Category: New York

New York City’s New Speed Cameras Catch 1,000 Drivers in Two Weeks

New York Speeding Camera
A camera designed to catch speeding drivers. In New York similar cameras have caught over 1,000 drivers speeding in a 2-week span. (Photo Source: Wikipedia)

Part of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s “Vision Zero” traffic initiative to eradicate pedestrian fatalities in New York City, six speed cameras have been placed in intersections across the city. In the only two weeks since their installation, the cameras have caught nearly 1,000 motorists exceeding the speed limit. The success of the speed camera program thus far has caused Albany to approve the installation of 20 more speed cameras. However, Mayor de Blasio has urged that even more cameras be installed at intersections throughout the city in the future, in an effort to more strictly enforce posted speed limits in New York City.

Though the speed cameras are certainly effective at clocking speeding drivers and provide an additional source of revenue for the city, the new traffic camera program has nevertheless faced criticism by law enforcement. Police unions contend that cameras will never be able to replace the professional training and judgment of police officers who can recognize other, and often more serious, offenses being committed by drivers caught speeding, such as driving under the influence, driving without a license or insurance, or even carrying an illegal weapon. To police, the cameras actually prevent opportunities to make the roads safer by charging especially dangerous drivers and criminals with lesser speeding offenses. However, in light of lax past ticketing practices by police in the city, the cameras are, for now, being viewed as a much-needed deterrent to fatality-causing speeding on New York City streets.

 

(Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/1-000-motorists-caught-speeding-week-period-article-1.1598760)

New York’s New Anti-Speeding Campaign

Recently, New York’s Department of Transportation has created a series of advertisements intended to cause drivers to think twice before speeding. The ads, which consist of images of New Yorkers holding up pictures of loved ones lost to speeding collisions, underlined with captions about who the individual was and what milestone they would be celebrating now if they were still alive, are meant to make drivers consider how one brief moment of reckless driving can have very permanent consequences.

New York Anti-Speeding Advertisement
New York’s new anti-speeding campaign. (Source: NYDOT)

The District of Columbia has similarly begun an advertising campaign against the dangers of speeding; instead of still photographs, the District of Columbia Department of Transportation and the Metropolitan Police Department have compiled a three minute video about the dangers of speeding, featuring police officers, surgeons, and others who deal with the aftermath of speeding accidents. The video emphasizes how serious the injuries caused by speeding are, with brain injury being one of the more common injuries of a speeding crash, and explains that accidents due to speeding are usually entirely avoidable.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, speeding is one of the most dangerous activities drivers can engage in on the road, causing nearly a third of all traffic fatalities, or killing approximately 10,000 people, each year. The hope is that advertising campaigns such as D.C.’s “Toward Zero Deaths” and New York’s photographs highlighting the tragedies that speeding causes will, in addition to stricter enforcement and increased ticketing for speeding, remind drivers to drive the speed limit and avoid the unnecessary risks that rushing to a destination can cause.

 

(Source: http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/21217/who-has-the-best-anti-speeding-ads-new-york-or-dc/)

Speeding Ticket Money-Maker: Route 219 Speed Trap in Limestone

Drivers passing through the hamlet of Limestone in the town of Carrollton along U.S. Route 219 should be wary of the road’s sudden drop from 55 to 40 miles per hour. Though this 15 mile decrease in speed for such a short distance may not raise eyebrows, the area is a favorite spot of New York State Police, the Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Department, and Allegany State Park Police officers patrolling for speeding drivers. In fact, the mile-long stretch of road and surrounding community earned $301,000 in speeding tickets last year, more than any other community in Cattaraugus and Allegany counties.

Limestone, NY
The hamlet of Limestone, New York, where a speed trap on Route 219 has lead to an abundance of speeding tickets.

Police ascribe the copious speeding tickets handed out in the area to Limestone’s at-grade intersection with the four-lane highway, which, as the site of numerous serious accidents, caused residents to petition the state to lower the speed limit to its current status. Today, police justify their ticketing practices by the fact that many drivers found speeding in the area are still caught at dangerous speeds of 20 miles or more over the limit, despite a caution light in place.

