Has a ‘scofflaw’ driver figured out how to avoid getting towed?

WTOP is continuing its coverage on D.C.’s efforts to go after what it calls "scofflaw drivers" — drivers who don’t pay the automated traffic enforcement cameras and parking tickets they rack up. But one city resident is wondering if his neighbor found a loophole.

A vehicle with more than 40 unpaid tickets is seen under a cover in Northwest D.C.
(WTOP/John Domen)

WTOP/John Domen

A vehicle with more than 40 unpaid tickets is seen under a cover in Northwest D.C.
(WTOP/John Domen)

WTOP/John Domen

Unpaid parking tickets belonging to a single vehicle.
(Credit DPW)

Credit DPW

Unpaid parking tickets belonging to a single vehicle.
(Credit DPW)

Credit DPW

WTOP is continuing its coverage on D.C.’s efforts to go after what it calls “scofflaw drivers” — drivers who don’t pay the automated traffic enforcement cameras and parking tickets they rack up. But one city resident is wondering if his neighbor found a loophole.

Records show the neighbor’s particular license plate, which is an out-of-state plate, racking up so many tickets that the city’s website can’t list them all. In all, the vehicle has accumulated more than 40 tickets — 29 since early March — with an unpaid balance well over $12,000.

The Northwest D.C. resident, who decided to remain anonymous in our reporting, said that while other vehicles in the neighborhood get ticketed and booted, this one has mostly avoided it.

He said the city did put a boot on the vehicle a little over a month ago, but the driver managed to get rid of it. Since then, the car has continued to park on the streets, but with a cover over it.

“I do think it’s a concern that this is a potential loophole that if someone can just put a cover on the vehicle, then they can escape having any responsibility for their actions,” the resident said. “And so far, it seemed like that’s been the case with this vehicle.”

If the vehicle was connected to a crime in some way, it’s possible the Metropolitan Police Department could impound it, but that’s not the case here; it’s strictly unpaid tickets, which fall on the D.C. Department of Public Works.

Most of the tickets attached to the vehicle are from speed cameras, sometimes three or four tickets on the same day. And since the car is registered in another state, although the vehicle’s owner appears to live in D.C., it’s not clear if they are even getting the tickets.

However, the DPW adamantly denied that covering a car will prevent someone from getting ticketed, towed or booted.

“The Department of Public Works takes locating scofflaw vehicles and getting them off the street seriously,” DPW parking officials said in a statement to WTOP.

“Parking enforcement officers are trained to inspect all vehicles, including those with car covers. The use of a car cover does not exempt a vehicle from inspection, ticketing, or further enforcement actions,” the statement said. “We also encourage residents to submit 311 requests if they see a vehicle in violation of the city’s parking laws. Such requests are all part of the process of identifying vehicles that may pose a danger to the community and maintaining safe and accessible streets for all.”

DPW said its enforcement crews continue to look for this particular vehicle.

“In these residential areas, the likelihood of children crossing here on our street is very high. We have a couple elementary schools across the street,” the resident said. “So the likelihood of someone who has probably around 30 speeding tickets in the range of 11 to 30 miles an hour over the speed limit and killing someone is high. That’s another particular area of concern.”

The resident who raised this concern to WTOP said any covered vehicle in D.C. should immediately raise suspicion.

“The likelihood of someone covering a car just to protect it from hail and the outer elements in D.C. is low. The likelihood that they are covering it because they have excessive fines so they’re trying to evade them is significantly higher,” he said.

“That is just something that would be great to be addressed just for the greater safety of the city,” he added.

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