Three in four vehicles passing through two Northeast Tacoma corridors were recorded speeding during the first month after camera activation. That’s roughly 400,000 violations out of approximately 515,000 vehicle passings — captured by just two cameras on Norpoint Way NE and SR-509/Marine View Drive during the initial warning period, according to city data reported by KOMO News. The scale suggests less a problem corridor and more a city-wide norm — a pattern echoed across dangerous states nationwide.
The Lottery Nobody Wanted to Enter
Tacoma caps citations at 100 per camera daily, leaving most recorded speeders uncharged and the selection process opaque.
Processing 400,000 violations would overwhelm the courts and cost the city more than it could recover, officials said. So Tacoma capped enforcement at 100 citations per camera per day. Each is drawn from a qualifying pool using an undisclosed speed threshold — drivers going faster reportedly have a higher chance of selection, but the exact cutoff hasn’t been made public. The News Tribune characterized the final selection as essentially a lottery. Here are the numbers that frame that gamble:
- Cameras located on Norpoint Way NE and SR-509/Marine View Drive
- Approximately 400,000 violations out of approximately 515,000 vehicle passings in one month
- Maximum 100 citations issued per camera per day
- $145 civil infraction per citation
- 55–60% of recorded speeders were less than 10 mph over the 40-mph limit; more than 180 recorded vehicles exceeded 70 mph
The Cameras Are Working. The Ticket Math Isn’t Fair.
Early speed reductions suggest behavioral change is underway — even when financial consequences remain rare.
That opacity is legitimately frustrating, but the early safety data is harder to dismiss. Speeds dropped 12% at Norpoint Way and 20% at Marine View Drive during the first month after activation, according to KOMO News. A worker near Marine View Drive told Fox 13 Seattle she had witnessed roughly 10 crashes along the corridor and viewed the cameras as a long-overdue safety measure — a concern underscored by driver death rates documented in IIHS research. Early data suggest speeds fell even without citations reaching most recorded violators…