DC cracks down on dangerous drivers from Maryland and Virginia with new enforcement rules

Last year, 45 pedestrians were killed by drivers in Washington, D.C. — a 16-year high. Now, city leadership is looking to reduce the number of pedestrians killed to zero through legislation awaiting Mayor Muriel Bowser’s signature and Congressional approval.

Initiatives in the Strengthening Traffic Enforcement, Education, and Responsibility Act, which include allowing the attorney general to sue drivers regardless of where they are registered over large fine amounts and installing speed governors inside cars found guilty of reckless driving, took effect Tuesday.

D.C. Councilman Charles Allen, who wrote the bill, said he hopes it will hold reckless drivers who may not reside in D.C. accountable.

“We need more accountability for people who choose to drive dangerously and also better government systems to make that happen,” Allen said in a statement. “Right now, there are few meaningful consequences for people who drive recklessly or rack up unpaid tickets from our traffic cameras, especially if they're from other states without what's called 'ticket reciprocity' — i.e., Maryland and Virginia.”

Last month, Allen shared on X that there are over 2,100 vehicles on D.C. streets with over 40 tickets for dangerous speeding violations. Just last month, a 12-year-old girl walking across a crosswalk in the Capitol Hill neighborhood was struck and injured by a driver who had 94 citations issued by D.C. cameras. The driver has been charged with reckless driving.

And last year a driver with $12,000 racked up in fines killed three people in Rock Creek Park.

Now, with the STEER Act, drivers can be sued for fines that reach thousands of dollars.

It is reported that drivers owe the district nearly $1.3 billion in traffic fines and penalties.

The city has implemented other measures, such as the “scofflaw” towing and booting initiatives, to get reckless drivers off the road, but it faces limitations as cars with thousands of dollars in unpaid fines can only be towed away if parked on public streets and within city limits.

The city is still waiting on funding approval for other aspects of the legislation, such as creating a point system for speeding drivers. Drivers could get their vehicles towed if they reach a certain number of points within six months.

However, the law would exempt vehicle owners from paying tickets if they were written while the vehicle was stolen.

Ten years ago, Bowser launched her “Vision Zero” initiative in an effort to eliminate all traffic deaths in D.C.

However, the mayor first rejected the STEER Act in February, citing budget concerns.

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“Moreover, I continue to believe that the system that the Council has set out in the bill, and the approach to enforcement it will encourage, are not the most effective way to identify problem drivers and will likely lead to an inefficient allocation of resources,” Bowser said in a letter addressed to D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson.

The Washington Examiner reached to the mayor’s office for comment.