Washington, DC Mobility & Curb Rules: Red-Light Cameras (2026)

C. 01 authorizes the Mayor to use an automated traffic enforcement system to detect moving infractions in the District, and states that violations detected by such a system constitute moving violations in the same way an officer-witnessed violation would. The statute defines an 'automated traffic enforcement system' as equipment that takes a film or digital camera-based photograph linked to a violation detection system that synchronizes the photograph with the occurrence of the traffic infraction, a definition broad enough to cover both red-light cameras at intersections and speed cameras, including the school-zone speed units DDOT has deployed citywide.

Subsection (b) gives the recorded images evidentiary weight: they are prima facie evidence of an infraction and may be submitted in an adjudication without authentication, meaning the District does not need a witnessing officer to prove the violation happened. Subsection (c) then draws a hard limit on the consequences that flow from a camera ticket: an individual's driver's license or privilege to operate a motor vehicle in the District may not be suspended for a violation detected by an automated traffic enforcement system solely because the person failed to timely answer a notice of infraction, failed to appear without good cause at a scheduled hearing, or failed to timely pay a civil fine or penalty.

C. 02, places liability for the fine on the vehicle's owner absent an intervening criminal or fraudulent act, requires the Mayor to mail a summons and notice of infraction with the date, time, location, violation type, plate number and a copy of the photo, and lets an owner request a hearing under Chapter 23 of Title 50. It also exempts an owner or operator from liability when the vehicle was yielding to an emergency vehicle, was reported stolen before the citation, was part of a funeral procession, or was following a law enforcement officer's direction.