Traffic cameras that are swift, certain, and fair could enhance safety, not be “predatory”

The Kojo Nnamdi Show is discussing traffic cameras Thursday at noon. I’m a guest, along with Rachel Maisler (well known on Twitter as @HandlebarsDC), Priya Sarathy Jones of the Fines and Fees Justice Center, and DC Councilmember Mary Cheh (Ward 3), who oversees transportation.

The show segment’s title, “Is DC’s Traffic Ticketing Predatory?”, keys off criticism which auto lobby/towing insurance vendor AAA sends out as press releases on a regular basis. Tom Sherwood had a different view:

AAA has its view as the premier lobbyist for the private auto industry. Problems with issuing or collecting some tickets shouldn't undermine the overall public safety reasons they're given in the first place. @kojoshow https://t.co/JeuOFREK9W

— Tom Sherwood (@tomsherwood) March 12, 2020

I’ll discuss today (or, already discussed, if you’re reading this later) my view about traffic fines. But first, let’s be clear: people being killed on the region’s roads is a public health crisis, as well as one about gun violence and of course the current COVID-19 pandemic.

180 people died on the region’s streets in 2018, including 25 in the District. That includes Dave Salovesh, who was well known to many in our community, but most of DC’s deaths are happening east of the Anacostia River.

We know that unsafe driving behavior contributes significantly, but most drivers think that, like in Lake Wobegon, they are all above average drivers and are safe even if they assume 10 miles per hour over the limit is normal and exceeding that somewhat is not a big deal.

On the other hand, hitting people with huge fines which hurt low-income residents more than high-income ones is probably not going to fix ths problem. Here are some recommendations in a reposted and updated version of an article from 2015.

“Swift, certain, and fair”

Criminology research says that “swift, certain, and fair” punishments work better than infrequent, highly punitive ones. Traffic cameras offer a way to make enforcement work, if done correctly. Street safety is a big problem, but there’s a lot of reason to doubt that raising a fine from $50 to $500, when people rarely get a ticket for the infraction, will actually do much. There’s also reason to worry that getting police to make more traffic stops could exacerbate existing racial disparities in traffic stops (aka “driving while black”).

However, leaving our roads dangerous isn’t the answer either. We need to find ways to eliminate traffic deaths. Is there a way to enforce traffic laws that’s “swift, certain, and fair”? More traffic cameras in more intersections could achieve the “swift, certain, and fair” enforcement.

However, DC would have to change a few things. Right now the cameras are anything but swift, and could also be more certain and fair.

Make tickets come faster (swift). Our household got a ticket years ago for speeding in the K Street underpass under Washington Circle. We’ve signed up for automated emails from the DMV about tickets. The speeding happened on October 21; the email arrived on November 5. The paper notice took even longer to arrive in the mail.

Other people have talked about how they get a new job far away, drive every day, and only a week or two weeks later suddenly get over $1,000 in tickets for speeding every day. Sure, they shouldn’t do that, but if not reminded early on, it just turns into a huge bill.

This misses a lot of the opportunity to change behavior. While the current systems don’t allow it, it’s certainly technically possible for tickets to be issued much faster, like the same or next business day, and emailed and mailed out right afterward.

Add more cameras (certain). A few spots around the District aren’t enough to let people know that speeding or other violations will actually lead to a ticket. Now, it’s too easy to just memorize the few places to watch out, like in the underpass, and then speed everywhere else.

Yes, there is a privacy concern with ubiquitous cameras which is important to address, but that’s a concern that’s already relevant with parking enforcers logging every license plate and other automated readers already out there.

Lower fines and more neighborhood cameras (fair). Hitting people with a little fine many times will do more than one big one. This is a debate the District has had many times before, but it’s always been a tradeoff just between lower fines and few cameras, and higher ones and few cameras. More, less punitive enforcement has never been on the table.

The cameras also don’t need to be in places like the K Street underpass where there are no pedestrians and few crashes. Those spots only embolden opponents of any enforcement. The cameras in neighborhood danger zones don’t make as much money, but they’re doing important work to make that neighborhood safer.

Cameras are also more fair because they don’t racially profile. As long as police put the cameras equally in black and white areas where roads are dangerous, there shouldn’t be a disparity between the rate of offenses and the rate of tickets.