The speed camera "experiment" begun a few months ago could be about to
expand into a city-wide grid of cameras — and a flurry of tickets for D.C.
motorists. The Washington Times has learned that the city has the option of
modifying the contract it originally signed with Lockheed Martin IMS, the
supplier of the photo-radar units, to erect a much more comprehensive "Automated
Traffic Enforcement Program" that would make it possible to ticket literally
millions of motorists every year, at almost any time and place in the
city.
Under the terms of the contract tendered by Lockheed Martin IMS to
William M. Cartis of the Metropolitan Police Department, "speed on green"
photo-radar units that track the rate of travel of automobiles as they pass
through intersections could be set up all over downtown. According to the
language of the contract, "photo radar and speed on green units will target all
vehicles traveling above the posted speed limit." This represents an order of
magnitude increase beyond the initial, small-scale use of photo radar that
involved one "fixed" unit, and five mobile units installed in city police
vehicles that could be set up at various points around town.
How much
is all this worth to the city? According to estimates provided by Lockheed
Martin IMS, the District could mulct motorists to the tune of $10,988,588
annually — after it pays off the private contractor, who gets a big chunk
of each $29 ticket issued by the photo-radar and speed-on-green units. Lockheed
Martin IMS stated in the original contract with the city that it "anticipated
over 80,000 payments per month."
Never before has the use of speed
traps to generate revenue for municipal government been so flagrant. And the
unabashed cashing-in by the private contractor helpfully setting all this up is
something to behold.
The old nag trotted out by photo radar advocates
that "speed kills" is a non-sequitor that intelligent people ought to dismiss
out-of-hand. The proper questions ought to be: What speeds are reasonable and
how should they be enforced? Dangerous speeding is one thing. Mercilessly
prosecuting motorists for driving faster than an arbitrary and often
under-posted limit (the maximum lawful limit within the District is just 25 mph
on almost all streets) is nothing more than a tax by another name. Using cameras
to maximize the revenue stream in this manner — and for the partial benefit,
don't forget, of a private contractor — establishes a new level of effrontery
that will be hard to top.