However, some contend that making money, rather than ensuring safety, is law enforcement’s main concern, a position bolstered by the fact that many of the drivers fined in the area are from out of town, out of state, or Canada and tend not to contest their tickets. The area’s heavy patrol has undeniably proven lucrative, with the state enjoying $220,015, the municipality $75,735, and the county $5,300 from fines issued last year in Carrollton.

Many urge that the stretch of roadway should not be a revenue-raising speed trap; instead, emphasis should be on preventing speeding, rather than simply catching wrong-doers. To that effect, some residents are now petitioning for the installation of larger bright-yellow signs along the mile-stretch of highway, to replace the small white and black signs currently in place, to more effectively warn drivers of the need to slow down when passing through the hamlet.

When hiring an attorney to represent you in traffic court, it is important to look for one with the right experience. The lawyers at the Rosenblum Law Firm have represented clients at the Carrollton Town Court, Ashford Town Court, Randolph Town Court, Friendship Town Court, and Angelica Town Court, and have the expertise to skillfully guide you through the process, saving you time, money, and hassle. Call us for a free consultation at 888-434-0406.

(Source: http://www.oleantimesherald.com/news/article_14beb8d0-6545-11e3-ad17-0019bb2963f4.html)

NY to Use New Technology to Prevent Wrong-Way Accidents

Soon, New York will be the first state in the nation to utilize innovative technology to alert drivers about to drive the wrong way onto the highway to turn around and to warn other drivers and police nearby of the impending danger of a wrong-way driver.

To achieve this feat, New York will place Doppler radar-assisted LED signs at sites where serious wrong-way crashes have occurred. Upon radar detecting a vehicle about to head the wrong direction onto the thruway, the signs will be triggered to flash bright warnings that will alert the driver and tell them to pull over and safely turn around. Yet to be installed, a fiber optics system will also send messages to other drivers in the area to be aware of the risk of collision with a wrong-way driver. In addition, the system will send an alert to the Thruway’s Statewide Operations Center that can be shared with local police.

So far, the Niagara Expressway (I-190) at the southbound exit 9 off-ramp in Buffalo and exit 10 on I-87/I-287 in Nyack, Rockland County have been designated as sites for the placement of the LED signs, with other exits along the thruway system in New York to be similarly identified for LED sign postings in the future.

Last year was the safest year in the 59-year history of the New York Thruway Authority, with an accident rate in New York that amounted to 20% below the national average. New York State’s greater use of technology, such as LED signs and fiber optics in place of ordinary “Wrong Way” metal signs, demonstrates the state’s strong commitment to make New York highways even safer.

(Sources: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Wrong-Way-Crash-New-York-Thruway-Death-Fatal-Radar-Text-Alert-234407621.html)

Governor Cuomo: More Than 91% of New York Drivers Now Utilize Seat Belts

In a press release put out this week by the New York Governor’s Office, Governor Cuomo announced that New York’s seat belt usage rate has reached an all-time high of 91.09%.

Seatbelt
(Source: Wikipedia)

The announcement comes on the heels of a new survey, the New York State Seat Belt Observation Survey, conducted by the University at Albany’s Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research (ITSMR). Funded by the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee (GTSC), the survey monitored drivers and front-seat passengers for seat belt usage at 120 locations in 12 New York counties.

The survey concluded that this year’s seat belt compliance rate was up to 91.09%, up from 90.43% in 2012 and 90.54% in 2011.

Governor Cuomo was pleased at the progress, noting New York’s position at the forefront of driver safety efforts:

Nearly 30 years ago, New York led the nation by passing the first seat belt law, and today the vast majority of New York’s drivers and passengers are now taking this simple step of buckling up to protect themselves on the road. It is clear that efforts by the State to promote driver safety can instill good driving habits and ultimately save lives. Just like the seat belt law, our unprecedented crackdown on distracted driving and tough new penalties for drivers who text behind the wheel can change a dangerous driving habit, so that we continue to make New York’s roads the safest in the country. Our record-high seat belt usage rate is a testimony to this fact, and we will further this progress through every means available.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration confirms the importance of wearing a seatbelt. According to their statistics, seat belts saved an estimated 11,949 lives nationwide in 2011 (the last year for which nationwide statistics are available). Also in 2011, the national seatbelt usage rate was 84%–with New York being only one of seventeen states to achieve a usage rate over 90 percent.

