Why does the DC Council (Charles Allen) not want the MPD doing any traffic enforcement?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC has bigger problems than traffic violations

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Enforcement is a pretty inefficient way to make things safer and also can be racist.

Building the roads so that people drive at safer speeds is far more effective. That can mean things like narrower lanes.

If you've ever driven on a wide straight lane with few stop lights, you naturally go faster. I just drove on a country back road that had a 60 mph limit, but I was at my limit around 40 mph for most of it because it was narrow and didn't have a safe shoulder to provide margin.

Translation: We're going to take away car lanes, turn them in bike lanes and that will make traffic for drivers so terrible that no one will be able to move, let alone speed. Talk about inefficient.

Oh, you again. Completely turning what I said into what you want to believe. You should keep repeating it. Maybe in 100 pages I'll start buying it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Traffic cameras disproportionately hit black drivers

Time to shut off the traffic cameras....

[Anonymous]

Traffic stops are a leading cause of police getting shot and shooting people. They create unnecessary friction. There are other ways to get the same safety impact without the negative side effects, such as automated enforcement.

[Anonymous]

Washington D.C. has the largest police force, on a per capita basis, in the United States

But we don't want them to enforce any traffic laws because of tortured woke reasons.

They also don't solve or prevent any crimes, as evidenced by our skyrocketing violent crimes rates.

So we pay roughly 4,000 officers, many more than $100,000 with over-the-top generous benefits, for what exactly?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Police disproportionately pull over BIPOC for “speeding”, while ignoring white people who speed.

Most high injury areas are in communities of color - equity impact areas. If you enforce where the pedestrian and traffic deaths are, then you are going to pull over more drivers of color.

Disparities in police data don't start or end with the police encounter. Those disparities take lifetimes to build.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Traffic stops are a leading cause of police getting shot and shooting people. They create unnecessary friction. There are other ways to get the same safety impact without the negative side effects, such as automated enforcement.

Automated enforcement is very limited in what it can enforce. It doesn't deal with DUI, for example. It is a force multiplier. But inadequate on its own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Traffic cameras disproportionately hit black drivers

Ummm.....so don't speed?

[Anonymous]

It'd be great if the police could start with the ATV crowds, who basically get a free pass now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Traffic cameras disproportionately hit black drivers

Ummm.....so don't speed?

also a reason to let cops enforce traffic laws

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Traffic stops are a leading cause of police getting shot and shooting people. They create unnecessary friction. There are other ways to get the same safety impact without the negative side effects, such as automated enforcement.

Automated enforcement is very limited in what it can enforce. It doesn't deal with DUI, for example. It is a force multiplier. But inadequate on its own.

The city practically promotes pot smoking, which means we surely have *a lot* of stoned drivers. You'd think maybe it would be a good idea to have someone policing that.

[Anonymous]

Because Allen is singularly focused on helping criminals. If MPD was doing traffic enforcement, that might end up hurting criminals.

And no, I’m not kidding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because Allen is singularly focused on helping criminals. If MPD was doing traffic enforcement, that might end up hurting criminals.

And no, I’m not kidding.

But why is Allen so pro criminal? Most of his ward is actually pretty well off.

[Anonymous]

I agree Allen is an idiot. Can he be recalled?

[Anonymous]

I live in Allen's district right off one of the most dangerous roads in NE for pedestrians (Florida Ave between the Starburst and Dave Thomas Circle). I feel frustrated because I actually agree with the PP that the best way to get safer roads is to build better roads that are less conducive to speeding and also that protect pedestrians. Florida has four lanes, people regularly go as much as 20 mph over the limit, narrow and mostly unprotected sidewalks, and too few traffic lights (a number of pedestrian crossings not at lights that are disregarded by drivers about 99.9999999% of the time -- it takes a brave soul to try one of these crosswalks when there is any traffic at all).

And yet the Florida Avenue streetscape that has been talked about for a decade is nowhere to be seen. Despite multiple fatalities on the road in the last 10 years.

And ALSO Allen and others are aginst traffic enforcement.

My question, as with crime, is: okay, no what? If you won't do the liberal/progressive thing of investing in improved infrastructure that slows drivers down and protects pedestrians, but you also won't do the traditional/conservative thing of enforcing existing traffic laws as a deterrent for speeders and dangerous drivers, then are we just supposed to live with dangerous driving all the time?

It's the same with crime. You can talk all you want about "violence interruptors" and providing young people with more resources to keep them away from criminal activity, but if you won't actually do any of this and you also don't want to enforce criminal laws against violators, then what is the plan?

I get that policy is hard but that doesn't mean "no policy, zero enforcement" is an acceptable solution then. You have to do *something*. Do something.