Rory Lancman Intros Bill to Undermine NYPD Crash Investigations

Rory Lancman introduced his bill to hinder NYPD crash investigations at a City Council meeting yesterday.

Lancman’s proposed amendment to the Right of Way Law, Intro 813, would require NYPD to consider “visibility, illumination, weather conditions, roadway conditions, roadway design, [and] faulty vehicular equipment or design” when determining whether to charge motorists who injure or kill people who are walking or biking with the right of way.

Lancman’s bill would also require police to take into account whether the victim was walking or biking in violation of the right of way — cases where the Right of Way Law wouldn’t apply in the first place.

Lancman says he wants to clarify the “failure to use due care” standard, but he’s proposing to solve a problem that does not exist. NYPD Chief of Transportation Thomas Chan has explained repeatedly that police file charges under the Right of Way Law only when probable cause can be determined based on evidence.

Lancman’s language doesn’t actually clarify anything — it’s a vaguely defined litany of circumstances that suggest it’s okay for motorists to hit people with the right of way sometimes. In effect, Lancman is looking to constrain NYPD crash investigators and create loopholes for motorists who hurt and kill people who are following traffic rules.

Motorists have injured or killed over 8,000 pedestrians and cyclists since the law took effect last August. As of April, NYPD had applied the law 22 times. It’s clear that, if anything, police aren’t using the law enough.

Council members Brad Lander and Margaret Chin and Public Advocate Letitia James took time to acknowledge family members of crash victims who attended Wednesday’s meeting. We have a message in with the office of council transportation chair Ydanis Rodriguez for his position on the proposed Right of Way Law amendment.

As for Lancman, he left the meeting before his bill was introduced, according to Familes for Safe Streets. The intro had no co-sponsors as of this morning.