How do we get the D.C. government to care about crime?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've heard DC is ineffective at going after out-of-state drivers with their speed cameras and red light cameras. It's kind of mind boggling that there are often times where here in SW DC 98% of the cars I see driving like idiots or choking Maine Ave with congestion are VA and MD plates.

If it's true that DC isn't going after these out-of-state drivers then that needs to be fixed immediately.

It’s an urban legend that the urbanist crowd in DC have promoted. No matter where you live, if you get a ticket from a red light camera in DC they can and do send that ticket to collection for non-payment. Camera tickets are not considered traffic infractions. If you don’t pay, it will ruin your credit and they will send you to collections.

If you are a DC resident, you are not allowed to register your vehicle unless you pay all of your outstanding tickets, including traffic camera tickets. What DC wants is to have MD and VA agree that cars licensed in those states cannot be re-registered if they have outstanding traffic camera tickets in DC. This is not a scenario that other states have adopted.

In order to implement this, they would need to negotiate an agreement with MD and VA and neither MD or VA are interested in making such an agreement. There are currently agreements with MD related to resolution of traffic infractions, but since camera tickets are not traffic infractions they are not included and as a result DC cannot use other states police powers to enforce payment.

There are obvious reasons why neither MD nor VA would want to have their state agencies used as debt collectors for DC. However, they would and do this for actual traffic citations however DC is not interested in deploying the resources to issue actual, written traffic citations. Additionally, DC is quite notorious about making it impossible for people to get their camera tickets cancelled when their cars are stolen, which is a major and obvious issue for MD and VA where their residents cars are frequently stolen and driven into DC to commit crimes. If DC was interested in actually promoting public safety, they know what they need to do and yet refuse to do it because it’s all about revenue to them.

Nope, untrue. Credit agencies stopped including traffic tickets on credit reports in 2016 as part of a lawsuit. The only things that can go on a credit report are debts incurred after a contract is signed or via bankruptcy.

https://accountcontrol.com/News-Resources/Unpaid-Tickets-Traffic-Violations-Are-No-Longer-Reportable

Virginia and Maryland drivers have zero incentive to pay camera tickets they receive in DC, and collection agencies are not a cost-effective way for DC to get that money back. The city would lose money on the deal.

Your bit about DC being "quite notorious about making it impossible for people to get their camera tickets cancelled when their cars are stolen" also is untrue. We had a car stolen in DC and they racked up a number of camera tickets. All it took was sending in a copy of the police report and the tickets were canceled.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've heard DC is ineffective at going after out-of-state drivers with their speed cameras and red light cameras. It's kind of mind boggling that there are often times where here in SW DC 98% of the cars I see driving like idiots or choking Maine Ave with congestion are VA and MD plates.

If it's true that DC isn't going after these out-of-state drivers then that needs to be fixed immediately.

This is 100% correct. There is no ticket reciprocity between jurisdictions. So DC can't punish suburban drivers for dangerous driving by assigning points to their licenses or collecting on fines. It's insane.

Suburban politicians would have to sign off on it, which means it will never happen as no suburban pol has the integrity to ensure that dangerous suburban drivers are held responsible for their dangerous driving behavior in DC.

This is incorrect. There is reciprocity. Speed camera fines are not traffic citations.

No, there is no reciprocity for tickets issued via camera (there is reciprocity for tickets issued by a human, but we all know there is virtually zero human traffic enforcement in DC apart from parking tickets).

https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2021/12/28/dc-virginia-maryland-ticket-reciprocity/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've heard DC is ineffective at going after out-of-state drivers with their speed cameras and red light cameras. It's kind of mind boggling that there are often times where here in SW DC 98% of the cars I see driving like idiots or choking Maine Ave with congestion are VA and MD plates.

If it's true that DC isn't going after these out-of-state drivers then that needs to be fixed immediately.

This is 100% correct. There is no ticket reciprocity between jurisdictions. So DC can't punish suburban drivers for dangerous driving by assigning points to their licenses or collecting on fines. It's insane.

Suburban politicians would have to sign off on it, which means it will never happen as no suburban pol has the integrity to ensure that dangerous suburban drivers are held responsible for their dangerous driving behavior in DC.

This is incorrect. There is reciprocity. Speed camera fines are not traffic citations.

No, there is no reciprocity for tickets issued via camera (there is reciprocity for tickets issued by a human, but we all know there is virtually zero human traffic enforcement in DC apart from parking tickets).

https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2021/12/28/dc-virginia-maryland-ticket-reciprocity/

Let me repeat, speed cameras do not issue traffic citations. If DC was serious about improving traffic safety they can very easily deploy human enforcement to do so and have reciprocity for the tickets. Speed cameras issue fines. Neither MD nor VA have any obligation to serve as free debt collectors for DC revenue generation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've heard DC is ineffective at going after out-of-state drivers with their speed cameras and red light cameras. It's kind of mind boggling that there are often times where here in SW DC 98% of the cars I see driving like idiots or choking Maine Ave with congestion are VA and MD plates.

