Opinion: Majority support for photo enforcement

by Marlene Berlin

Those who oppose photo enforcement of traffic infractions are vocal and they get a lot of press. But that doesn’t mean their opinions reflect the public’s view. In fact, support in DC for red-light and speed cameras is far greater than news coverage suggests.

As Vice Chair of the DC Pedestrian Advisory Council, I asked the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) to conduct a poll of DC residents on photo enforcement. A few of the members of the Pedestrian Advisory Council, including DDOT pedestrian coordinator George Branyan, advised IIHS on the construction of the survey. In November 2012, the Institute conducted telephone interviews of randomly selected DC residents, about 100 per ward.

The results, released last week, found the following:

87% support red light cameras

76% support speed cameras

58% of the drivers had received camera citations

59% of those who received the citations felt they deserved it

A majority do not feel that cameras are about generating revenue

 
And a majority of the respondents are drivers: “71% had walked and driven in the past month, 23% had walked but not driven, and 4% had driven but not walked” to their destinations.

So contrary to what we’ve been hearing, DC residents are not fed up with photo enforcement. There is strong public support. And DC’s politicians should take heed.