TOWSON, MD (August 15, 2018) – Speed cameras are posted in work zones in the Baltimore Metro area and across Maryland to make drivers “think twice” before speeding in road construction areas.  It is a sure sign motorists are getting the message about the consequences of speeding within work zones, as Maryland’s work zone camera ticket revenues plummeted 44.5 percent in recent years.

Because the Maryland State and Maryland Transportation Authority Police cannot patrol all work zones, at all times, Maryland’s SafeZones mobile enforcement vehicles armed with speed cameras are rotating work zones in the Baltimore metro area, as well as other counties throughout the state.

A work zone speed camera ticket in Maryland carries a $40 fine and is issued if a vehicle is exceeding the posted work zone speed limit by 12 mph or greater. The cameras are authorized to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so even when workers are not present drivers could still get ticketed. The photo citations do not involve points on a driver’s record nor incur insurance penalties.

The overarching goal of Maryland’s SafeZones program “is to slow drivers and make work zones safer environments for work crews, drivers and passengers,” according to the MDTA. “Even when workers are not present, work zones can be dangerous due to uneven pavement, lane shifts, reduced shoulders and other modifications,” the statewide agency explains.

“In Maryland, most work zone crashes across the state occur in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. metro areas,” said Ragina Cooper Averella, AAA Mid-Atlantic’s Manager of Public & Government Affairs. “The state of Maryland deploys ‘Automated Speed Enforcement’ (ASE) mobile units in work zones to modify driver behavior and to save the lives of highway workers and motorists.”

In 2016, “six people lost their lives in work zone crashes in Maryland, including one highway worker,” reports the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT). Others suffered incapacitating injuries.

Currently, there are 15 active work zone speed camera locations in Maryland. In the Baltimore Metro area, the northbound I-95 camera north of the Fort McHenry Tunnel generates the most citations of any other Baltimore metro area work zone camera. This is not surprising given that the tunnel is the busiest of all of Maryland’s toll facilities, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA).

However, compared to the volume of traffic, only a miniscule number of citations were issued. Drivers took 45.3 million trips cumulatively through the Fort McHenry Tunnel during Fiscal Year 2017, while slightly more than 76,700 work zone speeding citations were issued during the eight months of 2017 when the speed camera was active.

Baltimore Metro Area SafeZones Active Speed Cameras 

Approximately 1,342,500 motorists on the receiving end of work zone speed camera tickets in Maryland forked over about $54 million in fine revenue to the state’s coffers from FY 2013 to FY 2016. Revenues dipped significantly from $16.4 million in FY 2013, to approximately $9.1 million in FY 2016, according to the Maryland General Assembly’s Department of Legislative Services. It represents a decline of $7.3 million in work zone camera revenue for the state in the period from FY13 to FY16, notes AAA Mid-Atlantic.

Revenue Generated By Maryland Work Zone Speed Control Systems

Across Maryland, work zone camera “revenues have generally decreased as compliance has increased,” explains the Department of Legislative Services. As proof, in fiscal 2015, Maryland collected approximately $13.3 million in revenue from citations generated by its work zone speed control systems, “compared to $14.9 million in fiscal 2014, and $16.4 million in fiscal 2013,” Legislative Services reports.

Remarkably, the amount of speeding vehicles in work zones has dropped “90 percent” in Maryland. More importantly, the number of work zone fatalities has also declined significantly in Maryland since the implementation of the work zone camera systems by the Maryland State Police and the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA).

“The automated speed camera system in Maryland’s work zones is generating the positive outcome that AAA supported,” said Averella. “A decline in work zone fatalities, coupled with the consistent drop in revenue, indicates that motorists are altering their driving behavior and lives are being saved in Maryland’s work zones.”

“Between 2010 and 2016, work zone fatalities averaged 6.6 per year in Maryland, a reduction of about 45% from the seven-year average of 11.9 fatalities per year from 2003 through 2009,” explains the Department of Legislative Services. “On average, more than 700 people nationwide lose their lives annually in work zone crashes,” cautions the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT). 

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