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Two Major Ticket Blitzes in August 2013; Speed Cameras Come to New York

August has officially come to an end, but not without some extra traffic enforcement by the New York State Police. This year, the NYSP held two traffic ticket blitzes—“Speed Week” which ran from August 11 to August 17 and “Operation Summer Brake” which ran from August 26 through Labor Day, September 2.

NY State Police Badge
New York State Police Badge

Speed week has become an annual tradition set to coincide with the Nationwide Series at the Glen and focusing on speeding and other traffic citations. During Speed Week 2012, the New York State Police issued over 1,200 speeding tickets and over 1,300 other citations including DWI, cell phone use, driving without a seatbelt, and more.

As Governor Cuomo notes, “Speeding is the number one cause of deaths on our roads each year and it is a dangerous activity that puts everyone at risk.”

Operation Summer Brake had similar objectives. New York State Thruway Authority Executive Director Thomas J. Madison stated, “As part of ‘Operation Summer Brake,’ the Thruway Authority encourages motorists to be alert on the road, drive responsibly, obey posted speed limits, and avoid all distractions to ensure a safe trip to their destination.  We are committed to working with New Yorkers and the State Police to maintain the Thruway’s outstanding safety record.”

The number of speeding and other citations issued during this year’s ticket blitzes are not yet available, but we encourage everyone to drive safely all year long to avoid traffic tickets or worse. “It is clear that the New York State Police are stepping up their game,” says noted traffic ticket attorney Adam H. Rosenblum, “each summer the number of ticket blitzes and the number of traffic tickets issued increases significantly.”

In addition, August 2013 saw the introduction of speed cameras (in select school zones).  While other states such as Maryland have had speed cameras for years, this was a first for New York State and the move was applauded by government officials statewide.

However, the addition of speed cameras is not without controversy.  In fact, a report by The Baltimore Sun cast serious doubt on whether their speed camera program led to greater public safety or just a lucrative new revenue stream for the cash-strapped city. Thousands of tickets have been thrown due to faulty cameras and Baltimore City judges often dismiss tickets for deficiencies.  These findings ultimately led to a suspension of the speed camera program.

Notably, one of the report’s findings was that the City of Baltimore stretched the definition of a “school zone” far beyond the definition in state guidelines which might spell trouble if New York State follows suit.

Whether the goal is public safety, to raise much-needed revenue, or both, increased traffic violations enforcement is a reality all drivers are going to have to learn to live with.

If you received a ticket, contact the Rosenblum Law Firm at 888-434-0406 for a free consultation. We will help explain your ticket, its penalties, and your legal options.

Can Drones Bust You For Speeding?

Speeding Ticket Drones
Are Speeding Ticket Drones Coming to New York?

Last year, President Obama signed legislation requiring the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to create regulations for the licensing and testing of commercial drones by 2015.

As of October, the FAA had received more than 80 applications from entities seeking to use drones, including law enforcement agencies.

We know what you are thinking, and do not worry. These “drones” are not the aircrafts the military has been using in Afghanistan for hours on end. These drones are more like toy planes with cameras mounted on them. Not only that, but they can only fly in the air for about an hour at a time.

These unmanned aerial vehicles are already beginning to help officers investigate crime scenes by taking aerial photos of major auto accidents.

For instance, in Colorado, the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office has been using drones for about four years now. One is a small helicopter, which can stay airborne for nearly 15 minutes while the other is a fixed-wing aircraft that can stay in the air for about an hour.

They usually are only deployed twice a month and used for search-and-rescue missions or to take aerial photos at crime and accident scenes to help officers get a birds-eye view of what happened. “Otherwise they live in a box in the back of a van,” says Ben Miller, the drone program director.

Additionally, the University of North Dakota and the Grand Forks Sheriff’s Department started a research initiative on drone usage back in 2010. In its test phase, the drones were used to look for a drowning victim washed away in floodwaters and to take fatal traffic accident photos.

