WASHINGTON — D.C. drivers have the need for speed; more than 500,000 speeding tickets were issued by traffic cameras last year, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesman John Townsend II.

Those tickets, in addition to red light camera violations, add up to big bucks for the district. In 2010, they brought in more than $50 million.

Twenty-eight new speed cameras have been installed since September, leading to projections that this year’s automated ticket revenues will be closer to $60 million. Those numbers have experts asking if the cameras are there to promote safe driving or just to make money for hte city government.