‘Traffic roulette’: Gee backs random ticket selection as Tacoma cameras catch nearly 400K speeders in 1 month

Two new speed cameras in Northeast Tacoma caught so many speeders that the company running them couldn’t afford to process all the tickets.

On “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio, co-host Gee Scott supported the city’s fix: a random daily drawing of who gets fined.

“If you get chosen for the ticket, you deserve the ticket,” Gee said.

The speeding cameras at Norpoint Way and Marine View Drive captured almost 400,000 drivers going over the corridor’s 40 mph speed limit between Sept. 14 and Oct. 11, according to The Tacoma News Tribune. Roughly 77% of all drivers were speeding. On average, the cameras caught more than 14,000 speeders a day.

Citations started going out after a month-long warning period ended Oct. 14. The camera vendor can only process 100 randomly selected vehicle owners per camera to receive a ticket each day. The penalty is $145.

Random ticket selection follows overwhelming speeding numbers

Co-host Ursula Reutin called it “Tacoma Traffic Roulette” and pointed out how extreme some of the speeding had been. The data showed more than 180 drivers were clocked going at least 70 mph in the 40 mph zone. Before the cameras went in, Tacoma resident Amanda Nelson said that neighbors had been pleading for help on the corridor.

“Marine View Drive is a racetrack. I drive these roads daily, as does my son,” Nelson told The Tacoma News Tribune. “I feel like we’re just all just waiting for it to be our turn.”

More than 1,300 residents signed a petition asking city and state officials for traffic calming on the corridor.

Gee wants enforcement focused on the most dangerous drivers

Gee said he wants to see the most dangerous drivers punished. Rather than penalize someone who was less than 10 miles per hour over the limit, Gee wants the city to focus on drivers going 70 in a 40.

“You all know how I feel about cameras. Yes, please,” Gee said. “It is the only way to curtail people’s erratic speeding that, for some reason, after the pandemic, has gotten worse.”

He welcomed Tacoma’s plan to expand the program. The city plans to turn on six more speed cameras starting in January 2027, with two each on S Sprague Avenue, Pacific Avenue and Portland Avenue, according to KING 5. The move is part of a regional trend: Bellevue’s new speed cameras started issuing tickets last month.

Does Marine View Drive need a higher speed limit?

Gee also raised a point that complicated the picture. He said Marine View Drive is one of those roads where a 40 mph limit doesn’t feel right.

“It’s one of those roads where yes, people are speeding all the time, but it’s also one of those roads that when you get on it, it doesn’t feel like 40 should be the speed limit either,” Gee explained. “You’re like, ‘Hey, come on now, this shouldn’t be 40. This should at least be 50.'”

Ursula agreed the numbers raised questions.

“If you are ticketing 400,000 drivers in four weeks, either everyone has a lead foot, or there needs to be some more education on that particular stretch,” Ursula said.

Gee noted that even careful drivers could easily end up over the limit there.

“Even someone who does not usually speed, if you were to get on this road, it’s very easy for you to do 50 on this and not even blink,” he said.

Still, both Gee and Ursula do not feel sorry for anyone who paid the price for driving too fast.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio