MARYLAND - The Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) is increasing work zone speed violation penalties with a new tiered fines system to be put in place in 2025..
According to the SHA, new laws, part of the Maryland Road Worker Protection Act passed in Maryland designed to protect highway workers went into effect in June of 2024, with speed cameras placed in more work zones across the state. Larger work zones may have more than one camera, according to SHA.
The new law also increased speeding fines from $40 to $80.
To further bolster efforts to protect road workers, Maryland’s speed camera violations will be altered further in January, 2025. The new tier system will base fines on how fast the car is going and increase in fines as the excess speeds increase. Those fines are also doubled if the speeding occurs while workers are present.
Work zone safety fines chart
The SHA says updates to work zone signage will also be put in place in January, with cameras equipped with flashing blue lights to alert drivers.
“The intent of the SafeZones program is to have all motorists travel at safe speeds; however, after the state recovers operating costs, any remaining citation funds from the enhanced work zone speed camera program will enable the state to expand purchase of safety equipment, explore new and innovative methods and technologies to improve work zones safety, and fund safety improvements on roadways,” the SHA says.
44 people were killed in over 7,000 work zone crashes between 2018 and 2022, many of them highway workers, according to SHA.
For more information on the new fines beginning in 2025, you can visit SHA’s site here.
