NYC Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) Commissioner Rodriguez joined elected officials and traffic-safety advocates on Monday to call for the renewal of the city’s speed camera program and the passage of the Stop Super Speeders legislation to install speed limiters in the vehicles of repeat traffic law offenders.
During a press conference at an intersection on the Upper West Side, Rodriguez, elected officials and advocates urged Albany lawmakers to reauthorize the speed-camera program and pass the speed-limiting bill.
“In a collision, the speed of your vehicle often can be the deciding factor between life and death,” Rodriguez said. “If you hit someone at 30 miles per hour, you are twice as likely to kill a pedestrian than if you hit them at 25 miles per hour.”
The commissioner said the speed-camera program is “one of the best tools” against this fatal scenario. He said severe injuries in collisions dropped 30% in NYC locations where cameras were installed in 2023.
“It’s a good number, but we want to eradicate it completely,” he said.
If state legislators do not reauthorize the program this month, the DOT would have to turn off the cameras in the city by July 1.
Speed limiters in cars
Meanwhile, the Stop Super Speeders bill would further crack down on reckless drivers by requiring the installation of technology on their vehicles to prevent them from breaking the speed limit.
In NYC, the speed limit is 25 miles an hour unless otherwise posted.
The speed-limiting devices would be used for speeding and other traffic violations. The bill would require the installation of “intelligent speed assistance devices” if a driver gets 11 or more points on their driving record during a 24-month period.
Points can be given for texting while driving, failing to stop for a school bus, running red lights and other illegal actions.
Drivers would also qualify for the device if they receive six speed-camera or red-light tickets during a 12-month period.
The city is currently piloting the speed-limiting technology in its municipal fleet. It is not clear which city vehicles have the limiters.
Brooklyn Assembly Member Emily Gallagher is the sponsor of the bill in the assembly.
“I sponsor the speed limiter bill in the Assembly because we know that 20% of all fatalities from vehicle crashes are caused by just 1.5% of drivers,” she said.
Brooklyn State Senator Andrew Gounardes is a co-sponsor of the bill, and like Gallagher, supports the speed-camera program.
“No New Yorker should fear for their life while traveling on our streets,” he said. “The speed camera program works. Where there are cameras, drivers slow down and speeding plummets. And for the remaining few who refuse to drive safely no matter how many tickets they receive, my Stop Super Speeders Act ensures accountability.”
The DOT hopes to renew the speed-camera program for the next five years. The Stop Super Speeders bill still needs to pass through the state legislature’s Assembly and Senate committees.
Victims’ families and safety advocates speak out
Joe, a member of Families for Safe Streets, lost a loved one six months ago in a crash involving a driver who had 46 speed violations in a year.
“Driving in NYS is a privilege,” he said. “Those who repeatedly violate our driving laws should lose or have those privileges limited in ways that make our streets safer.”
Ben Furnas, executive director of Transportation Alternatives, is another transit advocate backing both the speed-camera program and speed-limiting installers.
“To keep New Yorkers safe, Albany needs to renew this essential program, and to pass the Stop Super Speeders bill. For the vast majority of speeders, tickets work to deter them, making our neighborhoods safer,” he said.“But for the small number of repeat offenders that aren’t deterred, this bill is needed. Speed limiter technology installed in their cars will physically slow their vehicles down to the speed limit, so they can’t continue to terrorize our neighborhoods.”
