Thoughts on Speed Cameras, from a Former DC Resident (and Driver)

Yes, it looks like New York may finally get past legislative obstruction in Albany and approve a (minimal) bill allowing speed cameras in some of the city's highest risk school zones. It's a small - and incomplete - step, but this being New York, getting even this modest proposal has been fraught with every imaginable challenge.

Speed cameras, you see, seem to bring the worst out in drivers. Let's face it, speeding is taken as a right on most American roadways; there is the speed limit, then there is the driver's discretion, an "acceptable" amount over that limit that we are "supposed" to drive. Thus, 25 mph becomes 30 or 35, and so on. It's a mindset that has also been enabled by ineffective measurement technologies that, in many parts of the country, still render enforcement under +11 mph impossible. So when we start talking about implementing a fixed, permanent, accurate, you-may-never-speed-here-again solution, drivers see it as taking away a right.

And to an extent, we are. We're forcing them to obey the letter of the law, not the implied discretion they were taught exists. They're meant to change behavior by forcing people to slow down if they don't want a ticket; with a comprehensive enough network of cameras, it means people are forced to obey the law virtually everywhere. Of course, what we always here is that it's a money-grab by municipal authorities, taking advantage of drivers with repeated tickets. But it's not a tax, and it's not mandatory: if you don't want to pay it, just obey the letter of the law. 

Once upon a time, I owned a car in the home of the speed camera, Washington, DC. I even picked up a sizable ticket for doing 45 in a 35 on a long downhill stretch of Massachusetts Avenue. I was understandably upset about the fine, but like most drivers, I altered my behavior. In fact, that was my most lasting impression from the implementation of cameras all around the District: most drivers did change their speed to avoid tickets. My favorite anecdote was Connecticut Avenue, which is a five-lane commuter corridor stretching from downtown to major residential areas in DC and southern Maryland. It also is littered with speed cameras. As a city street, Connecticut is subject to a 30 mph speed limit throughout the District. 

And guess what? Drivers tend to go that speed. Get in your car during a free-flowing period of the day (30 mph would be a fantasy during rush hour), and you'll find that the speed of traffic around you sets a pace within a few miles per hour of the stated limit. Through the magic of enforcement, a major arterial has free-flowing traffic at a safe speed, and pedestrians have a safer route as they access the many businesses and residences located along Connecticut. And that's the kind of result that we can expect in New York - slower vehicles making pedestrian access safer, and our businesses and neighborhoods prospering as a result.

Let's hope Albany does the right thing and gets us started on this path.