BALTIMORE — There’s no secret that speeding is a huge concern on Interstate 83, or otherwise known as the JFX.
The highway filled with curves and narrow roads has been the site of numerous accidents.
Starting Thursday, speed cameras will be setup along I-83, Jones Falls Expressway, placed in both directions at the W. 41st Street ramp in Baltimore.
MORE: Speed cameras along Baltimore's Jones Falls Expressway will activate April 14
“Putting speed cameras on the highway,” driver Marcus Fenix said. “it’s unprecedented to me. I ain’t never really heard about that.”
"There are no shoulders. There really aren't a lot of safe places to pull over and we don't want to put our law enforcement in danger," Marly Cardona Moz with Baltimore's Department of Transportation said. "We don't want speeders in danger so speed cameras are really perfect for this, I-83 specifically because you have only have narrow emergency shoulders which are only meant for emergency stopping."
Cardona Moz also says since I-83 was built along a waterway, a lot of the curves are unanticipated for drivers and are a bit riskier for aggressive drivers.
RELATED: City Board of Estimates approves installation of speed cameras along JFX
Lawmakers in Annapolis approved the speed cameras last year. Activation was delayed from February to April because City officials were completing location testing and signage installation.
Drivers caught speeding will only get a warning, for now, due to a 90-day grace period.
But, once that grace period ends, there will be a $40 fine for people who are driving 12 or more mph over the speed limit.
Fenix told WMAR-2 News he has concerns about the possibility the cameras could malfunction.
“I see them things flashing all days every day and people are not even speeding,” Fenix said.
The revenue from the cameras will go toward operating cost, as well as road maintenance.
Fenix said he isn’t necessarily happy about the cameras, but understands why they’re needed.
“They just want some money, but at the same time, people do have to be safe,” Fenix said.
