Slow Down: Montgomery County drivers could see more speed cameras in the near future

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (WDVM) — If you drive in Montgomery County, look out because there could be more speed cameras in the near future.

The county council’s public safety committee plans to add more speed and red-light cameras to slow drivers down. Their Automated Traffic Enforcement Program can be expensive, but it has proven to reduce speed in high traffic areas and prevents crashes. Under the program, the county will install additional speed cameras, red-light cameras, and school bus cameras.

Authorities say the cameras help capture violations without having to deploy police officers to pull cars over, which will increase safety for everyone. When it comes to red-light cameras, data shows the county sent out almost 40,000 citations last year.

 “We would have consistency on these major artery roads. We are looking at expanding automated enforcement on University Boulevard, in the areas that there are crashes”, said Tom Didone, Assistant Chief, Montgomery County Police Department.

In 2015, a study conducted by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety report showed speed cameras reduced speeding by 62% and reduced major injury crashes by 39%.  That was compared to a similar program in a Virginia jurisdiction. The process of adding cameras takes around two years to complete.