This is an event we’re all bound to want to celebrate — the District’s speeding cameras brought in a record $2.98 million in fines in December 2005, the single biggest take in the program’s five-year history, according to the Washington Times.

The speeding cameras — 10 in fixed locations, 12 mounted on police vehicles or moveable units — have been in use since 2001, and in that time have netted the city some $95 million in revenue from fines. Speeding violations can cost motorists anywhere from $30 to $200, depending on how fast above the speed limit they are driving.

Debate over the need and efficacy of the speeding cameras is intense, with city officials arguing that they have led to a consistent decrease in aggressive speeding incidents while opponents — including civil libertarians and AAA — claim that the cameras serve more as profit centers than as legitimate tools for public safety.

In related news, this DCist thinks he may have gotten a speeding ticket from that tricky camera on MacArthur Boulevard by the reservoir. If anyone reading this works for the District government, how about a little favor for a friend?

Image courtesy of the BBC.