ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland drivers speeding through construction zones could soon face stiffer civil penalties.
Governor Wes Moore and Lt. Governor Aruna Miller have introduced the Maryland Road Worker Protection Act of 2024 before the State General Assembly.
The proposed legislation comes less than a year after six construction workers will struck and killed by a speeding vehicle on I-695.
Under the law any violators caught by a speed camera would be cited and fined $290, up from $40.
That's the same amount if pulled over and ticketed by a police officer.
Currently speed camera fines in Maryland are the lowest in the country.
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If passed, the law would also allow work zone speed cameras to be functional without an operator physically present.
Warning periods, which normally last a month, before citations are issued would be no more as well.
Right now the State says it has 300 active work zones with approximately 1,000 employees and contractors.
In 2023 there were more than 1,200 crashes reported in Maryland work zones, which equates to more than three a day.
“As a transportation engineer, I’ve been on road work sites and witnessed the risk that reckless driving poses to those who work on them,” said Lt. Gov. Miller. “By increasing enforcement measures for drivers who choose to drive at excessive speeds through a work zone, this legislation will better protect the men and women who do the vital jobs of building and maintaining the roads we rely on every day."
