Different Traffic Enforcement Allows Dangerous Drivers on City Streets, Report Says

Disparate enforcement of traffic laws allow drivers with multiple speeding and red-light violations to remain behind the wheel, posing a grave risk to pedestrians, according to a recently released analysis by New York City.

New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer released the report that looks into traffic violations issued by traffic cameras near schools and intersections, showing how unequal enforcement of traffic laws allow drivers with multiple speeding and red-light violations to remain behind the wheel.

The study revealed that tickets issued by cameras carry fewer penalties than the same tickets given out by the police, which creates an unsafe disparity in traffic enforcement. For instance, a summons for speeding in a school zone issued by an officer carries a fine between $180 and $600 as well as points on the driver’s license. However, the same incident if caught only on camera results in a $50 fine.

Stringer’s analysis, “A Tale of Two Tickets: How Disparate Standards of Traffic Enforcement Compromise Safety on City Streets”, show how a number of drivers have amassed camera-issued tickets for running red lights or speeding past schools without losing their licenses or facing any other significant consequences over the past 26 months.

According to the data, a vehicle with multiple violations goes through a red light or speeds through a school zone about 1,100 times a day in New York City. That amounts to 46 violations every hour.

More than 121,000 New York City cars received more than five tickets for speeding near schools and running red lights, with 24 having more than 50 infractions in the last 26 months alone, according to the report.

The analysis also revealed that 82,307 vehicles have earned five or more camera-issued tickets for speeding within school zones, which poses a risk to students. Of those vehicles, 8,297 amassed 11 to 25 infractions, 345 amassed between 26 and 50, while 17 vehicles chalked up more than 50 speeding violations near schools, with some accounting for as many as 74 tickets. In total, these repeat offenders are responsible for 589,528 school speeding violations — or 23 percent of all offenses.

In addition, 4,796 vehicles have been issued five or more camera-issued tickets for failing to stop at a red light, including 87 vehicles responsible for more than ten violations that continue to drive on New York City streets.

“As we’ve seen heartbreaking tragedy in our communities, let this report be a part of the wake-up call for safer streets. This analysis is shocking, outrageous, and almost unbelievable,” Stringer said in a statement, adding that even though drivers with dozens of violations should not be driving due to safety reasons “our government is letting it happen. There are gaps in our system that must be fixed, because lives are at stake.”

The report comes amid calls for greater city and state action to reduce pedestrian fatalities, following tragic incidents recently in Park Slope and Bed-Stuy in Brooklyn.

On March 5, two children were killed, while Broadway star Ruthie Ann Miles was injured when a driver, who claimed to have had a medical issue, gunned through a red light and plowed into the group in Park Slope.

At a press conference on March 15, Mayor Bill de Blasio, who is a resident of Park Slope, proposed stiffer laws on the heels of the deadly crash.

De Blasio has said the driver accused of running down the children and their mothers should have had her license taken away long ago since she racked up several driving violations over the last two years.

The study notes that there are a number of bills in consideration in the New York State legislature to change policy and enhance the safety of drivers and pedestrians.

The report makes recommendations to alleviate the problem, including: creating real consequences for drivers who were issued camera-based tickets by prohibiting cars that were issued the tickets from being on the road for a specific amount of time; increasing the number of red light cameras; and increasing the number of school-zone cameras and allowing them to issue violations for an extended period of time instead of the thirty minutes before and after scheduled student activities at schools.

The study also says that the city’s Department of Transportation should utilize the speed camera data more efficiently in order to target and make safety enhancements on New York City streets and around New York City schools.