The Metropolitan Police Department is considering the expansion of the automated technology it uses to catch drivers who break the law.
MPD spokesman Kevin Morison said the department is "exploring the possibility of using the red light camera infrastructure to ticket for speeding through a green light."
This can be done by adding a certain chip to the cameras that are currently mounted on red lights in the District and can be used to photograph people who run red lights, he said.
Morison said that the red-light cameras currently detect vehicle speed, but that this addition would ensure greater accuracy. As of now, the department does not issue tickets for speeding picked up by the red-light cameras, which have been in use since August 1999.
The red-light cameras are triggered by sensors embedded in the pavement. If a car passes over the sensors after the light has turned red, a picture is taken, but this does not lead to a ticket. If the car continues to drive through the intersection, another picture is taken, which could then result in a ticket and a fine.
The mechanism is usually a gray box mounted on a pole about 100 feet back from the intersection. A box near the traffic signal is the auxiliary flash unit for the camera.
Morison said that MPD is also "getting very close to implementing a stationary photo radar installation," in addition to the mobile system currently in use.
With the photo radar system, vehicles passing by the car enter a very narrow beam that is shot across the roadway. This triggers a camera that takes a picture of the vehicle.
The radar equipment used to enforce speed limits is installed in unmarked Crown Victoria police cars. The front passenger seat of the cars must be removed to accommodate the equipment.
The cars are manned by a certified police officer, who is there to set up, test and monitor the equipment to make sure that it is working properly. The officers in these cars generally don't pursue people for other offenses, Morison said.
MPD has six of these vehicles rotated among 67 enforcement zones throughout the District. The cars make three shifts each day, Monday through Saturday.
A fixed photo radar camera has been installed on Florida Avenue near Gallaudet University, but is not yet in use. There will be a 30-day warning period before any photos from the camera are used to issue a ticket, Morison said.
Currently, not all recorded speeding violations result
