Photo Courtesy of Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office
“Thanks to the tireless public servants at DOT and NYPD, our schools will be safer than ever this year,” Mayor de Blasio said.
By Forum Staff
The City Police Department will expand its traffic enforcement against reckless, aggressive and distracted driving, with a special focus on violations that endanger child pedestrians, including failure to yield in a crosswalk, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Friday.
A City Department of Transportation analysis released Thursday shows one-third of fatal crashes last year happened in school speed zones during overnight and weekend hours, when speed cameras are currently not allowed to operate. It found that 24/7 automated enforcement would increase the safety benefits the city is already seeing:
- As of December 2020, speeding at camera locations had dropped by an average of 72 percent.
- Speeding has declined 89 percent on the Grand Concourse in the Bronx and Union Turnpike in Queens, 88 percent on Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn, and over 80 percent on Rockaway Boulevard, Gun Hill Road, Coney Island Avenue, Eastern Parkway, Hylan Boulevard, and Northern Boulevard.
- Injuries have declined 14% on school speed zone corridors with cameras.
Back-to-School Awareness and Northern Boulevard Changes
Last week, NYPD and DOT street teams spread out across New York City to remind rush-hour drivers of students’ return to school Monday, part of a combined and coordinated school-based effort this fall from NYPD’s Community Affairs Bureau and DOT’s Education & Outreach Unit.
The event was held along Northern Boulevard near PS 152 in Woodside, the site of a fatal crash that killed 8-year-old Noshat Nahian as he walked to school in December 2013 – and helped inspire New York City’s adoption of Vision Zero. Major changes along Northern Boulevard in the last several years include new crosswalks, pedestrian refuge islands and head-starts, lower speed limits (from 30 MPH to 25 MPH) and newly installed speed cameras. The speed cameras along Northern Boulevard in Woodside have seen over 75 percent fewer speeding violations since these changes were made in July 2019.
NYPD Enforcement Plan
NYPD will increase vehicle safety enforcement all autumn, with a special focus on schools next week. The enforcement plan includes the following components:
- Officers on highways and local streets will have an increased focus on drivers who fail to yield to pedestrians and cyclists, speed with their vehicles, and drive recklessly in the vicinity of schools. Failure to yield at intersections has been a cause in over 60% of pedestrian fatalities in 2021.
- This multifaceted approach will also target drunk drivers. Motorists who drive while impaired will be arrested and their vehicles impounded.
- Additional officers will be dedicated to the enforcement of texting while driving and illegal cell phone use.
- Additional highway officers will enforce speed regulations.
- Motorcycle safety will be prioritized, not only by enforcement against reckless motorcyclists, but also against dangerous driving by other vehicles which cause risks to motorcycles.
“New York City schools have the most rigorous COVID-19 safety protocols in the country, but our mission isn’t complete until all facilities are safe from traffic violence, too,” de Blasio said. “Thanks to the tireless public servants at DOT and NYPD, our schools will be safer than ever this year. Now it’s time to take the next step: Albany must allow us to operate our speed cameras overnight and hold dangerous drivers accountable, no matter when they break the law.”
