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Marylanders would face larger fines the faster they’re caught driving by a speed camera, under a new proposal in the state legislature.
Currently, cameras in Maryland issue fines of $40 for anyone caught going 12 mph or more over the speed limit through school zones, residential zones or in front of any other speed camera that isn’t operating in a highway work zone.
But after increasing fines through work zones last year, the faster you go above the speed limit, the higher the ticket you get. Under the latest proposal, each camera in the state would operate that way.
“The lowest tier, which is 12 mph above the speed limit, stays the same,” said state Sen. Jeff Waldstreicher, who represents part of Montgomery County and is sponsoring the senate version of the bill.
He spoke about the legislation during a Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee hearing Wednesday.
“Everyone sometimes speeds and we don’t want a punitive fine at 12 mph over the speed limit,” Waldstreicher said. “I bet everyone in this room has accidentally just been a little bit thoughtless and received a speed camera ticket at about 12, 13 mph above the speed limit.”
But just like in work zones, fines would start to increase once someone is going 16 mph or more over the speed limit. The maximum ticket would be $350, and that’s for anyone pictured going 40 mph or more over the speed limit.
Every fine is 70% of what the fine is for speeding through a highway work zone.
“The other tiers increase as the danger of the behavior increases,” Waldstreicher said.
While a vote won’t happen until sometime later in the session, state Sen. Anthony Muse, who represents part of Prince George’s County, signaled his support for the measure to help respond to speeding on Maryland Route 210, which runs from inside the Beltway to Indian Head.
“We’ve had people caught doing 140 mph on 210,” Muse said. “At that point, I really don’t care about being punitive or not. I think that you do that. I don’t care if the fine’s $5,000. We’ve had, I believe 20 other deaths on that street, and so I agree with what you’re doing.”
Later, a member of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association said the number was much higher than 20 deaths.
Others on the committee expressed concern about local jurisdictions that, in their opinion, abuse the proximity to school zones.
“We see them putting them in areas that are not directly impacting the flow of traffic in and around the schools, but they’re looking at a high traffic volume and areas that would create more revenue,” said state Sen. Bill Folden, who represents part of Frederick County.
Waldstreicher said those concerns were valid.