Howard County, MD Mobility & Curb Rules: Red-Light Cameras (2026)

County Code Subtitle 6 (Sec. 603) lets the Howard County Department of Police deploy speed monitoring systems solely within a designated school zone, defined under Sec. 600 as a road segment with a reasonable nexus to a school or school walking route, following a public meeting and a Department of Public Works engineering evaluation. Sec. 601 ties this authority directly to section 21-809 of the Transportation Article, letting police issue civil citations to the vehicle's registered owner based on the recorded image, and every citation must disclose the right to a trial and the right to have the camera operator appear.

Fines collected fund the program's own costs first, with any surplus restricted to public safety purposes such as pedestrian safety programs under Courts & Judicial Proceedings §7-302(e)(4)(ii). Sec. 602 requires the Police Department to give the County Council a written annual report covering citation counts, appeals, collision comparisons, and program costs, and Sec. 603 requires a sign posted at the start of every school zone plus published camera-location notice on the police website. Separately, Subtitle 7 (Sec. B. 1, letting police cite drivers who illegally pass a stopped school bus, recorded by the bus's own camera, with the penalty capped at whatever maximum the state statute allows. Sec. B. 51, 2025, adding a requirement that flashing-light-triggered citations be verified by the system operator.