At least one pedestrian in D.C. is given a ticket for jaywalking just about every day. And bicyclists get them just about every other day for a range of traffic violations, including not riding on the seat of the bike.
But police are slowing the pace of the citations at the same time the city is pushing to make the streets more bikeable and walkable with new bike lanes, new technology for crosswalks, and the expansion of the Capital Bikeshare system.
| Top citations | ||
| Pedestrians and bicyclists face a range of possible infractions, including walking on the wrong side of the street and biking with two people on a single bike. Here are the top citations from October through July, according to the D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles. | ||
| Pedestrians | ||
| 1. | Failure to obey “Don’t Walk” or wait for traffic signals, 230 tickets | |
| 2. | Pedestrian walking so as to create a hazard, 105 tickets | |
| 3. | Failure to obey traffic signal in crosswalk, 84 tickets | |
| Bicyclists | ||
| 1. | Disobey traffic device or officer while on a bike, 54 tickets | |
| 2. | Riding a bike so as to create a driving hazard, 26 tickets | |
| 3. | Failure to yield right of way to pedestrians or vehicles, 22 tickets | |
The District issued 628 citations to pedestrians in the last fiscal year, most of them for jaywalking-type offenses, and has issued 467 in the first 10 months of the current year. That’s on average about six fewer tickets a month.
Citations against bicyclists have dropped more. Bikers were cited 334 times in the last fiscal year, data from the city’s Department of Motor Vehicles show, and 171 times so far this budget year. That’s a drop of about 27.8 citations per month to 17.1.
“We are not aware of the reasons for fewer citations this year versus last year,” said DMV spokeswoman Sylvia Ballinger, referring questions to the agencies that hand out the tickets.
But multiple agencies — including U.S. Park Police, the Secret Service and Capitol Police — can write the tickets, making it hard to pinpoint a single explanation for why the number of citations has dropped. D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department did not return a call for comment.
The tickets, which range from $5 to $50 each, are not big money-makers for the city. Citations issued against cyclists brought in $5,183 total last year, records show, while pedestrian scofflaws added $8,785 to the city’s coffers.
That pales in comparison to the number of driving and parking tickets issued to motorists each year. City officials hope to collect $6.3 million just from an amnesty program they are offering to drivers who failed to pay 4 million tickets issued over the years worth $245.7 million.
But the biking and walking tickets are a reminder that everyone is expected to follow the rules of the road.
Still, some think the city could be doing a better job enforcing the rules — on others. Pedestrians complain about cyclists and motorists turning into crosswalks, while bikers complain about car doors opening into their paths or drivers parking in their bike lanes. Motorists complain about both camps darting in front of them.
“The laws should be evenly enforced and protect everyone,” said Shane Farthing, executive director of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association.
His group doesn’t necessarily agree with all the city’s laws for bikes, nor how they are interpreted. The association has offered classes for police officers and tried to pass out its pocket guides on D.C. bike laws to cops, with little success.
“We do advocate for people to follow the law until it’s changed,” he said.
But he said that cyclists and walkers have more at risk when a motorist does something wrong. “When a cyclist does something illegal, they tend to be putting at risk themselves,” he said. “When you see a motorist blocking a bike lane, they are forcing a bike into traffic.”
