Montgomery County’s yellow school buses are pulling double duty these days, carrying kids and quietly churning out traffic tickets. In the most recent fiscal year, the stop-arm camera program generated about 50,942 mailed citations and roughly $12.8 million in fines, while the broader effort has produced hundreds of thousands of notices since it launched. One Silver Spring stop, near 1400 East-West Highway, has turned into a long-running ticket trap, with more than 11,500 recorded violations over the past decade.
What the numbers show
A Bloomberg Businessweek investigation found the countywide program has produced more than 375,000 tickets and roughly $92 million in fines, even as per-camera violation rates have only budged slightly. County officials have defended the cameras as both an educational tool and a way to hold motorists accountable, the report noted.
How the system works
According to Montgomery County’s FY2024 report, the program mailed 50,942 citations in FY24, resulting in about $12.8 million in fines and an average…..