NEWS: For the first time, @dcattorneygeneral.bsky.social is suing three non-D.C. drivers for tens of thousands of dollars worth of unpaid traffic camera tickets racked up over a decade. The three drivers collectively have 226 tickets worth more than $90,000 in fines. - ThreadSky

maustermuhle.bsky.social • 3 days ago

NEWS: For the first time, @dcattorneygeneral.bsky.social is suing three non-D.C. drivers for tens of thousands of dollars worth of unpaid traffic camera tickets racked up over a decade. The three drivers collectively have 226 tickets worth more than $90,000 in fines.

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maustermuhle.bsky.social•3 days ago

The lawsuit comes after the D.C. Council passed @cmcharlesallen.bsky.social's bill to give the city a mechanism to pursue out-of-state drivers who currently can rack up traffic tickets and not be forced to pay them. Here's the background on the bill: https://wtop.com/local/2024/10/steer-act-cracks-down-on-dangerous-driving-in-dc/

maustermuhle.bsky.social•3 days ago

One of the people D.C. is suing is Earl D. Curtis, a Maryland driver who was recently sentenced to six days in jail for hitting a 12-year-old girl in a D.C. crosswalk. Since 2012 he got 115 traffic tickets in five cars, worth almost $30,000. https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/09/21/earl-curtis-reckless-driving-charge-12-year-old-hit/

maustermuhle.bsky.social•3 days ago

Another lawsuit is against Leon Carter, another Maryland driver who racked up 84 traffic tickets between 2013 and 2022, 80 of them for speeding. (Of those, 19 were for driving 20 mph over the speed limit.) He owes D.C. just over $30,000.

maustermuhle.bsky.social•3 days ago

Finally, D.C. is suing Maryland driver Andre E. Bowman, who owes the city $36,986 for 135 traffic infractions, including 94 for speeding. He got those tickets between August 2013-March 2024.

maustermuhle.bsky.social•3 days ago

All of this is happening because until the D.C. Council passed the new bill allowing these lawsuits, the city had no recourse since there is no reciprocity with Maryland and Virginia when it comes to traffic camera tickets. https://dcist.com/story/21/10/08/virginia-and-maryland-rebuff-dc-request-to-force-drivers-to-pay-traffic-camera-tickets/

maustermuhle.bsky.social•3 days ago

For context, see the table below. The middle column is FY2023, so Oct. 2022-Sept. 2023. In that time, there were 1,187,532 unpaid traffic tickets by drivers, out of a total of 2.9 million tickets (parking, moving, camera). The majority of tickets are parking and camera.

lisadtrice.bsky.social•3 days ago

Great news!

kulinowski.bsky.social•3 days ago

Wow. I got nailed once by a camera coming down the hill on Connecticut Ave at 18th St in my zippy new electric car. I paid the fine and it changed how I drive in the DC area. I am a traffic cam success story.

nickelindime.bsky.social•3 days ago

You are a good person 💛

kulinowski.bsky.social•3 days ago

or just cheap 🤪

nickelindime.bsky.social•3 days ago

Ha! 😅

michaelhavlin.bsky.social•3 days ago

Wow 3 drivers I bet this will have such a big impact on the thousands that drive 70 mph on Benning Road every day.

tuckerjones.bsky.social•3 days ago

Three is a good start. May they sue 300 more.

michaelhavlin.bsky.social•2 days ago

I will believe when I see it.

It’s all posturing so that they can pat each other on the back.

If the DC Council actually cared about traffic safety they wouldn’t be defunding projects EOTR like the Benning Road Bridges and Transportation Improvement Plan.

But they would rather get media splashes

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