If you’re driving through New York City any time soon, there’s one thing you need to remember: Watch your speed.
If you don’t, you’re just about guaranteed to end up with a ticket — along with points on your driver’s license as well as a hefty fine.
Mayor de Blasio is pushing “Vision Zero”
The New York Police Department has been rather lax when it comes to issuing speeding tickets over the last year. Between June 2020 and July 2021, speeders were issued 27% fewer tickets than in years past.
It should be no surprise, then, that the city has seen a sharp uptick in fatal wrecks, including hit-and-runs. In the 12-month period mentioned above, an average of one pedestrian has been killed by speeding motorists every three days.
This flies in the face of Mayor de Blasio’s “Vision Zero” initiative, which seeks to end all major injuries and traffic fatalities by 2024. Therefore, the city is resuming its push for better, more active enforcement.
The use of red-light cameras is increasing
As part of the move to end speeding, the city is expanding its use of red-light cameras to catch speeders. Data indicates that drivers really do tend to be on their best behavior when they know cameras are around — so much so that the vast majority who get a red-light camera ticket for speeding never do so again.
It’s important to remember that police officers can make a mistake, and traffic cameras aren’t infallible. If you end up with a ticket for speeding in New York, find out more about your defense options.