DOT wants to put the brakes on DC traffic cameras

Source: Politico

01/07/2026 05:55 AM EST Updated: 01/07/2026 10:49 AM EST


The Transportation Department is seeking to scrap the use of automated traffic enforcement cameras in Washington, a move that would cost the city millions in lost revenue but would likely be cheered by many drivers in the nation’s capital.

The proposal, authored by DOT and sent to the White House Office of Management and Budget, was obtained by POLITICO. It seeks to outlaw speed, red light and stop sign cameras throughout the city as part of the upcoming surface transportation bill, which Congress is hoping to pass this year.

The DOT proposal would “prohibit the operation of automated traffic camera enforcement in the District of Columbia,” the document says. After the story published, Nate Sizemore, a spokesperson for DOT, in an emailed statement, said the agency is “constantly examining a broad set of preliminary policy options on transportation matters. Many policy options are currently under internal review.”

Since the implementation of red light cameras in 1999, the city’s use of those and other cameras has surged. There are currently 546 active enforcement cameras in the District, and the Automated Safety Camera program enforces a wide range of traffic violations, including unauthorized vehicles operating in bus lanes and truck-restricted routes. The fines range from $100-$500. Steeper fines are assessed for passing a school bus with flashing lights or going more than 25 miles per hour over the speed limit.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/07/dot-wants-to-put-the-brakes-on-dc-traffic-cameras-00713098

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They refuse to fund the District adequately and really screwed them this past year with a $1 billion cut (funding left off the March C.R. and am not sure it made it on the current extension one), and I know they are trying to get what revenue they can.

And here in Philly, there is an incredible statistic for our worst-offending thoroughfare - the 12-lane Roosevelt Boulevard (which forms a portion of the old interstate "Route 1" before I-95 came along, going from Maine to Florida), with not only speeding (and even illegal racing - like drag racing and street bike/ATV/motorcycle racing), but blowing through red lights, etc. And this street cuts through a residential neighborhood with people attempting to cross all those lanes (some portions have "express lanes" underground, where the cross streets are a bridge over that for pedestrians and cars) -





So it DOES work (and that route had far too many pedestrian fatalities (often including children) due to the speeding and running red lights). They are also pilot-testing "AI cameras" on some buses along certain routes here in Philly, to catch cars/delivery trucks parking in bus lanes along the busy downtown streets.

So DOT's "excuse" about D.C.'s use of them is from the perspective of appointees who probably don't even live in the District and if they do or don't, get shuttled around in GOVs, and will be gone in a few years (if that).