Speed Cameras Installed Around Town

In June, the Anne Arundel County Police Department began implementing its Automated Traffic Enforcement Speed Program by installing portable camera units (PCUs) at five school zones, giving drivers a 15-day warning period. Oak Hill Elementary (Truck House Road), Shipley’s Choice Elementary (Governor Stone Parkway) and Broadneck Elementary (Shore Acres Road) were three of the five locations.

Five additional automated enforcement speed cameras were activated in July, with one in Severna Park at Folger McKinsey Elementary (Arundel Beach Road).

According to the police department, the units were inspired by community feedback about traffic-related fatalities, serious injuries and roadway safety.

“The Automated Traffic Enforcement Speed Program is both data-driven and community-driven,” County Executive Steuart Pittman said in a statement. “Residents came to us with their concerns about the impact of speeding on the safety of their communities and we listened and acted by implementing this program to promote safe driving habits and ultimately save lives.”

Now that the warning period has ended, motorists traveling 12 miles per hour or more over the posted speed limit will be issued a citation and a $40 fine.

Anne Arundel County plans for 40 PCUs to occupy school zones and residential areas that have been identified based on traffic pattern data, crash history, resident concerns and accident history.

In accordance with state law, speed cameras in school zones will operate from 6:00am-8:00pm Monday through Friday, including holidays and during the summer. Cameras placed in residential areas will operate 24/7.

Wes Guckert, president and CEO of The Traffic Group, has provided consultation to multiple communities in Maryland, detailing traffic calming and safety measures. While many people are not enthusiastic about speed cameras, he said, several studies have proven that the cameras encourage safer driving while reducing crashes and injuries.

“Further underscoring this point, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report entitled Automated Speed-Camera Enforcement found that speed cameras reduced total crashes anywhere from 8% to 49% and fatal and serious-injury crashes anywhere from 11% to 44% in studies that compared pre- and post-crash data collected near camera sites,” Guckert said in a column about Vision Zero.

First implemented as the national road policy in Sweden in 1997, Vision Zero is a global movement to end traffic-related fatalities and serious injuries by taking a systemic approach to road safety. The premise of this strategy is that road deaths and injuries are unacceptable and preventable.

The core strategies of Vision Zero - installing traffic cameras, creating separated bike lanes, or imposing road diets - either force drivers to slow down or create safe space for vulnerable road users, such as those on foot or bicycle.

As Guckert said, this national push comes after data from the World Health Organization ranked the U.S. 41st worst among 49 high-income nations in traffic deaths.

For more information about the Automated Traffic Enforcement Speed Program, to pay citations, and to view an interactive map of active and planned locations, go to www.aacounty.org/speedcameras.