Although the aircrafts are used to help investigate major accidents, they are not deployed for every fender bender. Alan Frazier, an assistant professor with the university and part-time sheriff’s deputy, explained, “It wouldn’t be a fiscally responsible way of using this resource.” After all, drones like these can cost $25,000-$175,000 while a police helicopter costs $1.8 million to $2 million.

A research poll taken last year by Monmouth University in New Jersey discovered that of the more than 1,700 Americans surveyed, 80 percent support drones being used for search-and-rescue missions. Likewise, two-thirds are in favor of their usage to track escaped criminals and patrol United States borders for illegal immigrants.

However, less than one-quarter thought that drones should be used for issuing speeding tickets.

Nonetheless, most New York drivers will not have to worry about drones being used to issue them NY speeding tickets anytime soon.

Police say they are simply too costly for them to use regularly and are too bulky. After all, they cannot really be used to patrol for any long-term period of time and they present constitutional challenges when it comes to the Confrontation Clause. Can your NY traffic ticket attorney really cross-examine a drone?

Ultimately, even if the State of New York wanted to start using drones to bust you for speeding, they would have a hard time getting the program off the ground.

(Source: http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2013/07/31/can-drone-bust-for-speeding)

What They Won’t Tell You About Holiday Traffic Ticketing

It is that time of year again! When summer begins, so do family vacations. Families pack up their cars and suitcases, make sure to have the right clothes, fill up with plenty of gas, and have the GPS handy.

However, what police do not want you to know is that they are targeting you. Whether you know it or

not, the second you take your family car out onto the highway, the police are looking to issue traffic tickets to drivers just like you.

Holiday Traffic Tickets
Police Target Vacation-Goers and Issue Them Holiday Traffic Tickets

What you as a vacation-goer need to know is that traffic-enforcement campaigns are held routinely across the entire country. They are designed to catch you and generate tons of cash for their respective town and state.

Although police officers will rarely (if ever) admit it, catching drivers for speeding and other traffic infractions is a big business. On average, traffic ticket campaigns have raked in approximately $5 billion per year in the United States.

At a time when state and local governments are looking to fill budget gaps without raising taxes, traffic ticket revenue is highly relied upon.

Why is handing out tickets such a lucrative business in a slumping economy? Truthfully—and unfortunately—most drivers do not fight their tickets. They give up, think that fighting is not worth it, and simply justify paying their tickets. Similarly, many ticket blitzes are held on interstate roads, and the likelihood of an out-of-state driver returning to fight a citation is quite slim unless they are smart enough to hire an attorney to fight on their behalf.

Likewise, researchers with the Transportation Research Board reported that several speed limits around the country were posted 5 to 10 mph below that of free-flowing traffic in those areas.

According to David Solomon, a researcher with the U.S. Department of Commerce, the majority of the tens of thousands of citations handed out annually during federally funded ticket blitzes are given to drivers who were actually safely navigating with the flow of traffic, but the posted speed limits were purposefully low.

Remember, the next time you hit the open road for that summer vacation, that Fourth of July BBQ at your cousins, or trip to the water park, the police are actively looking to catch you speeding and violating the rules of the road. Be careful, drive safely, and fight your traffic tickets!

(Source: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jul/3/the-dirty-little-secret-about-holiday-traffic-tick)

Rude Speeding Ticket Response Gets Driver in Big Trouble

A 22 year-old from Connecticut wrote an extremely rude message filled with profanity on a NY speeding ticket that he was issued in the Catskills. Aside from insulting the town that issued the ticket and cursing, he crossed out the name of the town, Liberty, and wrote “Tyranny” on the ticket. He pled guilty and submitted his ticket (profanity-laced and all) along with his payment.Rude Speeder Gets in Big Trouble

His payment was rejected by the court and, instead, he was order

English: Parking ticket on the window of a com...

ed to make the 2 hour trek and appear in person for his court date.

At the hearing, the judge chastised the driver for his foul language and overt rudeness. The driver was charged with violating New York’s aggravated harassment law, handcuffed, and arrested. Afterward, the driver was booked, fingerprinted, handcuffed to a bench and forced to pay $200 bail.

