The city has prioritized towing high-dollar scofflaw vehicles to hold owners accountable. The Department of Public Works & Operations Parking Enforcement division identified and towed nearly 70 vehicles with $600,000 in unpaid tickets and booting another 700 vehicles with over $1.5 million in unpaid fines.

I’m thrilled to see this program in action. Last year I added close to 40 new parking enforcement, booting and towing positions to make this possible. In next year’s budget, I’ve added funds for license plate readers on DPW tow trucks. License plate readers have played a significant role in the current pilot, allowing parking enforcement to quickly identify the highest-offending vehicles and prioritize them. Here’s the story from WUSA9.

I’ve worked with DPW on prioritizing the most egregious scofflaws for booting and towing. Director Timothy Spriggs and his team have done a great job getting booting and towing staffed up and operating efficiently.

I’m also working on additional legislation, the Fraudulent Vehicle Tag Enforcement Amendment Act of 2023, which is currently in committee, to hold drivers and vehicle owners accountable. The bill would give greater authority to tow cars with fake tags and go after sellers of fake tags.

And earlier this year the Council passed the STEER Act, which I co-introduced w/ Councilmember Charles Allen. It allows booting vehicles that rack up points for speeding and other traffic offenses, including those caught by traffic cameras. And it allows the D.C. Attorney General to sue repeat offenders, even if they live outside D.C.

Traffic safety is public safety. Working together with DPW, we are making it harder to be a dangerous driver in D.C.