Red-light runners and speeders who routinely trigger automated traffic cameras in the District at specific locations and times of day are not the focus of enforcement operations by the city authorities tasked with keeping the roads safe.
A recent Washington Post story found that traffic cameras have recorded a number of motorists who repeatedly speed or run red lights at the same place and time of day — and owe the city tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid citations. Assigning officers to those locations and times would allow the city to apprehend the violators and collect the outstanding fines.
But neither the Metropolitan Police Department, which can ticket and arrest drivers for traffic violations, nor the Department of Public Works, which impounds cars with unpaid fines, targets the small group of motorists who regularly flout traffic laws…