Text Messages May Be Sent to DC Drivers Alerting Them of Their ‘Dangerous Driving’

• The District of Columbia (DC) has implemented a texting program to remind drivers to prioritize road safety.
• Drivers who have recently received citations or violations may receive text messages and mailers as part of this initiative, according to The Washington Post.
• The creators of the program believe it can effectively reduce crashes while being cost-efficient.

If you’ve ever ran a red light and breathed a sigh of relief, thinking you got away with it, think again. Your reckless driving might just catch up to you.

The residents of Washington, DC with previous traffic violations will soon receive targeted text messages and physical mailers reminding them to prioritize road safety, as reported by The Washington Post.

The DC Department of Transportation, in collaboration with The Lab @ DC, a local project dedicated to the district, aims to directly engage with DC drivers as part of their efforts to reduce crashes and traffic violations.

“Targeting messages to higher-risk drivers is an innovative approach to help us improve safety for all our roadway users, especially for our most vulnerable users — children and pedestrians,” stated DDOT Director Everett Lott in a release to The Post.

According to The Post, there are approximately 100,000 drivers in the DC area, including those registered in neighboring states, who have been identified as high risk due to at least two citations within the last 18 months.

“Someone in your household is displaying dangerous driving behavior,” states one of the mailers reported by The Post. “Your vehicle has a history of speeding and/or running red lights, placing the drivers and passengers at high risk of getting into a crash.”

While these messages themselves are not citations, they will include copies of previous citations to raise awareness. They will also provide guidance to drivers on obeying traffic signals and highlight the financial benefits of safe driving.

Compared to other road safety initiatives, the program’s cost is relatively low, as stated by Sam Quinney, the director at The Lab @ DC, in an interview with The Post.

“The goal is to create awareness, regardless of whether or not anybody has signed up for specific alerts,” Quinney expressed. “If these messages have an impact and result in reduced crashes, it becomes another valuable tool in our arsenal.”