DC lawmakers hold hearings aimed at curbing dangerous driving in the District
DC Council cracking down on dangerous drivers
Dangerous drivers are a big problem on D.C. streets. But is the District doing enough to stop them? That was a big question facing members of Mayor Muriel Bowser's administration Wednesday during a D.C. Council hearing. FOX 5's Tom Fitzgerald reports from Northwest with the details.
WASHINGTON - The D.C. Council held a public hearing Wednesday on bills aimed at curbing dangerous driving in the nation's capital.
Councilmember Charles Allen, chair of the Council's Committee on Transportation and the Environment, led the hearing that examined four bills designed to combat reckless driving in the District and reverse the trend of increasing traffic fatalities.
The District has recorded 42 roadway deaths so far this year which marks a 16-year-high, Allen said. More than 5,300 people have been injured in crashes, including more than 300 people with serious injuries.
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According to Allen's office, only eight people are enrolled in the mandatory ignition intervention device program required when someone is arrested for, or convicted of, driving under the influence. He also said it appears that the notification process for an additional 335 drivers, telling them that they must enroll, appears to have just begun.
Approximately 50,000 tickets per year are issued for driving 20-30 mph over the posted speed limit, Allen's office said, which adds up to nearly 150 tickets per day.
The council member also said there is one Maryland-registered vehicle with more than $100,000 in accumulated unpaid violations, and 42 vehicles with more than $50,000 in unpaid violations.
Allen's proposal would give the District's Attorney General the power to go after dangerous drivers in civil court. It would also help target the city's most egregious offenders.