The 13 Montgomery County Speed Cameras that Caught the Most Drivers

Each camera at these locations snared more than 10,000 drivers in 2014

By Andrew Metcalf

Drivers be warned: Better ease off the gas pedal if you’re traveling along 16th Street in Silver Spring.

More than 42,000 drivers were issued citations for speeding in 2014 based on data from three cameras placed along a short stretch of the road between East West Highway and Georgia Avenue, according to figures provided by the Montgomery County Department of Police.

The cameras are among the 13 in the county that each captured more than 10,000 speeding drivers in 2014. The cameras were located in Silver Spring, Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Kensington, Olney and Damascus, according to police. Carrying a fine of $40 each, citations from the 13 cameras likely earned the county nearly $11 million in revenue that year.

Throughout the county, police place cameras in school zones or on residential roads where the speed limit is 35 mph or less. Citations are mailed to drivers who are recorded traveling 12 mph or more over the posted speed limit.

Overall, there are 92 speed cameras in the county, including 30 portable boxes, six mobile vans and 56 fixed-pole cameras. The speed cameras, which were placed in 160 different positions, issued about 480,000 citations in 2014 and generated about $17 million in revenue. About half of those funds went to the speed camera vendor—Xerox—which is paid to install and maintain the cameras. A little less than 0.00015 percent of citations were overturned on appeal in court, according to the statistics provided by police.

The following are the 13 cameras that generated the most citations in 2014, the number of citations generated for each one and the camera locations at that time. Police say they regularly move the mobile cameras within a designated “speed camera corridor” to prevent drivers from becoming familiar with a specific location.

13. 8800 block of northbound 16th Street, Silver Spring

Number of citations: 10,052

Estimated revenue: $402,080

Observations: This is the first of three speed cameras on 16th Street in Silver Spring that made the list. The camera is about halfway between Georgia Avenue and East West Highway on the busy road. [Photo by Aaron Kraut]

NEXT