WASHINGTON — Six thousand D.C. government vehicles travel district streets every day. The employees behind the wheel aren't always driving safely, and it's costing taxpayers big backs.
In 2018, a WUSA9 investigation uncovered tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid tickets sitting on the books for D.C. government vehicles.
The Department of Parks and Recreation was the worst offender with $11,762 in outstanding fines as of the spring of 2018, according to city records. Out of the $11,762, $1,600 of those unpaid tickets were issued to a single Parks and Recreation vehicle.
WUSA9's data analysis also revealed $4,300,000 in accident settlements over the last five years for wrecks caused by D.C. government employees.
Some employees with multiple accidents settlements, were still on the job.
When confronted with those findings, D.C. government officials said there was a fix in the works -- a new enterprise-risk-management system the city said would be up and running by October 2018.
That new ERisk system is a multi-million-dollar plan designed to better manage several problem areas by better tracking tickets received by district employees; creating a district wide system to deal with repeat accident offenders. And creating an online system for workers to file compensation claims.
But as of February 2019, those elements of the ERisk tracking system isn't operational. And only other elements, like an online worker's compensation claims system and tort liability programs are actually functioning.
A spokesperson for the DC Officer of Risk Management, which oversees the ERisk system, declined an interview request on the reasons for the delays.
Answering questions via email, the city said the systems designed to keep a closer eye on employee tickets and accidents is still in the development stage.
The question "How Am I Driving" is not one the city wants to discuss right now.
In its email the city did tell us it now expects the risky driving tracking system to be fully completed, by the end of this year.
