Maryland bill would allow state to have speed camera reciprocity agreements with other jurisdictions

A bill introduced in the Maryland Senate would allow the state to enter into reciprocal agreements with other jurisdictions for speed and traffic camera violations.

If Senate Bill 173 or its equivalent, House of Delegates Bill 249, become law, the head of the Motor Vehicle Administration would be authorized to make deals “to provide for reciprocal enforcement of violations recorded by traffic control signal monitoring systems and speed monitoring systems between this state and the other jurisdiction.”

If Maryland and the other jurisdiction reach such an agreement, an out-of-state driver who is delinquent in paying for a speed or traffic camera violation in Maryland could be unable to register or re-register their vehicle.

Conversely, if a Maryland driver commits a speed or traffic camera violation in another jurisdiction and ignores it, the Motor Vehicle Administration would be authorized to refuse vehicle registration or re-registration for that in-state driver.

The bills were filed at the request of Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, and the Maryland Department of Transportation due to a spate of non-Marylanders racking up speed camera, traffic work zone camera or other traffic camera violations without paying.

“Since 2010, we’ve had 770,000 unpaid work zone speed enforcement citations. Sixty-three percent are attributed to out-of-state vehicles,” Joe McAndrew, assistant secretary for project development and delivery at MDOT, told WTOP.

D.C. Council member Charles Allen, Ward 6 Democrat, approved of the bill, telling WTOP that “I welcome greater partnership across the DMV to hold dangerous drivers accountable in MD, VA and D.C.”

Unpaid speed and traffic camera violations by Maryland and Virginia drivers in particular have led D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb to file multiple lawsuits against the worst offenders to try to recoup the unpaid fines.

Senate Bill 173 is due for a hearing on Wednesday; there is no hearing date set yet for its House of Delegates equivalent. If either bill is passed, the resulting law would take effect Oct. 1.