courtesy of Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie
Effective Monday, some speed camera fees are going down. Mayor Vincent Gray told a press conference this morning that the new rates will start at $50 for 10mph & under infractions, and go to $100 for 11-15mph infractions. Both of those fines are dropping $25. For those who really like putting the hammer down (25mph over the speed limit or more) the fine is going up from $250 to $300. The fines for 16-20 and 21-25mph over are remaining at their current level.
According to the Mayor and Chief Cathy Lanier, these changes will allow the city to employ 100 new police officers.
As someone who lives on a busy thoroughfare, I have found myself dulling the objection to the speed cameras when they slow traffic on my street enough that exiting my car is not an invitation to being flattened by a Maryland-bound commuter.
Not everyone agrees, and there’s certainly something to be said for the lack of police enforcement of speeding, which can reduce the recurrence of the event better than a ticket that shows up by mail 30-60 days later. But, this is where we’re at. What are your thoughts on speed cameras in DC?
I live and work in the District of Columbia. I write at We Love DC, a blog I helped start, I work at Technolutionary, a company I helped start, and I’m happy doing both. I enjoy watching baseball, cooking, and gardening. I grow a mean pepper, keep a clean scorebook, and wash the dishes when I’m done. Read Why I Love DC.
I don’t like them. I got over $1000 in speeding tickets from the same camera over about a month’s time. I had no idea until the tickets all started showing up a month after they were issued.
How about adjusting the speed limits that are set too low (Suitland Pkwy, 295) and essentially function as traps?
There are two major issues at play here. The first is that many of the speed limits in DC are set artificially low to the point where if you are actually going the speed limit you are in more danger than if you simply kept up with traffic. The second is that these fines only hurt those who can’t afford it while those the DC elite can simply ignore the speed limit now that they don’t have to be inconvenienced by getting pulled over, points on their license and even court dates.