The automated traffic cameras that have issued hundreds of thousands of tickets to drivers who speed or run red lights in the District began spitting them out for several other traffic infractions Saturday.
The cameras, which have produced hundreds of millions of dollars for the city, now will be positioned to catch drivers who block intersections, roll through stop signs, fail to yield to pedestrians, pass through an intersection at an unsafe speed or take an oversize bus or truck on a street too small to accommodate it.
The fines for blocking and intersection or rolling through a stop sign are $50. All of the other violations carry a $250 fine.
The cameras have been in place since November, but the District extended the normal three-day warning period until Feb. 1.
“ Motorists have been duly forewarned,” said John B. Townsend II of AAA. “Now it is incumbent upon motorists to drive safely and to completely heed all traffic laws and to obey all traffic signals and signs.”
In addition to speeding and red light cameras, the Metropolitan Police Department has deployed:
•32 new portable stop sign cameras near schools.
•24 intersection speed cameras.
•20 gridlock camera units to identify vehicles that “block the box.”
•16 crosswalk or pedestrian right of way cameras to catch drivers who fail to stop for a pedestrian.
•Eight oversize vehicle camera sites on residential streets.
Source: The Washington Post
