The D.C. Council has approved a fivefold increase in the fine for drivers who fail to yield to pedestrians, bringing the $50 penalty for such infractions to $250 and three license points in an effort to curb the city’s escalating number of pedestrian deaths.
The original proposal, to raise the fine to $500, which was put forward earlier in the summer, would have made it one of the costliest citations in the nation for such an offense.
“We wanted to strike the right balance,” said D.C. Councilman Jim Graham, D-Ward 1, who heads the committee that drafted the legislation. “Too high a fine and the police won’t issue an infraction; too low a fine and it is unimportant and trifling.”
Seattle and Portland, Ore., two cities with some of the lowest pedestrian death rates in the country, fine violators up to $250 and $360, respectively.
Drivers who collide with pedestrians in crosswalks or intersections in the District will face a $500 fine and be issued six license points under the new law.
In the District, drivers who rack up 10 points lose their license for 90 days. The council also created a new $65 citation for drivers who double-park in bicycle lanes, which is $15 higher than the fine assessed for double-parking in general.
San Francisco, Chicago and New York each have fines of $100 or more for double parking in bike lanes.
“We don’t think this is the magic bullet, but it is part of a comprehensive effort that is being undertaken throughout the city,” said D.C. Councilwoman Mary Cheh, Ward 3, who championed the bill, which passed unanimously last week.
There were 25 pedestrian deaths in the District last year — the highest tally in a decade — prompting the D.C. Department of Transportation to release the city’s first comprehensive pedestrian safety plan in May.
The bill allocates the money collected from the fines to funding pedestrian safety programs.
“Our goal here is for fewer violations, not for more money,” Graham said. “Our goal is to have a safer situation for pedestrians and bicyclists.”
