Slow your roll: Md. State Police launch speed enforcement initiative on I-495 this weekend

Those with lead feet, beware: Maryland State Police are cracking down on speeding and aggressive driving this weekend ahead of Columbus Day.

Authorities said in a release that the initiative will take place on Interstate 495 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.on Saturday with troopers from the College Park and Forestville barracks.

Prince George’s County police will assist troopers on the Capital Beltway.

It follows a three-year crash analysis study that determined “Columbus Day weekend has a high propensity for speed-related collisions,” police said in a release.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, speeding was a factor in 26% of all fatal crashes in 2017. More than 9,700 people were killed.

In 2017, 54 people died in the 4,526 aggressive-driving crashes in Maryland, police said.

Police said 85 percent of aggressive driving crashes happened in the D.C.-Baltimore region between 2013 and 2017.

Aggressive driving violations involve a combination of behaviors that endanger people or property. Maryland law dictates that at least three of the following are observed:

  • Traffic light violations.
  • Overtaking and passing another vehicle.
  • Passing on the right.
  • Driving on a laned roadway.
  • Tailgating or following another driver too closely.
  • Failing to yield when other drivers have the right-of-way.
  • Exceeding the speed limit.

Aggressive driving violations mean five points on your Maryland license and a $370 fine.

Will Vitka

William Vitka is a Digital Editor and reporter for WTOP.com. He's been in the news industry for over a decade. Before joining WTOP, he worked for CBS News, Stuff Magazine, The New York Post and wrote a variety of books—about a dozen of them, with more to come.

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