If it's true that DC isn't going after these out-of-state drivers then that needs to be fixed immediately.

It’s an urban legend that the urbanist crowd in DC have promoted. No matter where you live, if you get a ticket from a red light camera in DC they can and do send that ticket to collection for non-payment. Camera tickets are not considered traffic infractions. If you don’t pay, it will ruin your credit and they will send you to collections.

If you are a DC resident, you are not allowed to register your vehicle unless you pay all of your outstanding tickets, including traffic camera tickets. What DC wants is to have MD and VA agree that cars licensed in those states cannot be re-registered if they have outstanding traffic camera tickets in DC. This is not a scenario that other states have adopted.

In order to implement this, they would need to negotiate an agreement with MD and VA and neither MD or VA are interested in making such an agreement. There are currently agreements with MD related to resolution of traffic infractions, but since camera tickets are not traffic infractions they are not included and as a result DC cannot use other states police powers to enforce payment.

There are obvious reasons why neither MD nor VA would want to have their state agencies used as debt collectors for DC. However, they would and do this for actual traffic citations however DC is not interested in deploying the resources to issue actual, written traffic citations. Additionally, DC is quite notorious about making it impossible for people to get their camera tickets cancelled when their cars are stolen, which is a major and obvious issue for MD and VA where their residents cars are frequently stolen and driven into DC to commit crimes. If DC was interested in actually promoting public safety, they know what they need to do and yet refuse to do it because it’s all about revenue to them.

Nope, untrue. Credit agencies stopped including traffic tickets on credit reports in 2016 as part of a lawsuit. The only things that can go on a credit report are debts incurred after a contract is signed or via bankruptcy.

https://accountcontrol.com/News-Resources/Unpaid-Tickets-Traffic-Violations-Are-No-Longer-Reportable

Virginia and Maryland drivers have zero incentive to pay camera tickets they receive in DC, and collection agencies are not a cost-effective way for DC to get that money back. The city would lose money on the deal.

Your bit about DC being "quite notorious about making it impossible for people to get their camera tickets cancelled when their cars are stolen" also is untrue. We had a car stolen in DC and they racked up a number of camera tickets. All it took was sending in a copy of the police report and the tickets were canceled.

It’s almost like the law and everyone else has recognized that speed camera tickets are bullsh*t. This just provides more incentive for DC to increase in-person enforcement of traffic laws, if they actually cared about traffic safety and not, you know, revenue generation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You would need to convince DC that you are a more important constituent than perpetrators of crime.

This 100%. So many policies in DC are explicitly pro-crime and pro-vagrancy. As a law-abiding citizen living here it's just mind boggling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've heard DC is ineffective at going after out-of-state drivers with their speed cameras and red light cameras. It's kind of mind boggling that there are often times where here in SW DC 98% of the cars I see driving like idiots or choking Maine Ave with congestion are VA and MD plates.

If it's true that DC isn't going after these out-of-state drivers then that needs to be fixed immediately.

This is 100% correct. There is no ticket reciprocity between jurisdictions. So DC can't punish suburban drivers for dangerous driving by assigning points to their licenses or collecting on fines. It's insane.

Suburban politicians would have to sign off on it, which means it will never happen as no suburban pol has the integrity to ensure that dangerous suburban drivers are held responsible for their dangerous driving behavior in DC.

This is incorrect. There is reciprocity. Speed camera fines are not traffic citations.

No, there is no reciprocity for tickets issued via camera (there is reciprocity for tickets issued by a human, but we all know there is virtually zero human traffic enforcement in DC apart from parking tickets).

https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2021/12/28/dc-virginia-maryland-ticket-reciprocity/

Let me repeat, speed cameras do not issue traffic citations. If DC was serious about improving traffic safety they can very easily deploy human enforcement to do so and have reciprocity for the tickets. Speed cameras issue fines. Neither MD nor VA have any obligation to serve as free debt collectors for DC revenue generation.

So you can rip down a residential street at 80MPH and not even get points on your license? WTF.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've heard DC is ineffective at going after out-of-state drivers with their speed cameras and red light cameras. It's kind of mind boggling that there are often times where here in SW DC 98% of the cars I see driving like idiots or choking Maine Ave with congestion are VA and MD plates.

If it's true that DC isn't going after these out-of-state drivers then that needs to be fixed immediately.

This is 100% correct. There is no ticket reciprocity between jurisdictions. So DC can't punish suburban drivers for dangerous driving by assigning points to their licenses or collecting on fines. It's insane.

Suburban politicians would have to sign off on it, which means it will never happen as no suburban pol has the integrity to ensure that dangerous suburban drivers are held responsible for their dangerous driving behavior in DC.

