The District of Columbia is set to net $11.6 million from a speeding camera located on New York Avenue. Red light and speeding violation cameras are advertised as a deterrent to reckless driving although some believe it is a under-handed move to get in the taxpayers’ pocket. Click below to read more.
Tickets issued: 116,734.
Fines levied: $11.6 million.
City sympathy for angry drivers: zero.
“We believe we have made an impact,” said Gwendolyn Crump, spokeswoman for the D.C. police. “There have been 16 fatalities in 2012, compared to 28 at this time last year, for a 43 percent reduction of traffic fatalities. There is great value in slowing drivers down not only for their own safety, but also for safety of all other traveling parties.”
Cameras that spew out tickets to errant drivers have been a game changer in the District and 13 states, which use them to nab speeders. In the District and 24 states, cameras are also used to snare red-light runners. They generate far more revenue than even a legion of police officers sitting beside the road could hope for, raising anger among some people who say they are more about money than safety.
