Traffic Enforcement
Streetsblog Basics
De Blasio Signs Transit Benefit Bill, Says 25 MPH Limit Will Save Lives
This afternoon, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed legislation requiring companies with 20 or more full-time employees in New York City to offer the federal transit tax benefit to their workers. The measure, which takes effect in 2016, is expected to save employers and workers millions of dollars each year. He also held a hearing on New York City’s new default speed limit of 25 mph, which goes into effect November 7. The mayor will hold a formal bill signing before that date.
October 20, 2014
In a First, NYPD Precinct Officer Charges Driver Under New Right-of-Way Law
The Law Office of Vaccaro & White is representing the victim in what may be the first case of a precinct-level charge for violating NYC Administrative Code Section 19-190, also known as the Right-of-Way Law.
October 14, 2014
Council Members Press NYPD to Enforce the Law in Death of Sui Leung
Under a new Vision Zero law, a driver who critically injures or kills a pedestrian or cyclist who has the right of way is guilty of a misdemeanor. But nearly two months after it took effect, there is no evidence NYPD is applying the law, known as Section 19-190, as Mayor de Blasio and the City Council intended. This week, three council members expressly asked NYPD to charge a motorist who killed a senior in Manhattan, and the response from NYPD Chief of Transportation Thomas Chan has troubling implications about how police are enforcing the new law.
October 10, 2014
City Council Overwhelmingly Passes Bill to Lower Default Speed Limit to 25
The City Council passed legislation today to lower the citywide default speed limit to 25 miles per hour.
October 7, 2014
The Case for Driving as Fast as You Want in a School Zone
If you're wondering who complains about a wrist-tap fine for speeding through a school zone during school hours -- the type of person who has Council Member Mark Weprin sweating bullets over the city's new 25 mph speed limit -- check out this Times Ledger op-ed from one Bob Friedrich, an Eastern Queens eminence who believes NYC's small and constrained speed camera program is a government conspiracy to balance the city budget on the backs of working stiffs who just want to ignore traffic laws without interference.
October 7, 2014
NYPD Data Show Cracking Down on Cyclists Isn’t Preventing Cyclist Deaths
Eight months into Vision Zero, and after weeks of targeted enforcement during "Operation Safe Cycle," department data show NYPD isn't moving the needle much on cyclist injuries and deaths.
October 2, 2014
TLC Commish: It’s Up to NYPD to Get Reckless Cab Drivers Off the Streets
The success or failure of a Vision Zero law intended to get reckless cab drivers off the road will depend on how often NYPD issues summonses and charges after serious crashes, the Taxi and Limousine Commission confirmed today.
September 18, 2014
Eyes on the Street: Time for Automated Turn Ban Enforcement in Inwood?
Motorists are ignoring new turn restrictions intended to keep pedestrians safe at a revamped Broadway intersection in Inwood.
September 3, 2014
De Blasio and DOT Ring In the New School Year With More Speed Cameras
Mayor de Blasio and Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg today officially announced the expansion of the city's speed camera program, which will eventually bring automated enforcement to 140 school zones across the boroughs. Today's event also underscored the fact that streets around schools won't be as safe as they could be, thanks to restrictions imposed by Albany.
September 2, 2014
“Saner Rules” for Bicyclists Won’t Make NYC Streets Safe
“I argue for saner rules for bikes,” tweeted traffic guru “Gridlock” Sam Schwartz yesterday, referring to a post that he and fellow former NYC DOT engineer Gerard Soffian put up on CityLand. “[F]or their own safety and for the safety of others,” bicyclists should comply with traffic laws, they wrote. In keeping with Sam’s trademark common sense and fair play, the two also said that fines for cycling through red lights and other violations should be lowered, and traffic laws changed to “permit bicyclists to make turns and other movements prohibited for motorists.”
August 21, 2014