D.C. is rolling out a new system of traffic cameras designed to issue tickets, but not for speeding or running red lights.
The new cameras popping up and raising questions the past few weeks target over-sized trucks driving on residential streets on which they don’t belong. Once the cameras are fully operational, they’ll issue $150 tickets every time they catch a violator.
The new cameras have no markings on them like the speed cameras do, and there are no warning signs for photo-enforced zones, but there are signs that warn trucks not to pass through residential neighborhoods where they cause traffic backups, disturb neighbors and rattle homes.
D.C. police and the D.C. Department of Transportation get complaints about trucks ignoring the signs, so they’re testing the eight new cameras.
The cameras are portable, so they can be easily moved to different locations. The District plans to have them fully operational and issuing tickets within the next two months.
The over-sized-truck cameras are the first wave of new technology D.C. will be implementing. Cameras that can catch you rolling through a stop sign or blocking the box in busy intersections are also on the drawing board.
