Montgomery County drivers will soon face a new form of automated traffic enforcement designed to catch speeding, even when the traffic light is green.
The Montgomery County Police Department is testing its new “Speed on Green” program, which uses upgraded red-light cameras that can also detect vehicles traveling at excessive speeds while the signal is green.
The program is part of the county’s Vision Zero effort to reduce serious and fatal crashes and address unsafe driving maneuvers.
“There have been far too many tragic collisions on our streets, and they need not have been deadly if everyone was moving slower,” County Council President Natali Fani-González said in a statement last year.
MCPD says the technology will initially be tested at two intersections: Colesville Road and Georgia Avenue and Colesville Road and University Boulevard.
The upgraded system is part of a larger replacement of its automated enforcement equipment, according to the department. MCPD is implementing 140 speed cameras and 76 red-light cameras under a new contract.
The department says the red-light cameras can operate as speed cameras when the signal is green, allowing officers to address what MCPD describes as excessive speeding and aggressive driving.
“This is another tool to help address dangerous driving behavior,” MCPD officials wrote in its annual report, describing the program as part of its commitment to eliminating serious-injury and fatal collisions on county roads by 2030.
Before citations are issued, drivers will receive advance notice through signs and community outreach. MCPD also plans a 15-day warning period, required under state law, before enforcement begins.
The county’s Vision Zero plan identifies speeding as a major safety concern and calls for a combination of automated and traditional police enforcement to keep drivers within posted speed limits.
MCPD expects to begin enforcement using the Speed on Green technology in the latter part of 2026.
