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[cpzilliacus]

Well, it doesn't help that DC installed the cameras to raise revenue from people who commute in from MD and VA.

Funny, I never gotten a ticket from a camera driving into the city. What am I doing wrong?

Not entering from Maryland, for starters, since there are no speed cameras in D.C. along the corridors leading to or from the D.C./Virginia bridges.

[froggie]

I've driven plenty into D.C. from Maryland, and never got a speed camera ticket, either.

It's a double-edged sword.  Yes, an argument could be made that D.C. installed the cameras to raise revenue from drivers.  But on the flip side, speeding is a very large and notable problem in D.C, so camera installation is a way to entice drivers to slow down and go the speed limit given that MPD can't be everywhere at once (nor is there room for them to pull people over on several roads).

[cpzilliacus]

I've driven plenty into D.C. from Maryland, and never got a speed camera ticket, either.

It's a double-edged sword.  Yes, an argument could be made that D.C. installed the cameras to raise revenue from drivers.  But on the flip side, speeding is a very large and notable problem in D.C, so camera installation is a way to entice drivers to slow down and go the speed limit given that MPD can't be everywhere at once (nor is there room for them to pull people over on several roads).

Allow me to be cynical for a moment.  There are no speed cameras on the Southwest Freeway (or the 14th Street Bridge or the other DDOT-maintained bridges over the Potomac) because Northern Virginia is where most members of Congress and their staff people live, and most of them do not use Metro to get to and from Capitol Hill.  There were several on the Southwest Freeway in the past (including one each way near Maine Avenue, S.W.), but all have been removed, and I do not believe it was for a lack of speeders. 

[AlexandriaVA]

I've driven plenty into D.C. from Maryland, and never got a speed camera ticket, either.

It's a double-edged sword.  Yes, an argument could be made that D.C. installed the cameras to raise revenue from drivers.  But on the flip side, speeding is a very large and notable problem in D.C, so camera installation is a way to entice drivers to slow down and go the speed limit given that MPD can't be everywhere at once (nor is there room for them to pull people over on several roads).

Allow me to be cynical for a moment.  There are no speed cameras on the Southwest Freeway (or the 14th Street Bridge or the other DDOT-maintained bridges over the Potomac) because Northern Virginia is where most members of Congress and their staff people live, and most of them do not use Metro to get to and from Capitol Hill.  There were several on the Southwest Freeway in the past (including one each way near Maine Avenue, S.W.), but all have been removed, and I do not believe it was for a lack of speeders.

You're getting close, but you forgot to include aliens and the Illuminati in your theory.

[cpzilliacus]

You're getting close, but you forgot to include aliens and the Illuminati in your theory.

If you have some other explanation for the lack of automated speed enforcement near the border between the District of Columbia and Virginia, I would be interested in hearing it.

[AlexandriaVA]

So you're asking me to prove a negative. Not going to play that game, but I'll offer:

Speed camera enforcement zones are selected by the MPD based on recents incidents of speeding-related fatalities and crashes, proximity to school zones and other places where children or other vulnerable populations may be present, and known sites of chronic speeding

https://mpdc.dc.gov/page/speed-camera-locations

More local/neighborhood roads between Maryland and downtown than VA and downtown, hence more opportunities to meet those criteria. But subscribe to your conspiracy theory if it makes you feel better.

[Alps]

So you're asking me to prove a negative. Not going to play that game, but I'll offer:

Speed camera enforcement zones are selected by the MPD based on recents incidents of speeding-related fatalities and crashes, proximity to school zones and other places where children or other vulnerable populations may be present, and known sites of chronic speeding

https://mpdc.dc.gov/page/speed-camera-locations

More local/neighborhood roads between Maryland and downtown than VA and downtown, hence more opportunities to meet those criteria. But subscribe to your conspiracy theory if it makes you feel better.

Those bridges ARE known sites of chronic speeding. Even I know this. So you go ahead and wrap yourself in the warmth of a sound political system with honest representation.

[AlexandriaVA]

Again, I'm not going to waste time trying to prove a negative. But to make it out as is there's no critera is rubbish.

[1995hoo]

Heh. I tried going the speed limit on I-395 in DC near Maine Avenue back when they did put up a camera. Very bad idea. Very scary experience! I'd guess most people were going at least 15 mph more than I was.

[Rothman]

Had the same experience going across WB from I-695 to I-395 once.  Signs said there were cameras and I tried to slow down.  Traffic ran over me to the point where I couldn't easily maneuver to where I wanted to go, so I sped up.  Never got a ticket.

[1995hoo]

There used to be a camera located roughly where Maine Avenue splits off the westbound side. I know I blew past it once at at least 10 mph over the limit—I didn't know it was there until it was too late. But I never got a ticket.

