Automated Traffic Enforcement

Washington D.C., along with 27 other states, uses Automated Traffic Enforcement (ATE) systems to enforce traffic laws. ATEs use cameras to capture moving violations and mail tickets to the owners of the vehicle. As of November 2023, there were a total of 145 ATEs in operation in the District: 109 speed cameras, 29 red light cameras, and seven stop sign cameras. Oversized cameras capture the same moving violations but only for oversized vehicles. The Department of Transportation groups these cameras by the type of violation captured. In the District, the vast majority of traffic tickets are issued by ATE cameras, not by police officers, with more than 95 percent of the 1.4 million tickets issued in 2022 coming from ATE cameras. These 1.4 million tickets generated almost $113 million in fines. In Fiscal Year 2024, the District plans to add an additional 342 cameras to the ATE system.  

Additionally, the report contains a summary of the research on the safety and equity impacts of ATE systems, and provides an analysis of the District’s ATE system. An analysis of point systems and a review of the research on the impact of point systems, which have generally been found to reduce traffic violations and accidents, are also included.

For the most recent list of ATE camera locations please see D.C. Department of Transportation’s Automated Traffic Enforcement Camera Locations.

Interactive Map: Traffic Camera Tickets Across the District

This map covers tickets issued between October 1, 2013, and September 30, 2022, allowing for an analysis of ATE camera placement across multiple years. The map includes Census demographic data at the neighborhood level, allowing users to see patterns between population characteristics and enforcement and ticketing trends for the District’s primary traffic enforcement tool.

How to use the map:

Click on the above image. The dashboard will open in a new separate tab.

Select Census Tract or Zip Code and then select Year. DO NOT select “null” values.

After selecting a year, you should see changes in ATE locations based on the selected census tract or zip code.

While the ATE Counter is dependent on Zip Code and Census Tract, the Ticket Counter is only available for the selected Zip Code. To view location descriptions, hover over the ATE symbols, which are identified by type.