Maryland and Virginia drivers owe the District over $373 million in fines from outstanding parking and traffic citations they have racked up in the past four years, according to records from the city’s Department of Motor Vehicles.
The data validates long-held concerns that drivers from both states are violating traffic laws in D.C. and accumulating unpaid tickets without facing consequences.
“We have a big problem,” said D.C. Council member Charles Allen (D-Ward 6). “Virginia and Maryland drivers rack up hundreds, if not thousands and thousands of dollars of automated traffic enforcement [fines,] but we have no way to actually ever enforce it.”
The D.C. Council recently passed a broad transportation bill that, among other things, authorizes Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) to negotiate reciprocity agreements with Virginia and Maryland to ensure drivers in those states face consequences when they violate traffic laws in the city.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Luz Lazo over at The Washington Post
