Maryland Route 210 is one of the Old Line State’s busiest stretches of road, and it has also been named the “highway of death” by safety advocates. Also known as Indian Head Highway, MD 210 is a 20-mile stretch of divided road that runs through Prince George’s County and connects Indian Head and Forest Heights. Since 2007, 91 road users have lost their lives on MD 210 and many more have been seriously injured.
Excessive speed
Many of those road users were killed in car accidents that were caused at least in part by excessive speed. Cameras have been placed on MD 210 to take photographs of vehicles exceeding the posted speed limit, but motorists who are ticketed by the devices are only fined $40. Automated speed enforcement systems cannot tell who is behind the wheel of a speeding vehicle, so motorists who are issued speed camera tickets do not have penalty points placed on their driver’s licenses.
Lax penalties
Road safety advocacy groups like the MD 210 Traffic Safety Committee think these speeding penalties are far too lax, and data gathered by the speed cameras suggests that drivers are not too concerned about them either. Between August and October 2023, the cameras spotted 204 drivers traveling at speeds of over 100 mph. One driver was clocked at 170 mph. The speed limit on most parts of MD 210 is 55 mph.
Proposed legislation
Efforts to increase the penalties for speeding on MD 210 have been introduced in the Maryland House of Delegates, but none of them have passed. A new initiative would increase speeding fines to up to $530 and introduce additional penalties for repeat offenders, and it is backed by both activists and lawmakers. If the measure is passed, MD 210 may finally become safer.