NEW YORK—The number of traffic deaths increased to 274 in 2012—speeding caused 81 of them.
The statistics are furthering a call from elected officials and transit advocates for speeding cameras, which could help cut the number of traffic deaths.
A bill to create a pilot speed camera program in New York City is currently before the state Assembly, sponsored by Assembly member Deborah Glick, and co-sponsored by 12 other New York City assembly members. There are already 150 red-light cameras around the city, which have helped improve safety, according to the city’s Department of Transportation
“In a densely populated city, speeding is dangerous for pedestrians and drivers alike,” said Glick. “I am hopeful that this legislation will change behavior and save lives.”
Paul Steely White, executive director of Transportation Alternatives, supports the call for speed cameras.
“The city has done exceptional work saving lives through smarter street designs, but New Yorkers need speed cameras to catch those who continue to drive at dangerous and illegal speeds,” Steely White said in a statement. “Speeding drivers are the number one cause of fatal crashes in New York City, killing more people than drunk drivers and distracted drivers combined.”
Speed cameras take pictures of vehicles going a certain amount over the speed limit (usually between 10 and 15 miles per hour over the limit) and send a fine to the vehicle owner’s address. Under the program, cameras would be rolled out at between 20 and 40 locations around the city, although cameras at only up to 20 of the locations could be activated at any one time.
Motorists would face the following fines under the program:
- $50 (10-30 miles per hour above the speed limit)
- $100 (above 30 miles per hour above the speed limit)
Of the 274 traffic deaths in 2012, there were: 148 pedestrians; 18 bicyclists; 25 motorcyclists; and 73 riding in a vehicle or driving one, according to statistics released by the city’s Department of Transportation.
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The injury count is much higher—in 2008 almost 3,800 people were injured in a speeding related crash, according to City Council statistics.
Speaker of the council Christine Quinn and other council members, including Transportation Committee Chair James Vacca, have voiced support of the speed camera pilot program.
“We have too many people in a rush to go nowhere and they must understand that the rules of the road apply to everyone,” said Vacca in a statement.
The Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, though, opposes the idea, asserting speed cameras can’t replace live policing.
“Many speeders are unlicensed, some are operating under the influence and sometimes they are fleeing crime scenes or carrying weapons—cameras let all those dangers slip by,” said Patrick Lynch, president of the association, in a statement. “Money spent on speed cameras would be far better used to improve public safety by hiring more fully trained police officers to interdict speeders.”
NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly supports the program.
“Just as red light cameras reduced infractions at intersections where they were installed, we anticipate that speed cameras will result in greater compliance with posted speed limits,” he said in a statement.
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Kelly said at a recent City Council hearing that the NYPD will expand the number of officers on its Accident Investigation Squad from 23 to 33. The squad investigates at the scene of accidents. He also said recently the squad will investigate crashes in which victims are not killed but seriously injured.
If the speed camera pilot program bill passes through the state legislature and is approved by the governor, who hasn’t voiced a position on it, New York City officials would submit a report on how the program works before April 1, 2016.
The city’s Department of Transportation, along with the statistics, released a map on Monday showing 100 locations where more than three-quarters of vehicles were documented speeding within a quarter-mile of New York City schools. One school, PS 187 in Washington Heights in Manhattan, had 97 percent of the drivers speeding near it. The speed limit in the city is 30 miles per hour unless otherwise posted; some residential areas have worked with the department to adopt speed limits of 20 miles per hour under the Slow Zone program.
