(NYC DOT Vision Zero)
Dec. 22, 2020 By Allie Griffin
Mayor Bill de Blasio wants the nearly 1,000 speed cameras placed throughout the city to be able to ticket drivers going over the limit 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
De Blasio called on state lawmakers to allow New York City to run speed cameras around the clock during a Tuesday morning press briefing.
Currently, all 950 speed cameras spread across the city are turned on from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays — as permitted by state law. The cameras are located in all 750 school zones throughout the five boroughs.
The cameras capture photos of drivers going more than 10 miles per hour above the speed limit. The city then mails $50 tickets to the registered owner of the car caught speeding.
The state law only allows cameras to operate at their current times. The city needs state legislators to expand the law to allow the increased hours of operation.
De Blasio, citing an increase in traffic collisions this year, wants the cameras to be able to ticket drivers at any time of day or night.
“There have been too many crashes — in fact we’ve seen that rate go up in an alarming fashion,” de Blasio said.
He said more drivers have been speeding on the emptier streets during the pandemic which has caused an uptick in collisions.
“We have to do some different things right away to address this situation,” de Blasio said. “We’re appealing today to New York State, to the legislature, to help us do more to save lives.”
De Blasio said speed cameras will help save lives as a large number of crashes this year were the result of speeding on weekends and during overnight hours — when speed cameras are shut off.
Roughly 36 percent of non-highway fatalities occurred in school-camera zones during hours when the cameras were inoperable, according to City Hall numbers.
At locations where speed cameras have been installed, speeding has reduced by more than 70 percent on average, the latest data from the Department of Transportation (DOT) shows.
De Blasio said the cameras being turned on at all times would help prevent future crashes.
The de Blasio administration has greatly ramped up the use of speed cameras over the past few years as part of its Vision Zero initiative for safer streets.
During 2020, the administration installed 720 new speed cameras — more than had been installed in the previous six years combined.
The DOT will continue to install about 60 cameras per month next year to reach its goal of 2,000 cameras by the end of 2021. If reached, New York City would have the largest speed camera program in the country.
De Blasio said the NYPD will also be out in full force to ticket speeding drivers. Officers will also be out during the holidays to crack down on drunk driving.
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24 Comments
We have a street nicknamed “The Boulevard of Death” and y’all don’t want speed cameras? How important is it to drive fast?
Seems like there’s a lot more aggressive driving on the road since Covid began. Not just in NYC either.
People trying to get to places before sundown to try to keep warm for outside dining.
The only reason for a politician to be against late night speed cams is pressure from private garbage pick up companies. Their trucks speed like lunatics at night, running red lights etc.
Why not have a referendum of all drivers on whether they want speed cameras? And if more than 50% do, then have ranked choice voting on the speed limit? I/WE at Queens Streets for LOL are hilariously in favor of speed cameras, BUT at a speed limit of 65mph. LOL
Most of us can not afford cars or many of those that can follow speed laws. Those that break the speed limit need to be fined. There are so many people working from home or unemployed and children doing remote learning. We are all trying to run errands throughout and the outside dining is causing traffic nightmares and fighting over parking spaces. Use public transportation or walk!
I hope this will also deter crime.
How, pray tell, will this deter crime? Cameras pointed at license plates on Queens Blvd, programed to snitch on license plates and drivers’ faces? This will not deter crime a single bit unless somebody decides to unload in the middle of a traffic lane between on-coming cars.
So, Using that logic, this would increase crime. Cars would slow down, increasing the amount of time that criminals have in traffic lanes to commit crimes, allowing for crime to occur. Otherwise, speeding cars would allow for less time for crime to occur, and/or allow for those criminals committing crimes in front of traffic cameras to have a higher chance of getting hit by a car.
Will they work against the speeding bikes coming down Skillman? or is this another one of deblasios schemes- 800 million dollars still missing!!
Neil – I though you said there were no bikes on Skillman so they should eliminate the bike lane? How come Trumps FBI or DOJ hasn’t gone after the misusing $800MM? Sounds like a conspiracy theory to me…Then again that has never stopped the Trump administration before.
Why are you putting down DiBlasio while upholding his idea???? Confusing. You do realize that this is his idea, right?
I almost feel like this an an attempt at an excuse to defund the police more. Replace police jobs with cameras, replacing the city revenue that would otherwise be lost by police presence and the their ticketing practices.
So, decreased police presence during the night hours when crime usually happens? Try stopping theft, vandalism, burglary, rape, or murder with a traffic cam. Really smart move, mayor.
Yet another case of the government creating more of a problem than they should have, and then swooping in with more laws and regulations that are implemented under the guise of ‘helping us’.
Way to support a draconian communistic surveillance state, everybody. Eliminate freedom, and everybody will be happy!
We might as well just be released into a dark tunnel at birth and complete meaningless tasks along the one-way path. A mucus-tasting meal will be provided at certain intervals as a reward for following a strict set of rules. Violations result in punishment that make the tunnel ever more uncomfortable for every aspect of consciousness. Welcome to life in the 21st century, as dreamed by and supported by the mindless among us who support these types of things. But at least you wont offend anybody, catch covid, or break a rule.
Why is it that people dont want to allow others to have free will? Why are we giving free will away to the police state? Ironic since these are the very people who want to get rid of police and end fascism. How contradictory is that? What kind of an existence is that?
Driving 36 mph in the inner lanes of Queens Blvd is not reckless driving at any time of day. No driver should be penalized for that. This is simply government over-reach and it’s all about money.
Unless you meant *26mph!
36is 6 above the speed limit /before/ vision zero! Even that was too much.
Speed cameras are great—they’re like a tax that only jerks have to pay.
I really wish that they would sync the lights better on QB.
It doesn’t matter how fast or slow you drive down QB, you lose on the lights. Betcha that’s planned so that people try to speed through a light that was programmed to change to red to encourage speeding to get revenue through nefarious means.
Tax the rich, tax the poor. Till there are no….uhhh….none no more.
Just do it! Why are you giving people a heads up on this??? The less people know the more people caught being naughty!
So that people don’t speed. That’s how speed cameras work. You can scroll up to learn more.
agreed. these need to be on every single block!
?
yea, I want to be monitored every second if the time that I step foot outside so that every place is a safe place!
You have nothing to fear.
The polls are in.
Sunnyside is now the police traffic camera capitol of North America/United States/NYC. People are thrilled about having a police state here, despite summer protests against having a police presence. The police are afraid, yet emboldened by their newly found computing power.
Nothing is to fear, everything is OK.