Speed Camera Program

Howard County has 70 public schools and more than 30 private schools. Any roadway that has been posted as a school zone is eligible for enforcement.

Maryland law defines a school zone as within a half-mile radius of any school where either the State Highway Administration or the local authority (Howard County Department of Public Works, Traffic Engineering) may establish a school zone and set maximum speed limits applicable in the school zone. School zones must be established by placing signs designating the school zone and signs that designate the maximum speed limit applicable in the school zone. Howard County is only conducting speed camera enforcement on roadways that either front the school or border school property or roadways along student walking routes that have been designated as school zones. All of our locations are posted with signs designating them as school zones, and all of them have a sign posted indicating that photo enforcement is used on the roadway.

Our program utilizes seven Speed Detection Systems. One is a mobile system deployed within a van and six are PCUs (Portable Camera Units) housed in cabinets bolted to a concrete pad.  The program is authorized to expand to a maximum number of eight systems.

By statute, enforcement can take place Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Enforcement will take place on specific roadways, at specific times, based on the data collected from the department’s speed studies, as well as complaints the department continues to receive from a variety of sources.

The technology we are using is based upon LASER technology. The imaging system creates a three dimensional representation of each vehicle on the roadway and tracks that vehicle for an extended period of time. At the end of the tracking period, the system determines the average speed of the vehicle during the tracking period. The system monitors traffic going away from the mobile system and takes photographs of the rear of the vehicle. When the vehicle is traveling 12 MPH or greater over the posted speed limit, two separate photographs are taken to show the progression of the vehicle. A vehicle identifier box is embedded in the image at the time the photograph is taken.

The citation is mailed to the address of the vehicle’s registered owner that is listed by the MVA. The citation is required by law to be mailed within 14 days of the violation.

The citation will include three photographs showing the vehicle committing the violation and the vehicle’s tag number. Those photographs will include a data bar that contains the date, time, and location of the violation; violation number; speed limit; vehicle speed; and equipment number. The citation will also include instructions for paying the fine or for requesting a court date. It will contain the signature of the police officer who certified the citation by reviewing the images and determined that the violation took place. The citation also contains a link to a website where you can view/pay the citation online.

The citation is issued to the registered owner of the vehicle, similar to a parking ticket. The registered owner is the responsible party who must ensure the fine is paid or request a court date.

By law, the fine is $40. You have three options to pay the fine.

• Pay online: View/pay the citation online. There is a convenience fee. Major credit cards are accepted.
• Mail a check: You may also mail a check for the amount due to the Howard County Speed Camera Program, P.O. Box 17022, Baltimore, MD, 21297-1022. Checks should be made payable to the Howard County Director of Finance.
• Pay in person: Go in person to the George Howard Building, 3430 Court House Drive, Ellicott City, MD 21043. The finance office is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Methods of payment are cash, check made out to Howard County Director of Finance or Discover Card (convenience fee added). A drop box is also available in front of the George Howard Building for payments deposited after hours.

Speed camera citations are civil citations that do not carry points. They are similar to parking citations and are not reflected on your driving record. Insurance companies are not allowed to access speed camera violation information.

The office phone number is 410-313-5770, and the fax is 410-313-5756.