Loophole in camera tickets closed

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The D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles is making it tougher for motorists to avoid traffic fines if they argue somebody else was driving when an automated camera clicked a photo of their vehicle running a red light or speeding.

Vehicle owners who submit an affidavit saying they weren't driving at the time of a violation will have to turn over the driver's license number of the person who had been behind the wheel so the city can fine that person, according to a new DMV proposal.

The District already requires that affidavits give up the offending driver's name and address. Under the proposed rule, car owners looking to blame someone else for a ticket also will have to present the driver's license information.

D.C. officials say they merely are closing a loophole that has allowed some motorists to avoid fines by submitting inaccurate or hard-to-track-down information. Anne C. Witt, director of the DMV, called the city's current arrangement "a wide-open door."

But the AAA Mid-Atlantic Motor Club is skeptical of the proposed rule, which the DMV published in the D.C. Register last month.

John Townsend, a spokesman for AAA, said that with the new rule, the city would be on its way to "creating a town of snitches." He also said AAA has concerns about protecting confidential driver's license information.

City officials point out that even without a license number, vehicle owners can fight a ticket in a traffic hearing -- though they would not be allowed to submit an affidavit, DMV officials said.

"You can always get your day in court," Miss Witt said.

Corey Buffo, general counsel for the DMV, said vehicle owners can argue somebody else had been driving, but that doing so in an affidavit as opposed to appearing at a hearing is "certainly more convenient for people."

The proposed rule would apply only to those fines from automated red-light and speed cameras. The devices work by taking pictures of the license plates of vehicles whose drivers run red lights or speed along roads monitored by automated cameras. Mr. Buffo said the new rule could be enacted within two months.