Crabcakes and football are what Maryland is known for, as famously said in “Wedding Crashers.” Well, soon it will also be known for this new speeding law that is going into place in October 2025.
Max Frizalone (@frizwoods) recently shared a new Maryland law that will arrest people driving 30 miles per hour over the speed limit.
This attorney’s TikTok has more than 940,000 views as of this writing.
What Is the New Speeding Law Going Into Place?
“Watch your speed, Maryland drivers,” Frizalone warns.
Frizalone from FrizWoods Criminal Defense law firm reveals a new Maryland speeding law that leads to jail time. The Sergeant Patrick Kepp Act is set to take effect in October 2025. This new law imposes harsher penalties for reckless drivers. It includes the potential for up to 60 days in jail and a $1,000 fine for going 30 mph above the speed limit.
The law “will hold reckless drivers more accountable with stricter penalties and real consequences,” County Police Chief Marc Yamada said in a written statement.
Currently, reckless driving and any form of speeding is a high ticket fine and points on your driver’s record. However, the law is set to change and now carries jail time. The reclassification from high-tier speeding tickets into a criminal traffic offense punishable by jail time, fines, and points on your license will take place on October 1, 2025.
This law is named after police officer Patrick Kepp, who lost both of his legs after a driver intentionally struck him at a speed of more than 100 mph.
“If you are going fast enough, you could be going in the back of the cruiser,” Max concludes in his post.
Drivers Want Maryland to Raise Speed Limits
Frizalone told Motor1, “I’d like to see the state’s highway speeds increased as someone who drives across the state every day. The speed limit shouldn’t feel like the minimum speed, but it does when it’s as slow as 50 to 65 miles per hour on divided highways.”
Maryland highway speed limits do vary across the state. Speed limits on highways in Maryland range from 50-70 mph. See below for specifications on speed limits:
- 30 mph on all highways in a business district and undivided highways in a residential district
- 35 mph on divided highways in a residential district
- 50 mph on other undivided highways
- 55 mph on other divided highways
- 70 mph on interstate highways and expressways
“I believe all highways should be 65 mph across the state,” Frizalone told Motor1.
“They need to raise the speed limits already,” one TikTok commenter agreed.
“Maryland speed limits are so slow. It’s actually insane,” another commenter added.
Maryland deployed the Safe Speed Automated Speed Enforcement Program (ASE), which uses technology and cameras to catch drivers speeding. With this program, officers do not need to pull you over to give you a citation; it’ll come to you in the mail.
The two main areas where Maryland sets speed traps are in school zones and construction zones. These traps are sophisticated and clever. Maryland utilizes both fixed and mobile speed cameras. In school zones, Maryland uses ASE speed cameras to provide consistent enforcement where speeding is particularly treacherous. Having an officer chase down a speeding driver in a school zone is dangerous, so fixed speed cameras are placed.
In addition, mobile cameras are disguised as SUVs and parked in any construction zones with a posted speed limit of 45 mph or higher. In other words, any construction taking place on a highway will have a mobile speed trap camera present. These cameras will ticket at 12 mph or more over the limit. The Maryland Road Worker Protection Act, passed in 2024, raised fines for speeding in work zones in 2025.
As a former Maryland driver, I know firsthand how Maryland frequently sets up sneaky speed traps across the state. Between the speed cameras, parked SUVs, and the police officers hiding with speed guns, you were always on the lookout for these traps.
With the number of laws and initiatives Maryland has recently put into place, it’s safe to assume the speed limits won’t rise anytime soon.
Will This Law Change Driving Behavior?
There is no denying the dangers of speeding and reckless driving. Ensuring safety amongst drivers is a top priority for any state. However, many drivers ignore speed limits on highways in Maryland.
“In Maryland the speed limit on highways doesn’t matter. Accepted speed on the highway is 80 mph (despite that the actual speed limit is 70),” one Reddit post claims.
Drivers are often encouraged to follow the flow of traffic when driving. In Maryland, the flow is usually over the speed limit. Maryland’s Flow of Traffic Law requires drivers to move at a minimum speed noted on a sign on any given road. By driving under the speed limit, the potential for danger rises. You can even get a ticket for driving too slowly if it impedes the normal flow of traffic.
With this in mind, drivers usually obey the flow of traffic and ignore speed limits. While on paper, the Sergeant Patrick Kepp Act is a great law to enforce, will Maryland drivers actually change their driving behavior? The comments section didn’t make it seem so.
“The people questioning how one can go 30 over have clearly never driven in Maryland,” one TikTok commenter shared.
“On 95, the average speed is 85,” another shared.
“They also need a law that anyone going under the speed limit goes to jail for 60 days also,” one commenter joked.
Reckless driving certainly isn’t a laughing matter, considering the serious consequences that can occur. With laws like the Sergeant Patrick Kepp Act and using technology like ASE throughout school zones and construction zones, Maryland clearly desires safer roads. Whether drivers take this law seriously, only time will tell.
