Whenever a new, relatively unpopular technology hits the streets, you can always count on teenagers to try and exploit it for their own gain. Such is the case with speed cameras, as high school students in Maryland have begun playing the "Speed Camera Pimping Game," wherein they attempt to punk the not-so-accurate cameras by creating faux license plates that can be traced back to peers and teachers they have it out for. The trend has parents and law officials worried, and it raises even more questions about the cameras' usefulness.

Students at Richard Montgomery High School in Maryland have discovered that they can duplicate the license plates of their archenemies by printing a Maryland plate template on a sheet of glossy photo paper and digging up a handy license plate character font, according to a parent speaking to The Sentinel (via /.). This may sound like a janky craft project at first, but these cameras are not sensitive enough to pick up the differences between these paper license plates and the real things. The students then tape the faux plate over their own and purposefully speed in order to be caught by the speed camera, causing the real owner of the license plate to receive a $40 citation in the mail.

"This game is very disturbing," the parent told the newspaper. "Especially since unsuspecting parents will also be victimized through receipt of unwarranted photo speed tickets. I hope the public at large will complain loudly enough that local Montgomery County government officials will change their policy of using these cameras for monetary gain. The practice of sending speeding tickets to faceless recipients without any type of verification is unwarranted and an exploitation of our rights."

Red-light and speed cameras continue to be part of a controversial trend rolling across the US as more municipalities attempt to "increase safety" by photographing alleged law-breakers in order to ticket them later. Some cities have been caught shortening their yellow light times in order to catch more people running red lights (and therefore generate more revenue), not to mention that speed cameras have been known to be wildly inaccurate at times. That hasn't stopped numerous municipalities from setting them up at every major intersection and side road, usually despite continued protests from citizens.

Unsurprisingly, the Montgomery County police said that they had never heard of the Speed Camera Pimping Game, but that they would begin keeping an eye out for it. Montgomery County Council President Phil Andrews, however, appears to see the further-reaching implications of the game. "It will cause potential problems for the Speed Camera Program in terms of the confidence in it," he said.