Police in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties hope to meet them in person one day -- but for now they just have the pictures of their most chronic speeding offenders.
Not pictures of their faces, but their cars. The two cars in question have racked up the most speed camera violations in the area.
One of those cars was caught 66 times in 2012, the other 63 times. Both cars are privately owned, and police tell News4 they are not commercial vehicles or pizza delivery cars. Also, neither one of them has diplomatic tags, and yes, police know who the owners of the cars are.
One of the cars has been racking up speeding tickets since July 2011. Last year, Montgomery County speed cameras caught that car 66 times, said Lt. Robert McCullagh, deputy director of the Montgomery County Police Traffic Division.
Prince George’s County Police tell us their biggest speed camera offender was caught 63 times in just one year, a statistic even the police chief found notable.
“That’s incredible to have that many violations and still be able to operate a motor vehicle,” said Mark Magaw, Prince George’s County Police Chief.
Here’s what police will tell us about the counties' two most chronic speed camera offenders:
In Montgomery County:
- The car caught in Montgomery County is actually registered in the District of Columbia and is routinely caught near the D.C./Maryland border in Silver Spring.
- The car is usually clocked at an average speed between 12 and 15 mph over the speed limit. Police say the owner is a woman and she's paid two of her 66 tickets.
In Prince George's County:
- The Prince George's County car is registered in Maryland, according to Major Robert Liberati with the Prince George’s County Police Department.
- Liberati couldn’t provide any identifying information about the car’s owner because they haven’t been charged with a criminal offense. Liberati did confirm that none of that driver's 63 tickets have been paid.
In Maryland, speed camera fines are a civil offense, not a criminal offense -- so police can't just go to the owner's house and arrest him or her.
However, Prince George’s County Police have suspended the license plate of their chronic offender. If that car is found, the car can be impounded and the driver charged with driving on a suspended tag.
As for the car registered in D.C., unless the driver is caught in Montgomery County, she won't face any consequences. That's because Maryland and the District don't have reciprocity when it comes to speed camera fines, so she would still be able to renew her tags in D.C.
As for how much money they owe, since all Maryland speed camera fines are set at $40 and since Maryland can't charge late fees on outstanding speed camera tickets, the math is easy: The Montgomery County car owes $2,560, while the Prince George's County car owes $2,520.
While the District has far more speed cameras and issues many more speed camera fines than Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties combined, DC has a far lower rate of repeat offenders, particularly those with more than 20 tickets per year. In 2012 the repeat offender with the most speed camera tickets issued in D.C. was caught 22 times.
Follow Mark Segraves on Twitter at @SegravesNBC4