[cpzilliacus]

Heh. I tried going the speed limit on I-395 in DC near Maine Avenue back when they did put up a camera. Very bad idea. Very scary experience! I'd guess most people were going at least 15 mph more than I was.

In a previous work position, I had reason to have to drive the southbound direction of I-395 (from D.C. toward Virginia) in the 3 AM and 4 AM hour somewhat frequently.  Going 65 MPH there was hazardous because of the danger of getting rear-ended.  I would estimate the 85th percentile speed there was north of 70 MPH. 

[cpzilliacus]

There used to be a camera located roughly where Maine Avenue splits off the westbound side. I know I blew past it once at at least 10 mph over the limit—I didn't know it was there until it was too late. But I never got a ticket.

The reference lines are still painted on the pavement, but the camera was removed long ago.

[Steve D]

Heh. I tried going the speed limit on I-395 in DC near Maine Avenue back when they did put up a camera. Very bad idea. Very scary experience! I'd guess most people were going at least 15 mph more than I was.

In a previous work position, I had reason to have to drive the southbound direction of I-395 (from D.C. toward Virginia) in the 3 AM and 4 AM hour somewhat frequently.  Going 65 MPH there was hazardous because of the danger of getting rear-ended.  I would estimate the 85th percentile speed there was north of 70 MPH.

I've been driving over 30 years and the 9th Street ramp that enters from the left side to 395 north may be the only place I'm afraid to drive in the U.S.  There is no merge area, and you have about 3 seconds to decide to floor it with the 70 MPH traffic or come to a complete stop.  I noticed that on the latest Google Maps Street View there is an accident and ambulance in that exact spot!

[1995hoo]

I use that ramp frequently and I agree with you, although I almost always use it at night so in theory it's easier to see if the lane is clear ("in theory" because a disproportionate number of residents of Southeast DC have taken to driving at night without headlights).

Last year WTOP took a poll about the worst merge in the area. I submitted that one and the reporter contacted me for an audio clip about it, which he then played on the air.

[cpzilliacus]

I've been driving over 30 years and the 9th Street ramp that enters from the left side to 395 north may be the only place I'm afraid to drive in the U.S.  There is no merge area, and you have about 3 seconds to decide to floor it with the 70 MPH traffic or come to a complete stop.  I noticed that on the latest Google Maps Street View there is an accident and ambulance in that exact spot!

Yes, that is an awful entrance ramp.  On the left side, no acceleration lane at all, and lots of lane changing traffic ahead as I-395 northbound exits off itself on the right and into the Third Street Tunnel.

There's another one similar to that on where traffic from eastbound Benning Road, N.E. enters the northbound side of D.C. 295.  It is not a drop ramp like the one from 9th Street, S.W. onto I-395 but otherwise, the geometrics are similar and there are plenty of crashes there (maybe not as many as on I-395 at the 9th Street ramp).

I use that ramp frequently and I agree with you, although I almost always use it at night so in theory it's easier to see if the lane is clear ("in theory" because a disproportionate number of residents of Southeast DC have taken to driving at night without headlights).

Last year WTOP took a poll about the worst merge in the area. I submitted that one and the reporter contacted me for an audio clip about it, which he then played on the air.

People driving around with no headlights seems to be in vogue for some reason.  Or driving around with high beam lights on, even in places where it is unsafe and inappropriate.

And on most D.C. limited-access roads, there's also the matter of the "crotch rocket" motorcycles, often ridden by people with an apparent death wish, especially at night when it is warm, and on weekends and holidays.

[cpzilliacus]

Washington Business Journal: Washington's hot spots for traffic violations - Use the tabs below for a breakdown of the most-ticketed traffic spots in the city in 2016. Click anywhere on the map to launch the zoom in/out function.

The southbound lane of Kenilworth Avenue in D.C. serves mostly as a busy feeder onto Interstate 295 or Benning Road NE. But it also serves to boost the District's bottom line — the speeding camera positioned at its 600 block generated more than $20 million in fines in fiscal 2016.

That one camera, only in place for half of that fiscal year, accounts for more than 10 percent of the roughly $190 million in speeding and red light camera fines issued in 2016. It is by far the most prolific of the 145 camera locations in the District, according to records obtained by the Washington Business Journal as part of a Freedom of Information Act request.

[KEVIN_224]

http://ghostsofdc.org/2014/11/28/drawings-proposed-95-d-c/?utm_source=facebook-recycle&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=Drawings%20of%20Proposed%20I-95%20Through%20D.C.

It ultimately links back to Scott Kozel. The Ghosts Of DC Facebook page linked this recently: Had I-95 been built the whole way through the District...

