Category: TVB

“Speed Week” Turns into “Speed Month” in NYC

Did you happen to receive a speeding ticket in New York between April 17 and April 24? Well, if so, you’re not alone. In fact, your ticket(s) is among 24,354 others that were issued during New York’s so-called “Speed Week.”

This is 2,156 more tickets than last year’s “Speed Week,” and there’s every reason to think that police are aiming to increase these numbers every year. A similar operation, dubbed “Operation Hang Up,” yielded 3,472 tickets for cell phone-related driving infractions, such as talking on a cell phone while driving and texting while driving.

And for New York City in particular, the ticket blitzes continue. This month saw at least 3: two targeting speeding and one targeting “distracted drivers,” the nickname for people who talk or text while driving. The increasing frequency of so-called ticket blitzes is part of Mayor De Blasio’s “Vision Zero” plan to eliminate traffic deaths in the City by 2024.

In addition to the blitzes, the NYPD have numerous other weapons in their Vision Zero arsenal. For instance, they have purchased 200 more radar guns and installed about 120 more cameras in school speed zones. More recently, they have announced plans to install more cameras in work/construction zones throughout the city, particularly targeting motorists for reckless driving, a misdemeanor crime in New York, meaning it carries potential jail time.

Speeding and distracted driving tickets can come with serious consequences in terms of not only fines and points on your driving record but also auto insurance premium rate increases. These insurance rate increases can be long-term, lasting three years or even more.

We at the Rosenblum Law Firm have successfully fought thousands of traffic tickets throughout the past ten years. We’re here to fight for you. For more information on how we can handle your case, call our office at 1-888-815-3649.

NYC Speed Limits – “20 is Plenty”

20 is Plenty
Right of Way, a New York City pedestrian advocacy group, has been placing these signs in 11 neighborhoods throughout the city. (Photo Source)

Recently, New York City drivers may have noticed a flurry of “20 is Plenty” signs springing up in many of their neighborhoods. These signs, designed to mimic standard speed limit signs, were the results of a campaign staged by Right of Way, a group whose self-stated mission is to, “assert the public right of way and turn the streets into vibrant public space for all.”

The group placed these signs in 11 New York City neighborhoods in sections of Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan. Each of these 11 neighborhoods had applied through the city’s Slow Zones Program to have their speed limits lowered from the city’s standard 30 miles per hour down to 20 mph but had not gotten any response.

According to Right of Way, “These communities knew their streets were dangerous and asked the city to fix them, but were told no or not yet by the previous administration.”

The group hopes this initiative, coming on the heels of Mayor Bill DeBlasio’s “Vision Zero” plan, will draw attention back to these neighborhoods’ Slow Zone requests.

Under Vision Zero, Mayor DeBlasio hopes to completely eliminate traffic fatalities within the 5 boroughs. So far, the plan has meant stricter enforcement of traffic violations like speeding while also causing the NYPD to issue more jaywalking tickets. The addition of speed cameras to several New York City streets and the NYPD’s recent investment into more radar guns shows how dedicated DeBlasio and his administration are to Vision Zero and continuing to improving road safety.

Staten Island Cracking Down on Speeders

In October 2013, Assistant Police Chief Edward Delatorre, who is the NYPD commander for Staten Island, warned aggressive drivers that they will be cracking down on speeding.  Since then, cops issued hundreds more tickets for speeding and stop sign violations. While tickets for speeding violations increased, tickets for cell phone and seat belt violations have decreased.

Changing Focus

The shift in focus for which New York traffic violations to enforce may be related to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s unveiling of his Vision Zero initiative to reduce traffic deaths. An integral part of the mayor’s plan is to lower city speed limits to 25 mph and install additional speed cameras throughout the city. NYPD Chief Thomas Chan, head of NYPD’s Transportation Bureau recently announced to the City Council that the police department is adding 200 speed guns to city’s arsenal of 56 guns.

Staten Island
Staten Island, where police are stepping up enforcement by issuing more speeding tickets.

Speeding violations increased in Staten Island in recent months — 534 in January 2014, 344 in December 2013, 417 in November and 320 in October, compared to 200 in September, 208 in August, 239 in July and 275 in June.

There has been a similar increase in “disobey sign” tickets.  In January 2014, NYPD officers issued 598 tickets. In December, November and October 2013, Staten Island police officers handed out 562, 685 and 608 tickets respectively. These reflect marked increase to the number of tickets issued in September (439), August (388), July (421) and June 2013 (380).

Delatorre admits that the spike in speeding and stop sign tickets is a concerted effort to enforce NY speeding and stop sign laws in unexpected locations. He explained that police are positioning themselves in quiet places where people will not expect them to be.

Drop in cell phone tickets and seat belt violations

In January 2014, NYPD police in Staten Island issued only 243 cell phone summonses; whereas police handed out 424 in September and 473 in August. The number of seat belt violations also decreased:  225 were reported in January 2014 and 511 were recorded in August 2013.

Before stuffing your speeding ticket or other traffic violations summons into your glove box, call an experienced New York traffic ticket lawyer who achieves results. We have helped NY residents reduce their points and lower their fines and surcharges.  Call today for a free consultation: 888-434-0406.

NYPD Adds 200 Radar Guns to Catch More Speeding Drivers

With 286 people killed in traffic accidents in New York City last year, combating speeding, the main cause of collisions, has become a priority for Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration. In fact, de Blasio has instituted a broad plan to eradicate all traffic fatalities in New York City by 2024.

In line with “Vision Zero,” the New York City Police Department is now increasing the number of radar guns it owns by 200. The increase will more than quadruple the only 56 radar guns the NYPD previously had in its arsenal.

In addition to the increase in speed detection equipment, training for police officers will also be augmented. Cops throughout the city’s 77 precincts are already being trained to use the new radar guns, and traffic enforcement is to be made part of every officer’s daily work assignment.

For drivers, the introduction of more radar guns and the placement of new speed cameras at intersections throughout the city, as well as increased ticketing for speeding by the NYPD mean that the odds of getting a speeding ticket in New York City are also sure to increase.

Radar Gun Catching Speeders
A police officer using a radar speed detection gun. The NYPD has just ordered 200 of these to help catch speeders in New York State.

 

(Source: http://nypost.com/2014/02/25/nypd-adding-200-radar-guns-to-combat-speeding/)

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)

88% of Brooklyn Drivers Speed and Get Away With It

Speed TrapA research group known as Transportation Alternatives recently published a report revealing that 88% of Brooklyn motorists break the speed laws and get away with it.

The report explains that enforcement by the New York Police Department remains almost non-existent. According to the report, Transportation Alternatives clocked more drivers speeding in 12 hours than were ticketed by the entire NYPD throughout all of 2011. Continue reading “88% of Brooklyn Drivers Speed and Get Away With It”