Photo Courtesy of Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office
“Traffic safety is public safety, and today marks the start of a new chapter for traffic safety in our city,” Mayor Adams said.
By Forum Staff
Mayor Eric Adams on Monday flipped a ceremonial switch to mark the expansion of the city’s speed camera program that will help keep New Yorkers safe around the clock. Beginning tonight, the city’s 2,000 speed cameras in 750 school zones citywide will operate 24/7 for the first time. Throughout July, the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT), the New York City Police Department (NYPD), the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC), the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS), and other agencies and offices in the city’s Vision Zero Task Force led a multimedia, multilingual public awareness campaign to inform drivers of the coming change and remind them to drive safely and responsibly. Speed cameras and automated traffic enforcement are proven tools that prevent dangerous behavior and crashes, reducing speeding by 72 percent on average.
Photo Courtesy of Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office
A State law supported by the Adams administration and signed in June by Gov. Kathy Hochul now allows the cameras to operate 24 hours per day, seven days per week.
The city’s 2,000 automated speed cameras were previously authorized by the state to operate only on weekdays, between 6:00 AM and 10:00 PM – missing the 59 percent of traffic fatalities that occurred when the cameras were previously required to be turned off. A state law supported by the Adams administration and signed in June by Gov. Kathy Hochul now allows the cameras to operate 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Nearly one-third of on-street traffic fatalities occur in camera zones at times when cameras were previously not permitted to operate.
“The NYPD is committed to driving down fatalities,” said NYPD Chief of Transportation Kim Royster. “Extending the hours of speed cameras in our communities is another layer of enforcement that will hold reckless drivers accountable and protect our most vulnerable road users. We support this technology and will work with our Vision Zero partners to educate the public. The message is clear: Slow down. Everyone should drive safely because traffic safety is public safety.”
