June 16, 2005
More on Those Pesky Traffic Cameras
As DCist reported yesterday, a move is a afoot in the D.C. City Council to have Mayor Anthony Williams re-evaluate speed limits on city streets where cameras are used to catch speeders. Councilmember Carol Schwartz (R-At Large), who presided over yesterday's hearing, stated:
If you're doing 40 mph in a school zone, I do want to get you. But a four-lane highway with a 35 mph speed limit, and there's no school there? It calls for a re-evaluation.According to a study conducted by the Governors Highway Safety Association, residents in the District are 12 times more likely to receive speeding tickets than are residents of neighboring Maryland. In fact, the District ranked first in the country in the number of speeding tickets issued per capita, though the study did not specify whether the numbers applied only to District residents, or included drivers from other states driving within the District. Since the speeding cameras were first instituted in August 2001, 1.2 million infractions have been mailed, and of those, 873,000 have been paid. Last year alone the speeding cameras issued 423,910 citations, while hand-written citations stood at 10,391.
Is it that D.C. drivers are particularly heavy on the gas, or are speed limits throughout the city artificially low? Are there any specific roads whose speed limits DCist readers feel do not reflect their size and amount of traffic?
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YES! north capitol street, especially once you get north of the letter streets. it is four big lanes with no parking on either side, a major road, but the speed limit is 30 or 35. it is very east to drive 50 or 55, or faster, on it and most people do. but since there are residences on either side i think the speed limit should be more like 40-45 mph.
NY Ave from Bladensburg Rd to the Route 50-B/W Pkwy split: Six-lane divided highway with a 30-mph speed limit? Definitely a candidate for a street with a speed limit kept artificially low.
Save for a few curves, I think the speed limit on Rock Creek Parkway could be raised to 45.
This area is WAY too reliant on cars. Stepping up the speed limit is a *bad* idea except perhaps on a few roads where there are not many pedestrians.
On Connecticut we have to carry around big orange flags just to use the cross-walk because all the drivers think they must already be on the beltway b/c they are within a few hundred feet of the MD side where Connecticut Ave supports higher speeds.
Enough is enough. More tickets!
Cameras have recently been installed on 395, just south of NY Ave, where it goes under the captial. It's a freeway, and the speed limit is 45. It's horseshit, no pretense of it being a safety measure, just a cash cow speed trap. I'd love to know how long it takes for one of those cameras to pay for itself.
Fair point about pedestrian safety, by the way. I'm all for strict enforcement where pedestrians are present.
Matt -- I agree 100%. The NY Avenue speed limit is way too low in the area that you described.
If the speed limit gets changed, can I get my fine refunded?
Ever noticed how every single function of the DC government moves like molasses or not at all? No cops when you need them, Kafka would be scard by a trip to 1.2 street for car inspections, and yet, there is a fleet of ticket writers all oh whom are right on the spot to give you a ticket.
I was shocked when visiting a friend of mine in another east coast city, "Where is it safe to park?" I asked. "Wherever." He said.
The speed and parking restrictions NEED NOT be enforced like the District is Gitmo!
Lake Shore Drive has a speed limit of like 40, and it's very similar to the Anacostia Freeway. Narrow lanes. If you drive 295 regularly you know where the speed traps are and if you get caught you're a dumbass.
The speed limit on North Capitol Street is a joke. It's 30 mph, almost a 6 lane road! No one -- not one single person -- obeys it.
Canal Road north of the reservoir. I think it's 25 yet all driving is at 45-50, except by those of us who've gotten zapped already;.
The Anacostia Freeway - Speed Limit 45 mph. It's a Freeway. And M St SW in front of the Navy Yard 6 lanes - 25 mph.
Incidentally, some scientists did a study of the psychology of speeding. They showed that roads have a "natural speed limit" and that by tweaking things you can lower that limit. For example planting trees on both sides slows traffic down. These methods work better than speed limits/traffic tickets (but generate less money).
Macarthur up in Palisades. I mean, 25mph???
That is the most horrendous one. In two different sections they have the car cameras set up. 25 on that road is a joke, nobody drives that slow, and shouldn't. It should be raised to 30!
I have to say that the speed limit on Benning Road crossing the Anacostia is way too low. 30 mph for a 6 lane road...of course there are traffic cams on each side of the street.
I-66 Theodore Roosevelt Bridge, E Street tunnel. It's an interstate highway and the speed limit is 35 mph!
Don't even get me started on speed limits in this area...or the whole country for that matter. They ARE artifically low. It generates revenue for municipalities/states. Its the driving tax; its as simple as that. If you think its for safety you are kidding yourself. The speed limits in most other countries are much higher. I wish they would just levy some kind of new driving tax and be honest about things instead of this underhanded bulls**t that annoys drivers and makes traffic heavier and more dangerous. Artifically low speed limits frustrate drivers and make them drive more aggressively and dangerously. Fear of tickets/police makes drivers behave erraticlly. I can't tell you how many times the cars in front of me on I-66 have SLAMMED on the breaks because they see a police officer issuing someone a ticket...on the other side of the road even.
I think the red-light cameras are dangerous too. Sometimes running a yellow is safer than coming to a stop - say when you are travelling at 50 mph and are about to enter the intersection. Ever since I was issued a ticket from a red-light cam, my first reaction when the light turns yellow is to hit the breaks, even if that means stopping dangerously fast with someone behind me.
Thanks VA, for making me into a much worse driver than I was in PA!
i cant believe nobody has mentioned whitehurst freeway yet! whitehurst FREEWAY.