More than 100 new traffic cameras have debuted in D.C., and they aren't just monitoring your speed.
They are watching for cars not stopping at a stop sign or for a pedestrian in a crosswalk. Some are monitoring cars that "block the box," meaning they stop in the middle of an intersection, causing gridlock.
These cameras can even ticket vehicles that go down neighborhood streets.
The cameras will hand out warnings for the next month, but starting on Dec. 30 real fines will be levvied on drivers who violate the law. It's part of a program that the district has dubbed "D.C. Street Safe."
FIND OUT WHERE THE CAMERAS ARE LOCATED
Fines for the offenses vary. Failing to stop at a red light, failing to stop on red before turning right or turning right on red where it is prohibited carries a fine of $150. Speeding fines range from $50 to $300, depending on how far over the limit the car is going.
Failing to clear an intersection carries a fine of $50, while failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk -- or passing a car that is stopped for a pedestrian -- means a $250 fine.
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Overweight commerical vehicles can be fined $250 or more, and trucks where they are restricted can be fined $150.
As with existing automated traffic cameras, the ticket will be mailed to the registered owner of the vehicle.
AAA released a statement Friday calling the cameras the "nuclear option" and pointed out the district's traffic cameras already deployed had collected $91 million in fiscal 2012.
But Metropolitan Police say automated cameras already in use throughout the district are dramatically reducing traffic fatalities -- and at a far greater rate than the rest of the country.
"This program is about traffic safety," said Assistant Police Chief Lamar Green at a news conference Friday. "We've experienced reductions in traffic fatalities over the past 10 years of about 70 percent. That would be my argument that this is definitely working."
