WASHINGTON — A decision could come Monday in the Maryland General Assembly on whether one of the region’s deadliest roadways should get speed camera enforcement.
The Senate could vote on a bill, passed by the House, that would authorize a single speed camera on Maryland Route 210 — Indian Head Highway — southbound at Old Fort Road.
“There are about six people who die on Maryland 210, each year,” Delegate Kriselda Valderrama (D-District 26) of Fort Washington told the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on April 3.
There were 58 fatalities on the high-speed highway between 2007 and 2017.
With the exception of Montgomery County, where speed cameras are grandfathered into the law, speed cameras are restricted to work and school zones on Maryland roadways. But that would change if the Senate goes along with the House-passed bill and the governor signs it.
AAA-MidAtlantic warns that if Prince George’s County is allowed to install a speed camera, other jurisdictions would come knocking on the General Assembly’s door for similar authority.
Some lawmakers in Annapolis criticize speed cameras as revenue generators, meant to make money for governments. And while supporters of speed cameras asked for multiple cameras on Indian Head Highway, the House bill would authorize just one for five years, after which it would be evaluated.
“We would like to have a number of cameras both north and southbound, on both sides of Maryland 210, but with that said we’re starting at a small step for hopefully what may become even more in the future,” Valderrama said.
