HAVE A LITTLE MORE PATIENCE WITH IT THAN ME.

BUT SHE IS DOING A LOT BETTER.

SHE IS DOING A LOT BETTER I AM A NERVOUS PASSENGER EVEN WITH A SEASONED DRIVER.

IT'S PROBABLY A LITTLE MORE ME THAN HER IT'S DEFINITELY CHALLENGING AND WHAT WE FOUND ABOUT YOUNG DRIVERS IF YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT THAT PEOPLE ARE WAITING TEENAGERS ARE WAITING LONGER AND LONGER TO GET THEIR LICENSE.

SHE IS GOING TO BE 18 IN OCTOBER AND SHE DIDN'T EXPRESS A HUGE INTEREST DESPITE THE FACT SHE HAD A CAR UNTIL RECENTLY NOW SHE IS ABOUT TO BE A SENIOR NOW, IT'S I WANT TO GET MY LICENSE.

GUESS WHAT?

YOU HAVE TO CONTINUE TO GET THOSE HOURS IN AND ONCE YOU HAVE THE 60 REQUIRED HOURS IF YOUR DAD AND I DON'T FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH YOUR DRIVING YET YOU ARE NOT GOING TO GO AND APPLY FOR YOUR LICENSE.

IT'S SORT OF I FEEL BAD FOR HER MS.

AAA HERE AND A POLICE OFFICER FATHER WE MIGHT BE TOUGHER THAN MANY BUT IT'S IMPORTANT TO ME.

IT IS.

>> Jeff: BACK TO THE SUBJECT OF SPEEDING, I MEAN YOU WORRY ABOUT YOUNG DRIVERS, BUT I WORRY MORE ABOUT THE GUY TRYING TO DO 85-90-MILES-PER-HOUR ON THE BELTWAY.

AND YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHERE THE HORRIBLE ACCIDENTS COME FROM AND THERE DOESN'T SEEM TO BE ANYTHING THAT IS SPECIFICALLY TARGETING THOSE DRIVERS UNLESS THEY HAPPEN TO BE RANDOMLY CAUGHT UP IN A RADAR SPEED THING, WHICH IS GENERALLY CATCHING PEOPLE GOING MAYBE 15 MILES OVER THE LIMIT.

AND I'M MORE WORRIED ABOUT THE PEOPLE GOING 30, 40 MILES OVER THE LIMIT.

>> RIGHT SO IS ARE WE AT AAA AND THE MARYLAND LEGISLATURE IS CONCERNED ABOUT THAT AS WELL.

A COUPLE THINGS HAPPENED.

AND ALSO IN OUR AAA FOUNDATION RESEARCH WE LOOKED AT SORT OF PEOPLE'S SUPPORT OF MEASURES THAT WOULD SLOW THEM DOWN.

INTELLIGENT SPEED ASSISTANCE TECHNOLOGY WHILE MANY DRIVERS WERE BASICALLY SUPPORTIVE OF SORT OF ADVISORY TECHNOLOGY IN THEIR VEHICLE THAT WILL ALERT YOU LIKE THE SIGNS YOU SEE THAT YOU'RE DRIVING 60-MILES-PER-HOUR SLOW IT DOWN.

YOU WILL SEE THAT SOMETIMES IN RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOODS AS WELL AS THE HIGHWAYS.

SO PEOPLE WERE GENERALRY SUPPORTIVE OF THAT SORT OF TECHNOLOGY LESS SUPPORTIVE OF THE INTELLIGENCE SPEED ASSISTANCE TECHNOLOGY WHICH A LOU PASSED THIS PAST LEGISLATIVE SESSION IN A PILOT FORM THAT WILL TAKE EFFECT THIS OCTOBER WHERE THAT TECHNOLOGY WILL BE ABLE TO BE IN THE VEHICLES OF PEOPLE WHO OTHERWISE WOULD HAVE THEIR LICENSE SUSPENDED FOR EXCESSIVE SPEEDING.

SO CERTAINLY IT'S SOMETHING THAT THE STATE IS LOOKING AT, GOVERNOR RECENTLY LAUNCHED THE SLOW THE F AS IN FAST DOWN CAMPAIGN SO THAT'S OBVIOUSLY HOPEFULLY A LITTLE CATCHY AND DIFFERENT MESSAGING THAT HOPEFULLY WILL RESONATE WITH DRIVERS.

BUT I JUST THINK THAT YOU KNOW FOR ALL OF THE LEGISLATION, FOR ALL OF THE PUBLIC EDUCATION AND AWARENESS THAT TRIPLE A AND MARYLAND SAFE ROADS COALITION AND TRAFFIC SAFETY ORGANIZATIONS ARE REALLY ADAMANTLY TRYING TO IMPRESS UPON DRIVERS IT ULTIMATELY COMES DOWN TO THE DRIVERS.

IT COMES DOWN TO BASICALLY TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR OWN BEHAVIORS, BEHIND THE WHEEL, RECOGNIZING THAT DRIVING IS CERTAINLY NOT A RIGHT.

IT'S YOU KNOW, IT IS A PRIVILEGE, INDEED AND I THINK WE NEED TO TAKE IT A LITTLE MORE RESPONSIBLY.

>> Jeff: RAGINA ALLI OF THE TRIPLE A CLUB ALLOWANCE APPRECIATE YOUR TIME THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

>> THANK YOU SO MUCH, JEFF, HAVE A GREAT DAY.

>> Jeff: AND THAT IS "STATE CIRCLE" FOR THIS WEEK.

THANK YOU FOR WATCHING WE WILL SEE YOU BACK HERE MONDAY EVENING AT 7:00 P.M.

FOR "DIRECT CONNECTION".

[♪♪]