Automated Enforcement Program

MARYLAND

PROJECT CHARACTERISTICS PROGRAM AREA(S)
  Outstanding collaborative effort   Joint FHWA/NHTSA Initiatives
  Strong self-sufficiency program   Police Traffic Services
  Exemplifies "seed money" concept   
       
TYPE OF JURISDICTION    
  County    
       
TARGETED POPULATION(S) JURISDICTION SIZE
  General Population 225,000


PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
In 1995, red light violations led to more than 3,500 traffic crashes in Maryland, resulting in injuries to 4,256 people and claiming 34 lives. Howard County, Maryland, located in the Baltimore-Washington, DC corridor, is diverse in character with large urban areas. Motorists running red lights and violating other traffic control devices is the number one cause of crashes in urban areas, and Howard County residents and traffic safety officials were becoming increasingly concerned about the escalation in red light and other violations. A public opinion survey revealed disturbing attitudes; that existing enforcement efforts were less than adequate, and most respondents thought stop light violations were either not enforced or enforced only occasionally.

The challenges for Howard County enforcement officials were to correct public perception about the seriousness that the county viewed (and enforced) red light violations; and to reduce red light violations without endangering the public during typical enforcement activities, such as pursuits.


GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The goal of the Howard County Department of Police's Automated Enforcement Program was to reduce fatalities and injuries resulting from non-compliance with automated traffic signals. The objectives of the program were to:


STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
The preparatory activities of the Automated Enforcement Program, which began in 1994, were supported by seed money from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and involved establishing a baseline of information with which to measure progress in meeting program goals and objectives. Baseline activities included measuring public opinion regarding red light violations, collecting data on violation rates, and determining collision data related to red light violations. After baseline data were collected and analyzed, the 15 to 20 intersections which comprised the majority of junctures where collisions were caused by red light violations were identified.

Using Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) funds, the county next embarked on a two year campaign of public awareness and technology trials beginning in the Fall of 1996. Having conducted team enforcement operations for several years, it was concluded that, although a valuable tool in reducing red light violations, team enforcement was cost-prohibitive for continuous use—moreover, enforcement personnel found team enforcement to have limited results. The most valuable enforcement tool appeared to be installation of automated cameras positioned at the most critical locations. A six-month trial was conducted, with warnings sent to violators of automated signals. The results of this trial were sufficient to garner support from the Maryland Legislature, leading to enactment of a new state law, in October 1997, allowing law enforcement officials to issue citations from observations by the automated cameras. The new Automated Enforcement Program is designed to be self-supporting through the payment of fines for red light violations.

 

RESULTS
The primary result from implementation of this program is enactment of a state law to permit the use of automated enforcement devices in helping to reduce fatalities and injuries resulting from running red lights.

Law enforcement agencies began issuing citations under the new law in March, 1998. An evaluation component was built into the new program, and first-year results from the effort will be available in 1999.

 

FUNDING
  Section 402 (NHTSA):

$64,288

  Section 402 (FHWA):

$80,000

CONTACT  
  Lt. Glenn Hansen, Commander
Automated Enforcement Division
Howard County Police
3410 Courthouse Drive
Ellicott City, MD 21043
(410) 313-2286


National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Spring 1998