2010 Annual Report - Maryland State Highway Administration

III
Highway Safety
Motor Carrier Safety
Participating law enforcement agencies conducted nearly 100,000
commercial vehicle safety inspections in FY 2010.
SHA successfully deployed its first electronic virtual weigh station on MD 32
in Howard County. This weigh station has been effective in identifying
weight violations and other safety issues in commercial vehicles. It also
helps collect data that is used by law enforcement to help plan more
effective weight and inspection efforts.
Virtual weigh station on MD 32.
Work Zone Safety
In October 2009, SHA, in partnership with the Maryland State Police (MSP) and
MDTA, implemented the Maryland SafeZones program, an automated speed
enforcement (ASE) program which uses automated speed cameras in work
zones to assist in modifying driver behavior and help ensure safer work zones
for workers, drivers and their passengers. Speed cameras rotate among work
zones throughout the state on controlled-access roads with a speed limit of 45
miles per hour (mph) or more. The program began with two vehicles, fully
equipped with the ASE system, deployed at four work zones in the Baltimore-
Washington, DC metropolitan area. From October to mid-November 2009,
more than 8,000 warning notices were issued to motorists who exceeded the
posted speed limit in work zones by 12 or more mph. From the end of that
warning period through June 2010, more than 50,000 citations were issued.
Other accomplishments included:
SHA developed and presented an online safety course for law enforcement
officers who serve on work zone details;
SHA hosted the National Work Zone Safety Awareness press conference in
April 2010, featuring SHA's work zone ASE program vehicle and remarks by
the wife of Rick Moser, an SHA employee killed in a work zone in 2007;
SHA trained nearly 2,000 traffic managers in safe work zone setups and
trained nearly 400 flaggers in safe flagging techniques;
SHA conducted two joint, multi-agency field inspections in cooperation with
FHWA to promote uniformity in work zone inspections to ensure safe work
zones.
Former Deputy Secretary Harold Bartlett speaks at
the Maryland Safe Zones press event.
Roadway Engineering Safety Improvement Programs
In addition to programs mentioned throughout this chapter that address
specific groups of roadway users, SHA continued to implement statewide
roadway improvements and specific construction projects as needed.
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STATE HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION | FY 2010 Annual Report