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1. What is the City of Hyattsville Safe Speed Automated Speed Enforcement Program?

City of Hyattsville Safe Speed is a program run by the Hyattsville Police Department. The City of Hyattsville Safe Speed program is a safety program focused on changing driver behavior in school zones through a comprehensive effort involving engineering, education and enforcement. The City of Hyattsville Safe Speed program uses automated speed enforcement to enhance the safety of motorists and children in school zones within the incorporated limits of the City of Hyattsville.

2. What are the hours of operation?

Monday through Friday from 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM.

3. What are the guiding principles of the City of Hyattsville Safe Speed Program?

The Hyattsville Police Department program principles are:

• Clearly identify and effectively communicate speed-related safety problems to the public.
• Make Automated Speed Enforcement sites visible to road users through signing and media outlets.
• Deploy Automated Speed Enforcement in school zones where they fulfill a bona-fide need.
• Ensure a fair program by deploying Automated Speed Enforcement only after careful consideration and study.
• Determine the effectiveness of the program through continuous, ongoing evaluations.

4. How does the program work?

Automated speed enforcement systems are deployed at select school zones throughout the City of Hyattsville, Maryland and complement the existing speed enforcement efforts of the Hyattsville Police Department. School zones must be within the incorporated limits of the City of Hyattsville with speed limits of less than 45 MPH.

Automated speed enforcement systems are comprised of a speed measurement device, camera, and a computer. Speed measuring devices identify motorists traveling 12mph or more over the posted speed limit. Cameras capture license plate images of violations and computers record all of the relevant data associated with the violation.

When a speed violation occurs, the automated speed enforcement equipment records:
• The date
• The time
• The speed of the vehicle

A citation that includes images of the violating vehicle is then mailed to the registered owner of the vehicle. Once the violator receives the citation, payment, request for appeal, or written correspondence can be mailed to City of Hyattsville Safe Speed Program, P.O. Box 1877 Hyattsville, MD 21203.

5. How are sites selected?

A variety of factors are used to determine the automated speed enforcement deployment locations, including:

• Location of school zone (e.g., must be on a street/road with a speed limit of less than 45 mph, spreading out sites to achieve maximum effect, etc.)
• Safety Data (e.g. children exposure /risk, congestion, crash history, violation history, etc.)
• Temporary Traffic Control Set-up (e.g., number of lanes, time of day, duration of school, etc.)

6. How does the camera know when a violation has occurred?

A speed measuring device is aimed across the road and determines the speed of the vehicles that pass through it. If the detected speed is higher than the established speed threshold set by the certified operator, a digital image of the vehicle is recorded.