|
About the
Program
Montgomery County’s automated
speed enforcement program is the first in Maryland to enforce
speed limits in residential areas and school zones with a speed
limit of 35 mph or less. The program gets underway March 12 with
a 30-day warning period. During that time motorists will
receive warning violations if they are photographed speeding in
the enforcement zones.
The
Montgomery County Police Department will initially deploy up to
six mobile speed enforcement vehicles, with a number of fixed
cameras to be added later in the year. The mobile units will be
rotated around a number of designated speed enforcement zones in
residential areas and school zones across the county.
In 2006, the
State of Maryland granted Montgomery County the authority to
operate the cameras for a pilot automated speed limit
enforcement program in residential areas and school zones. The
municipalities of Chevy Chase Village, the City of Gaithersburg,
and the City of Rockville are implementing similar speed
enforcement programs under the same law. Violators will receive
a civil citation and a $40 fine. Since the violations are being
treated as civil and not criminal penalties, there will be no
license “points” assigned and insurance providers are not
notified of the citation.
Enforcement
zones will be published on the police departments’ websites and
additional signage will be constructed around the county
notifying drivers of the cameras being used. Vehicles traveling
above the determined threshold speed will be the subject of a
series of photographs taken to document the violation. The
photographs will then be processed and the license plate will be
reviewed to identify the registered owner. The owner will
then be sent the citation, which will include copies of the
violation photos and the recorded vehicle speed.
Additional
information about the municipalities’ automated speed
enforcement programs can be found on their websites. |