This is incorrect. There is reciprocity. Speed camera fines are not traffic citations.

No, there is no reciprocity for tickets issued via camera (there is reciprocity for tickets issued by a human, but we all know there is virtually zero human traffic enforcement in DC apart from parking tickets).

https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2021/12/28/dc-virginia-maryland-ticket-reciprocity/

Let me repeat, speed cameras do not issue traffic citations. If DC was serious about improving traffic safety they can very easily deploy human enforcement to do so and have reciprocity for the tickets. Speed cameras issue fines. Neither MD nor VA have any obligation to serve as free debt collectors for DC revenue generation.

So you can rip down a residential street at 80MPH and not even get points on your license? WTF.

The speed camera levies a fine against a vehicle and it’s owner. It does not levy a fine against a person because they cannot prove who was driving.

In other jurisdictions, like Los Angeles, red light cameras take a photo of the driver as well and level a citation against the driver as the car owner unless the car owner identifies a different person that was driving the car at the time. However, California doesn’t have speed cameras. Only two states in the United States do not treat speed camera tickets as civil/administrative fines, Oregon and Arizona. Every other state treats it as a fine. It’s is not the job of MD or VA to be used as debt collectors for DC.

[Anonymous]

Why can't DC make a simple agreement with MD and VA, that before drivers in those states are re-issued licenses or other car business- they pay outstanding tickets to neighboring jurisdications? We have these things called computers--should be easy to info share.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Yes, it is. Studies have shown that the best deterrence to unsafe drivers is punishment that is swift and certain, like the kind that comes from human traffic stops. Camera tickets might be swift, but if you don't have to pay the fine, it doesn't matter.

And the massive changes coming to 16th Street and Connecticut Avenue disprove your notion that drivers have the power to stymie any and all changes.

Are you joking? First and foremost, why do you think it took 10 years to install these soon to be bullshit bus lanes on 16th? Because it truly takes that long to take away parking spots and paint the road? Lol, it's because drivers fight against and interfere with every attempt to take road space and give it to non drivers. The 16th St bus lanes are gonna be a huge waste of time and effort anyway because drivers will continue to park in them and DDOT won't do anything about it.

Secondly, better infrastructure and road design to slow down drivers is more critical than human traffic stops, though traffic stops need to take place to enforce car registration.

Disagree. Traffic enforcement by actual officers - for cars and cyclists - would be a better option. Instead, we have revenue generating speed cameras that only deter drivers when in the vicinity of the camera.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do we get the D.C. government to care about crime?

Vote out the mayor

I agree it's time for new blood after two terms, but are the other options better?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why can't DC make a simple agreement with MD and VA, that before drivers in those states are re-issued licenses or other car business- they pay outstanding tickets to neighboring jurisdications? We have these things called computers--should be easy to info share.

Good idea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've heard DC is ineffective at going after out-of-state drivers with their speed cameras and red light cameras. It's kind of mind boggling that there are often times where here in SW DC 98% of the cars I see driving like idiots or choking Maine Ave with congestion are VA and MD plates.

If it's true that DC isn't going after these out-of-state drivers then that needs to be fixed immediately.

This is 100% correct. There is no ticket reciprocity between jurisdictions. So DC can't punish suburban drivers for dangerous driving by assigning points to their licenses or collecting on fines. It's insane.

Suburban politicians would have to sign off on it, which means it will never happen as no suburban pol has the integrity to ensure that dangerous suburban drivers are held responsible for their dangerous driving behavior in DC.

This is incorrect. There is reciprocity. Speed camera fines are not traffic citations.

No, there is no reciprocity for tickets issued via camera (there is reciprocity for tickets issued by a human, but we all know there is virtually zero human traffic enforcement in DC apart from parking tickets).

https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2021/12/28/dc-virginia-maryland-ticket-reciprocity/

Let me repeat, speed cameras do not issue traffic citations. If DC was serious about improving traffic safety they can very easily deploy human enforcement to do so and have reciprocity for the tickets. Speed cameras issue fines. Neither MD nor VA have any obligation to serve as free debt collectors for DC revenue generation.

So you can rip down a residential street at 80MPH and not even get points on your license? WTF.

Yep, they are revenue generators, not deterrents. Most people just slow down near the cameras and then carry on with their reckless driving. Giving points would be much more effective.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why can't DC make a simple agreement with MD and VA, that before drivers in those states are re-issued licenses or other car business- they pay outstanding tickets to neighboring jurisdications? We have these things called computers--should be easy to info share.

Good idea.

Because equity.

[Anonymous]

They will care when people start leaving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They will care when people start leaving.

OK, it's happening now. When does the caring start?
https://patch.com/district-columbia/washingtondc/dc-population-declines-largest-percentage-virginia-inches