[1995hoo]

WTOP's Dave Dildine has a story and photo gallery called "A look at the District's screwy road signs." (Link below the quote.) Taking his report at face value makes it sound like those of you who have an interest in seeing some of our old favorites, such as the (in)famous boarded-up signs over I-66 near the Kennedy Center, should make the trip sooner rather than later:

The District Department of Transportation plans to improve the signage along some of the downtown freeways in the coming months, but until then, drivers will be doing a double-take.

 

http://wtop.com/dc-transit/2017/08/a-look-at-the-districts-screwy-signs/slide/1/

(Take note of his reference to button copy in one of the captions, too. How often do you see that term in media reports?)

[AlexandriaVA]

WTOP's Dave Dildine has a story and photo gallery called "A look at the District's screwy road signs." (Link below the quote.) Taking his report at face value makes it sound like those of you who have an interest in seeing some of our old favorites, such as the (in)famous boarded-up signs over I-66 near the Kennedy Center, should make the trip sooner rather than later:

The District Department of Transportation plans to improve the signage along some of the downtown freeways in the coming months, but until then, drivers will be doing a double-take.

 

http://wtop.com/dc-transit/2017/08/a-look-at-the-districts-screwy-signs/slide/1/

(Take note of his reference to button copy in one of the captions, too. How often do you see that term in media reports?)

A guy can get nostalgic looking at that stuff.

Any dashcam videos on the horizon, btw? Me and soon-to-be-Mrs AlexandriaVA have enjoyed them. I know you're taking Metro more frequently now.

[1995hoo]

WTOP's Dave Dildine has a story and photo gallery called "A look at the District's screwy road signs." (Link below the quote.) Taking his report at face value makes it sound like those of you who have an interest in seeing some of our old favorites, such as the (in)famous boarded-up signs over I-66 near the Kennedy Center, should make the trip sooner rather than later:

The District Department of Transportation plans to improve the signage along some of the downtown freeways in the coming months, but until then, drivers will be doing a double-take.

 

http://wtop.com/dc-transit/2017/08/a-look-at-the-districts-screwy-signs/slide/1/

(Take note of his reference to button copy in one of the captions, too. How often do you see that term in media reports?)

A guy can get nostalgic looking at that stuff.

Any dashcam videos on the horizon, btw? Me and soon-to-be-Mrs AlexandriaVA have enjoyed them. I know you're taking Metro more frequently now.

My sound card got fried and I haven't had time to replace it. Hence one major reason for the delay! I need to hear the audio to edit.

[Mergingtraffic]

WTOP's Dave Dildine has a story and photo gallery called "A look at the District's screwy road signs." (Link below the quote.) Taking his report at face value makes it sound like those of you who have an interest in seeing some of our old favorites, such as the (in)famous boarded-up signs over I-66 near the Kennedy Center, should make the trip sooner rather than later:

I was curious about that too.  He pointed that out under the "TO I-295" signs he says "these signs" will be updated but didn't say "these signs" for the I-66 bridge or the Capitol Left Exit sign. 

I got this one the last time I was in the area:



Is the DDOT good at posting signing contracts online?

[1995hoo]

Dave Dildine responded to my anguished query about the I-66 assembly: "Right there with you. It deserves to be on the National Register of Historic Places at this point."

[Henry]

I just had a thought on I-95 through the District and how it would've affected the mileage in MD and VA. I-395 from the Springfield Interchange to the Potomac is nine miles, which is only a mile longer than the Beltway routing between the same two places, but what would I-95's mileage have been in MD if it had been completed from the DC line to the College Park Interchange?

[Brandon]

I've driven plenty into D.C. from Maryland, and never got a speed camera ticket, either.

It's a double-edged sword.  Yes, an argument could be made that D.C. installed the cameras to raise revenue from drivers.  But on the flip side, speeding is a very large and notable problem in D.C, so camera installation is a way to entice drivers to slow down and go the speed limit given that MPD can't be everywhere at once (nor is there room for them to pull people over on several roads).

Allow me to be cynical for a moment.  There are no speed cameras on the Southwest Freeway (or the 14th Street Bridge or the other DDOT-maintained bridges over the Potomac) because Northern Virginia is where most members of Congress and their staff people live, and most of them do not use Metro to get to and from Capitol Hill.  There were several on the Southwest Freeway in the past (including one each way near Maine Avenue, S.W.), but all have been removed, and I do not believe it was for a lack of speeders.

You're getting close, but you forgot to include aliens and the Illuminati in your theory.

Dude, politics plays into their installation and removal all the time.  All.  The.  Time.  We have a village (a village of 73,000 mind you) in the southwest Chicago suburbs that installed red light cameras at various intersections in town.  All was fine until one day, the mayor of said village got a ticket from one of them.  Then, mysteriously, every camera was shut off the very next day and then removed, with the mayor claiming that the cameras had been successful and had done their job.  What a hunk of bullshit.