Traffic Justice
Streetsblog Basics
If You Ever Want to Maim Someone With Your Car, Get a Job at Morgan Stanley
In most of the United States, the general rule about harming people with automobiles goes like this: Stay at the scene, and if you're sober, you probably won't be looking at anything more substantial than a moving violation. Recent laws passed in Oregon, New York, and Delaware promise to hold motorists to a higher standard of care (if law enforcement employs the new tools), but one part of the country seems to be taking a step backward when it comes to condoning reckless driving.
November 8, 2010
When Is NYC Law Enforcement Going to Use Hayley and Diego’s Law?
The driver who ran down 13-year-old Sarah Parris in front of Canarsie High School will apparently face no charges, despite indications in published reports that he disregarded a stop sign extended by a school bus driver.
November 4, 2010
Kavanagh and Squadron Usher Hayley and Diego’s Law Into Effect
"Careless driving is unacceptable." That's the message that State Senator Daniel Squadron and Assembly Member Brian Kavanagh delivered today as they announced that Hayley and Diego's Law, which they sponsored and ushered through the legislature, is now in effect.
October 14, 2010
District Attorneys Can Start Enforcing Hayley and Diego’s Law Today
Hayley and Diego's Law takes effect today, giving law enforcement a new tool to use against dangerous drivers. With this law, district attorneys throughout New York state can bring the charge of "careless driving" against motorists who irresponsibly injure pedestrians and cyclists.
October 14, 2010
Paterson Signs Two Traffic Justice Bills Into Law
On Friday evening, New York Governor David Paterson signed two bills intended to make streets safer by giving law enforcement greater leeway to bring charges against reckless drivers.
August 16, 2010
Hayley and Diego’s Law Might Be Enacted By Friday
The only thing that can prevent the adoption of New York state's first "vulnerable users law" is Governor Paterson's veto pen. Hayley and Diego's Law, named in memory of two pre-schoolers killed by a van left idling by a Chinatown sidewalk, would make it easier for law enforcement to file charges against motorists who injure or kill pedestrians and cyclists. It will go into effect in a matter of days as long as the governor doesn't explicitly reject it.
August 9, 2010
From the Outset, NYPD “Suspected No Criminality” in Death of Max Mendez
Three days after 6-year-old Max Mendez was killed by an MTA tow truck operator while walking with his mother to the Wagner Pool at 124th Street, the story that's emerging suggests that motorist negligence may have contributed to the deadly collision. The only constant among the press coverage, however, is that the police suspect "no criminality."
August 2, 2010
NYPD Let Witnesses Leave Scene of Fatal Fort Greene Crash
The NYPD failed to follow up with at least one key witness in its investigation of the crash that killed Aileen McKay-Dalton earlier this month, according to a woman who saw the collision and stayed at the scene.
July 21, 2010
Hundreds of Neighbors Press NYPD for Justice for Slain Mother of Three
The death of Aileen McKay-Dalton, a mother of three who was struck and killed by an SUV driver while riding her Vespa earlier this month, has galvanized friends, neighbors, and Fort Greene residents trying to make sense of their sudden loss and the anemic NYPD response that followed.
July 19, 2010
Victims’ Families and Electeds Urge Paterson to Sign Traffic Safety Law
With the stroke of a pen, Governor David Paterson could make New York's streets safer for walking and biking. Hayley and Diego's Law, which creates a new charge for law enforcement to bring against drivers who carelessly injure pedestrians and cyclists, needs only his signature to become law. At a rally at City Hall today, elected officials and Transportation Alternatives joined the families of children killed by reckless drivers to urge the governor to sign the legislation.
July 7, 2010