Currently, the driver has filed a suit in federal court seeking a clear determination that New York’s aggravated harassment statute is unconstitutional and that his First Amendment right to free expression was violated.

The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) is representing the driver and suing for damages due to pain, suffering, and humiliation.

According to the driver, “No one should get arrested for speech … All I did was express my frustration with a ticket and I almost ended up in jail. I want to make sure nobody else ends up in a similar situation because of this law.”

According to the statute he was charged under:

“A person is guilty of aggravated harassment in the second degree when, with intent to harass, annoy, threaten or alarm another person, he or she: … communicates with a person, anonymously or otherwise, by telephone, by telegraph, or by mail, or by transmitting or delivering any other form of written communication, in a manner likely to cause annoyance or alarm.”

Although police continue to enforce the statute, several court rulings have cast tremendous doubt on its constitutionality.

In 2003, the NYCLU won a federal court case that declared the statute unconstitutional as applied to speech that was merely annoying or alarming. The opinion of the court warned that “state and local police officers and prosecutors would be well-advised … to cease arrests and prosecutions under this section.”

Additionally, the New York Court of Appeals—the state’s highest court—ruled in 2003 that the statute cannot be applied to speech just because it is “crude and offensive.” In 1997, a federal court judge found the law to be “utterly repugnant to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and also unconstitutional for vagueness.”

In March 22, 2013, the aggravated harassment charge against the driver was dismissed. The municipal judge presiding over the case noted that even though his words were “crude, vulgar, inappropriate and clearly intended to annoy,” the First Amendment protected his speech.

(Source http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/189025/nyclu-sues-after-creative-speeding-ticket-response-results-in-arrest)

Police Use of Pacing to Convict for Speeding in NY

Speeding tickets are far and away the most issued traffic ticket by police officers.  Speeding tickets have been given out for decades and people driving in NY are still caught speeding by the dozens each day.  Police officers can use a variety of methods to detect how fast you are going including pacing, aircraft, radar and laser. 

Police officers are trained to use various types of equipment, their observation and other techniques such as pacing to detect how fast a driver is going.  Police officers use pacing quite often when they are not in a proper position to use a radar and can visually see that a driver is breaking the law.  Pacing is when a patrol vehicle is following your car at the same rate of speed and the officer checks their speedometer to see how fast you were going.  A police officer can use the pacing method to charge you with a speeding ticket in NY and you can be found guilty of the charges in court.

Usually the officer first will observe the vehicles on the road and if he/she suspects that you were speeding then the officer will pull out from his parked position and begin to speed up to catch your car.  The police officer is required to maintain a constant speed between the police vehicle and your vehicle long enough so that a reasonably accurate estimate of the speed can be made.

How Can I Fight My Speeding Ticket Where The Officer Paced My Car?

It’s quite technical and involves the ability to effectively communicate your findings in court but pacing tickets can be fought and won in court.  This means that hiring an experienced traffic defense attorney to argue your case in court will prove worthwhile.

First when an officer paces your car there are many different variables that need to be accounted for to accurately determine a speed.   The road that you are driving on can have traffic lights, curves and other obstacles that make it difficult for a police officer to pace your car.  Generally a straight road with no curves, hills or dips yields the best results for officers when pacing your car.

Also, officers are required to keep a constant distance between cars to get an accurate pace.    This means that officer must maintain an equal distance between vehicles and be as close as possible.  If you observe that the officer was farther away when beginning to pace you then it will be easier to fight your ticket and get the case dismissed.

Is Fighting a Speeding Ticket Based on Pacing a Good Idea?

Even the best prepared defense can fail. Judges usually side with the officer so if an attorney can negotiate a reduction of your speeding ticket, that might be the best option instead of rolling the dice at trial which could lead to a conviction.

Should I Consult With A Traffic Defense Attorney?

An experienced licensed attorney can help analyze the facts of your speeding ticket case and see whether conditions existed in which the officer did not use the appropriate steps to clock your speed.  An attorney can also help argue your case in front of the judge and help you prove your case.  Contact the attorneys at Rosenblum Law today for a free consultation.