I have personally been hit by cars twice and also personally know two people with more than $10k in unpaid fines. Deeply related phenomena. Traffic laws are meant to be enforced and are non-euphemistic instantiations of “public safety”.
The police do not enforce traffic laws here. Like, at all. I've seen people doing things in front of the police that would get them arrested in Virginia and the cops straight up do not engage. It feels so intentional to me that it must be an unofficial policy from the mayor's office or MPD. I would be interested to understand the rationale.
I went to a neighborhood walk on an mpd officer in my NW neighborhood and asked about dangerous driving. He said they’re explicitly told to let dangerous drivers go so as to avoid an accident in chasing them. That needs to change.
Letting them go in the moment is the right call in all but the most egregious of cases. But then you are meant to show up at their house at 6am the next day to pay a friendly visit.
Minor suggestion — I think this sentence inadvertently repeats itself: “Once such an agreement is in place, Maryland could refuse registration to a driver delinquent on D.C.’s camera tickets, with the same rule applying to Maryland drivers who ignore D.C. tickets.”
Unless I’m mistaken, the second half should say “…the same rule applying to DC drivers who ignore Maryland tickets.”
Writing this from my new and much safer home in Malaga Spain....I spent years in the greater DC area fighting for safer streets and this great data and article shows the results . NADA. I have been documenting why I feel, and factually am, much safer (75% safer) here on foot, on my bike and in my car. Spain is working hard on maintainting their great downward trend in road kills since the 1990's We can learn from them and the entire EU but first our ears and eyes and brains must be open
"This is difficult and without obvious precedent in the U.S., but other countries do it."
The reason it lacks an obvious precedent in the U.S. is that it raises clear-cut due process problems that no jurisdiction wants to take on the burden of litigating.
I have personally been hit by cars twice and also personally know two people with more than $10k in unpaid fines. Deeply related phenomena. Traffic laws are meant to be enforced and are non-euphemistic instantiations of “public safety”.
The police do not enforce traffic laws here. Like, at all. I've seen people doing things in front of the police that would get them arrested in Virginia and the cops straight up do not engage. It feels so intentional to me that it must be an unofficial policy from the mayor's office or MPD. I would be interested to understand the rationale.
I went to a neighborhood walk on an mpd officer in my NW neighborhood and asked about dangerous driving. He said they’re explicitly told to let dangerous drivers go so as to avoid an accident in chasing them. That needs to change.
Letting them go in the moment is the right call in all but the most egregious of cases. But then you are meant to show up at their house at 6am the next day to pay a friendly visit.
Great post!
Minor suggestion — I think this sentence inadvertently repeats itself: “Once such an agreement is in place, Maryland could refuse registration to a driver delinquent on D.C.’s camera tickets, with the same rule applying to Maryland drivers who ignore D.C. tickets.”
Unless I’m mistaken, the second half should say “…the same rule applying to DC drivers who ignore Maryland tickets.”
Good flag, thank you.
Writing this from my new and much safer home in Malaga Spain....I spent years in the greater DC area fighting for safer streets and this great data and article shows the results . NADA. I have been documenting why I feel, and factually am, much safer (75% safer) here on foot, on my bike and in my car. Spain is working hard on maintainting their great downward trend in road kills since the 1990's We can learn from them and the entire EU but first our ears and eyes and brains must be open
"This is difficult and without obvious precedent in the U.S., but other countries do it."
The reason it lacks an obvious precedent in the U.S. is that it raises clear-cut due process problems that no jurisdiction wants to take on the burden of litigating.
Totally understand that. I think this rec is a stretch.