D.C. to Expand Traffic Camera Program

D.C. police said they're gearing up to expand the city's traffic camera program, and the new cameras will do a lot more than catch speeders and red light runners.

In Police Chief Cathy Lanier's perfect world, these new cameras will be more mobile, more flexible and capable of enforcing a number of traffic laws.

Take blocking the box -- when motorists clog up intersections.

"So instead of having an officer try and make a traffic stop and create more traffic back-up on 'block the box,' this would allow it to be automated," Lanier said.

The cameras could also help with height enforcement at bridges.

"You know we get trucks that get stuck in the Third Street tunnel every single day," she said.

The bottom line, Lanier said, is that adding more cameras means freeing up police officers to go after more important crimes.

Traffic cameras have been criticized as nothing more than an easy way to fill the city's coffers, but Lanier highlighted an Insurance Institute study that showed traffic fatalities in D.C. dropped 26 percent at intersections that had cameras in place.

Listen to the complete story at wamu.org

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