D.C. Restaurant Is Turning Speed Camera Tickets Into Discounts

By Steve Birr

Washington, D.C., is issuing over half a million speed camera tickets a year, but a restaurant owner is turning the bureaucratic nightmare into discounts and free meals for frustrated drivers.

Michael Sterling, owner of the restaurant Caribbean Citations in southeast D.C., offers diners with a speed camera ticket a price discount on each menu item. They also get a raffle ticket to enter a chance to have Sterling pay for their entire parking ticket.

D.C. issued 520,000 speed camera tickets last year, netting more than $55 million for the government. The city has already issued more than 365,000 tickets in the first six months of 2016, reports NBC Washington.

Revenues from speed cameras in 2016 total more than $37 million.

“When I met Micheal Sterling, I immediately noticed his passion for cooking quality Jamaican food as well as ending Washington D.C.’s obsession with traffic revenue,” Kevon Paynter, a masters student at Georgetown University studying journalism, told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “I can’t help but think, Washington D.C.’s traffic and parking enforcement aren’t about safety; it’s about revenue for the city.”

Paynter, frustrated with the rapidly rising number of speed cameras in the city, sought out Sterling and his restaurant to see how Caribbean Citations was turning the growing amount of tickets into a boon for business. Paynter also revealed the staggering rate of tickets issued in a documentary highlighting Sterling’s restaurant.

There are more speed cameras in the Washington metropolitan region than anywhere else in the country, despite a significantly smaller population than many major U.S. cities. The Metropolitan Police Department outlines fines for violations ranging as high as $300.

“The District levies fines for tickets costing $35-$300 which are increased to double the amount in 30 days if you fail to pay,” Paynter explains. “That discount on great Jamaican food successfully takes some of the initial sting out of receiving a speed camera or parking ticket.”

The District is joined by only two other states that have written laws explicitly allowing the use of speed cameras. Many states across the country have banned the use altogether or heavily restricted the practice. Officials in the District defend the practice and claim it has reduced traffic fatalities throughout the region.

Officials say they will consider reducing some speed limits and raising others to better account for differing traffic congestion in the region.

“All across the city speed limits are set too low,” Paynter told TheDCNF.

Officials with AAA vehicle service note the extreme number of cameras around the city and the stark cost differential when compared to neighboring states.

“The ticket prices are quadruple the ticket price in Maryland, and people don’t understand that,” John Townsend, AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesman, told NBC4. “Obey the speed limit, slow down – and there’s a harsh penalty if you don’t.”

Follow Steve on Twitter
Click here for reuse options!
Copyright 2016 Daily Caller News Foundation
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

9 comments

most reliable psilocybin mushroom seller​ August 15, 2023 at 12:58 pm

… [Trackback]

[…] Find More here to that Topic: thelibertarianrepublic.com/restaurant-turning-dc-speed-camera-tickets-discounts-drivers/ […]

microdosing mushrooms legal in canada August 18, 2023 at 7:25 am

… [Trackback]

[…] Information on that Topic: thelibertarianrepublic.com/restaurant-turning-dc-speed-camera-tickets-discounts-drivers/ […]

토렌트 August 31, 2023 at 7:49 pm

… [Trackback]

[…] Read More to that Topic: thelibertarianrepublic.com/restaurant-turning-dc-speed-camera-tickets-discounts-drivers/ […]

soothing piano October 3, 2023 at 12:01 pm

… [Trackback]

[…] Information to that Topic: thelibertarianrepublic.com/restaurant-turning-dc-speed-camera-tickets-discounts-drivers/ […]

relax everyday November 24, 2023 at 12:45 pm

relax everyday

relax everyday

deep sleep December 24, 2023 at 5:16 am

deep sleep

deep sleep

soothing relaxation January 12, 2024 at 11:36 pm

soothing relaxation

soothing relaxation

coffee shop ambience February 2, 2024 at 6:56 am

coffee shop ambience

coffee shop ambience

cafe shop music March 6, 2024 at 10:24 pm

cafe shop music

cafe shop music

Leave a Comment