Finally—the City’s Vision Zero has some teeth.
Mayor Bill de Blasio on Wednesday signed the Dangerous Vehicle Abatement bill into law. Introduced by City Councilman Brad Lander (D-Brooklyn), the measure passed the council with an overwhelming majority.
That’s because it contains common-sense protocols and punishments that actually fit the crimes.
The new law establishes a Dangerous Vehicle Abatement Program and targets the most reckless drivers by allowing the City to seize and impound vehicles with 15 or more school speed-camera violations or five or more red-light camera violations during a 12-month period unless the registered owner or operator completes a driver accountability course overseen by the City Department of Transportation. If an owner fails to complete the course, their vehicle may be seized and impounded by the City Sheriff.
Officials estimate that the new law will affect about 3,000 to 6,000 vehicles, or less than 1 percent of the nearly two million vehicles registered in the five boroughs. The law will take effect on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2021, and apply to red-light camera and school speed-camera violations incurred after Oct. 26, 2020. The program will run for three years, at which point the mayor and City Council will decide to renew or modify the effort.
“Today we are taking a big step forward to make our streets safer,” Lander said on Wednesday. “The Dangerous Vehicle Abatement Program will be the first in the country to hold owners of the most dangerous vehicles accountable for the impact on the safety of their neighbors.”
City school zone speed cameras issue violations to vehicles traveling more than 10 miles per hour over the posted speed limit. Both speeding and red-light violations carry a $50 fine. DOT currently operates more than 600 speed cameras in school zones around the five boroughs. By the end of 2021, the number of cameras across the city is expected to reach 2,000. The city also operates red-light cameras at 150 intersections.
DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg called the new law “landmark legislation,” and “a monumental step forward for Vision Zero.”
“We know that vehicles with the highest number of red-light and speed-camera violations are significantly more likely to be involved in serious crashes,” she added. “Through an unprecedented program of education and enforcement, including the possible loss of a vehicle, this new law will help us change driver behavior so we can keep driving down traffic deaths and serious injuries.”
Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez (D-Manhattan) praised the new law for ensuring “that only the safest drivers remain on the road,” and for creating “a deterrent for drivers who refuse to correct their actions.”
