ARLINGTON, Va. — If you've been caught by speed cameras in D.C. or Maryland, but figured you'd escaped their flash by driving over a bridge into Virginia, you may soon have to rethink that mindset. The Arlington County Board is now considering installing 10 speed cameras and fining people $50 for flouting the law.
Speeding, county staffers say, is the cause of one in every four crashes that have killed or badly hurt people in Arlington. The county has had red-light cameras for a few years, but it was only in 2020 that the Virginia legislature allowed localities to install speed cameras, and only in school and work zones.
"I don't necessarily love cameras, but I don't mind it, especially in the school zones and the work zones," said Ann Lafontaine, who was out jogging in Rosslyn Tuesday.
Data shows that the cameras are working in other jurisdictions, reducing the number of people driving more than 10 miles over the speed limit by 82% in D.C. and 70% in Montgomery County in the months after they were installed.
County traffic officials say cameras also substantially reduce the possibility of police bias against people of color when enforcing traffic rules.
However, a non-scientific poll by Arlington Now found about half the people who responded did not want any more traffic enforcement cameras in the county. But this is just a proposal so far, with a public hearing likely in January.
County staffers estimated the cost of 10 transportable speed cameras, a tech worker to manage them and other repairs and services to be $600,000 a year. But they also anticipate the fines collected from the cameras will offset the ongoing costs.