Latest news with #D.C.HighwaySafetyOffice
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
'Walking Billboards' to promote bike and pedestrian safety hitting DC region
The Brief "Walking Billboards" are part of the Street Smart campaign, reminding drivers to slow down and prioritize pedestrian safety. Last year, 110 pedestrians and cyclists were killed in the D.C. region, nearly half on D.C. streets alone, despite Vision Zero initiatives. Campaign officials emphasize eye contact and attentiveness for both drivers and pedestrians as key to reducing accidents. WASHINGTON - If you see billboards walking in the area, you're not seeing things! The 2025 spring season Street Smart campaign is officially launching on Monday, which includes "Walking Billboards." Some of those walking billboard signs are reminding drivers to slow down. What they're saying "Slow down. Speed is one of the deadliest factors on our roadways. We know that even going an extra five or ten miles per hours, just so temping, really does create an extra risk for those who are on our sidewalks, in our roadways. So, the message is clear: slow down. Speeding is not worth it. It puts you and everyone else on the roadway at risk," said the Director of D.C.'s Highway Safety Office, Rick Birt. The D.C. Highway Safety Office, V-DOT, M-DOT, D-DOT and more have partnered with the Washington Metropolitan Council of Governments to launch the Street Smart safety effort. Members carrying a backpack that hoist up the "Walking Billboards" patrolled the area over by Georgia Ave. and Park Rd. NW. FOX 5 tested a crosswalk a few blocks south of there, by Georgia Ave. and Morton St. NW and found plenty of vehicles not stopping for a person in the crosswalk, even though signs around the crosswalk clearly warn drivers to do so. Last year, the MWCOG says the DC Region saw 110 pedestrian and cyclists killed. That number is down from the region's peak in 2022. However, it's still far from Vision Zero efforts that, in DC for example, called for ZERO pedestrian and cyclist fatality by 2024. Almost half of the 110 people killed last year, lost their lives on DC's streets alone, according to District data. There are several important safety tips to follow. Whether you're in a car, on a bike or walking, one Street Smart Ambassador hopes people at least heed this one: "I think eye contact is the main thing. I know a lot of the times, people are in the cars -- they're not always looking, looking, looking. As a pedestrian, you're on your phone or you're distracted or you're in your beats and you're not looking, looking, looking, making sure that that driver is seeing you and you're seeing them," said Ayana Aquila Garzillo . The region will be seeing these "Walking Billboards" all across the greater D.C. Region starting on Monday and lasting into early May. Track DC traffic fatalities and incidents usingVision Zero DC Crash Analysis. The Source Information in this article comes from the Council of Governments.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
New program would cut costs of traffic tickets for low-income DC residents
The Brief A pilot program could help low-income drivers in D.C. manage the cost of photo-enforced tickets. In order to qualify, the vehicle owner must be a resident of D.C. and receive SNAP benefits. The request would be good for only one fine that would be reduced from $100 to $50. WASHINGTON - A break could be coming for lower-income residents in D.C. that get a photo-enforced ticket while driving. A pilot program would cut the cost of that ticket down in an attempt to help those struggling financially. Speed cameras and red-light cameras are all over the District and for some drivers, the high fines of a traffic mistake can completely derail their budget. Mayor Muriel Bowser says this is about trying to help those where the fine hits the hardest. In 2023, she created a task force asking for recommendations on what will ensure the district roads remain safe while offering financial relief for low-income residents. In order to qualify, the vehicle owner must be a resident of D.C. and receive SNAP benefits. The request must be submitted within 30 days of when the ticket was issued and it's good for only one fine to be reduced from $100 to $50. The city is hoping this could help wipe some unpaid fines off the books. Dating back to the start of 2000 up until Feb. 21 of this year, more than 8.2 million traffic tickets have not been paid — a total of $1.8 billion in fines and penalties. "I think that people are struggling right now to afford food you know, electricity, bills, and rent so as long as they continue being liable and responsible for what they do, but if the final price that they have to pay is half of it, I think it's good for them," D.C. resident Henry Salazar said. The city is expecting approximately 3,000 applications for the pilot program. "I think any cut to the ticket is helpful. It's a scary bill that comes in the mail for a lot of people so yeah, anything that the government could do to help those folks," Rock Roque said. The program will run for 120 days once launched as for how to measure success, a spokesperson from the D.C. Highway Safety Office said they will be looking to see if the fine reduction impacts payment rates and if behavior changes by those ticketed get fewer citations in the future. Overall, residents seem on board with the idea. "We do want to make sure that even though you know that you may get a discount if you get a ticket that we're not just intentionally, or, you know, just being reckless as it relates to speeding and going fast because you're like, 'oh my ticket is only going to be $50,' so we do want to make sure that we are obeying the law," resident Tracy Ross told FOX 5. "However, having a break if something happens and you don't realize that you have done that – excellent idea."
