WASHINGTON — Residents from the states of Maryland and Virginia owe 75% of the automatic photo tickets taken in the District from October 2020 to March 2021.
On Monday, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) and the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) released its "Automatic Traffic Enforcement Semi-Annual Report" showing that the two states collectively haven't paid $21 million in tickets captured automatically in the District—through speed cameras as well as cameras at red lights and stop signs.
DDOT is waiting for a total of $28 million worth of uncollected fees from photo tickets to be paid.
Residents who actually live in the District and face penalties for unpaid fees account for 14.8% of the unpaid violations. There were about 35,000 tickets sent to people with D.C. license plates, accounting for $4.2 million worth of violations.
In comparison, there are 170,000 unpaid photo tickets for people driving vehicles with Maryland and Virginia license plates.
Drivers in Maryland and Virginia are not penalized for outstanding unpaid fines in the District. Mayor Muriel Bowser wrote in the District's "Report On Reciprocity for Non-Moving and Automated Traffic Enforcement Fines" released Oct. 4 that she reached out to Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) and former Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) to negotiate a deal with the leaders so residents in their state would have to pay outstanding camera tickets, but the two governors declined to make such a deal.
The majority of the 228,295 unpaid D.C. tickets come from Marylanders, the report shows.
The automatic cameras captured violations resulting in about 108,000 tickets distributed to people with Maryland license plates. These 108,000 tickets amount to about $13.5 million worth of unpaid violations, which is about 47% of the money owed to DDOT.
About 62,000 tickets were distributed to Virginians, which accounts for 28% of the uncollected fees in the District. Virginians owe a total of $7.9 million to DDOT.
In October, Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Ward, who chairs the Transportation and Environmental Committee, criticized Bowser's efforts to engage with neighboring agreements to address this issue.
“Regional reciprocity agreements have the potential to be our best tool in holding dangerous drivers accountable," Cheh said in a statement to WUSA9.