Tuesday, July 1, 2014 – 08:30
Last week, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed new bills that will enhance safety efforts by the DOT, NYPD, and TLC and further administration’s goal of eliminating traffic fatalities.
The Mayor visited the site of a newly redesigned intersection in Queens to sign a package of vital legislation that will make streets safer across New York City. The Mayor signed 11 bills supporting the City’s Vision Zero initiative by enhancing traffic data collection and enforcement efforts, organizing safety engineering commitments, and updating the city’s legislative leaders in Albany for passing legislation that empowers the City to lower its default speed limit from 30 to 25 mph.
“We have promised the people of this city that we will use every tool we have to make streets safer. Today is another step on our path to fulfilling that promise, and sparing more families the pain of losing a son, a daughter, or a parent in a senseless tragedy. There is much more work ahead, both here in the five boroughs and up in Albany. But today, we thank the families, advocates, and City Council members who have taken up this cause and helped us better protect our fellow New Yorkers,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio.
The bills are expected to dramatically increase the safety of New Yorkers, although there is still more work to do be done.
The package of traffic safety bills signed by the Mayor is:
• Intro 43A: Requires DOT to study left turns and produce a report every five years
• Intro 46A: Requires DOT to respond to address major traffic signal issues within 24 hours
• Intro 80A: Requires DOT to produce a report on work zone safety guidelines on bridges
• Intro 140A: Requires DOT to install seven Neighborhood Slow Zones in 2014 and 2015 and lower speeds to 15-20 mph near 50 schools annually
• Intro 167A: Prohibits stunt behaviors on motorcycles
• Intro 168A: Requires DOT to study arterial roadways and produce a report every five years
• Intro 171A (“Cooper’s Law”): Requires TLC to suspend a driver involved in a crash in which a person is critically injured or dies, and where the driver receives a summons for any related traffic violation
• Intro 174A: Requires TLC to review crashes where critical injury or death resulted
• Intro 238A: Establishes penalties for vehicles that fail to yield to pedestrians and bicyclists
• Intro 272A: Amends the TLC Critical Driver and Persistent Violator programs to add points to TLC and DMV licenses
Intro 277A: Requires TLC to report quarterly crash data involving taxi and limousine commission licensed vehicles
