Effective November 7, New York City is lowering the default speed limit on local streets from 30mph to 25mph.
Mayor de Blasio who stated under the new NYC speed limit, police officers will have discretion about ticketing low-level speeders. (Photo Source: Wikipedia)
This new law is seen as the largest and most influential policy change enacted by Mayor Bill de Blasio in his “Vision Zero” initiative to eliminate traffic fatalities within the 5 boroughs. The law’s potential impact on pedestrian safety and, as cynics point out, on the city’s traffic ticket revenue could be huge.
A sign for New York Interstate 84 where State Troopers recently issued over 100 tickets in a 3-hour ticket blitz.
On January 12th, New York Troopers engaged in a ticketing blitz on I-84 where the highway passes through the town of East Fishkill in Dutchess County, approximately 60 miles north of New York City. Over the course of 3 hours, 79 drivers were ticketed for exceeding the highway’s 65 mile per hour speed limit. Another 31 tickets were issued for various traffic infractions including failure to wear a seat belt, use of a hand-held cell phone or other electronic device while driving, and violation of New York’s “move-over” law (VTL 1144-a).
As part of Governor Cuomo’s hard-line stance against speeding and distracted driving, ticketing blitzes are becoming a more common occurrence to deter drivers driving in New York from exceeding the speed limit. This past Sunday comprises the most recent ticketing blitz by the New York State Police. Previous major ticketing blitzes have traditionally occurred in July and August, during the summer weeks leading up to Labor Day, when many vacationers are on the road and eager to get to their holiday destinations. During “speed week” and other major ticketing blitzes, police have been known to issue over a thousand speeding tickets in a single week.
Though traffic fatalities have decreased by 30 percent in New York City in the past 10 years, speeding remains the number one cause of collisions throughout the city. In 2012, speeding caused the greatest number of traffic deaths in New York City, taking the lives of more New Yorkers than drunk driving and distracted driving combined.
As a result, New York City police officers have increased the amount of tickets they issue throughout the year for speeding by as much as 25 percent so far in 2013. Recently, the NYPD wrote a total of 736 tickets during a citywide speeding enforcement crackdown during the second weekend of October alone.
Periodic ticketing blitzes and the overall increase in speeding tickets in 2013 may also be due in part to criticism of NYPD ticketing practices over the past few years. Law enforcement has been typically been lax with respect to speeding violations in the city, with for example, 88% of drivers in Brooklyn getting away with speeding according to one report.
In part because of a lack of enough officers on the road, ticketing is far more common for violations other than speeding in the city. For instance, the NYPD issued more tickets for riding a bike on a sidewalk than for speeding on surface streets in New York City last year, issuing around 25,000 citations for sidewalk riding as opposed to only 19,119 speeding tickets. With criticism of the NYPD’s recent failure to ticket any speeding drivers in two precincts in the city throughout the month of September, the 25 percent increase is sure to rise as ticketing blitzes for speeding become more common and enforcement more strict.
7th Ave and Lincoln Pl in Park Slope, Brooklyn, one of the neighborhoods where zero speeding tickets were handed out this September. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
As New York Daily News reports, this past September, not a single speeding ticket was handed out in certain neighborhoods, including Red Hook, Cobble Hill, Carrol Gardens, Gowanus and Park Slope, located within the 76th and 78th precincts of New York City.
Unfortunately, the complete absence of speeding citations does not correlate to unusually safe driving in those neighborhoods. Rather, three fatal pedestrian accidents occurred this year in those areas and residents continue to claim that spotting speeding drivers throughout the 76th and 78th precincts is a common occurrence.
Nor can the dearth of speeding tickets be attributed to police officers’ unawareness of speeding in those areas. In contrast to the 76th and 78th precincts, police officers patrolling the neighboring 77th Precinct pulled over 77 drivers for speeding in the same timeframe. A bit further off, 45 drivers were ticketed for speeding in September in the 94th Precinct. Moreover, efforts by the Department of Transportation, such as removing a lane of car traffic from speedways in an attempt to calm traffic, make it clear that speeding in the city remains a concern.
However, with drivers who, over time, become accustomed to any changes made to the roadway itself to derail speeding, citations by police officers remain the strongest deterrents to speeding in the city. Perhaps that is why year-to-date speeding tickets are up 25%, despite the lack of any speeding citations issued in September.
Some people will do anything to get out of their traffic tickets. You might have heard about women flirting with male police officers to avoid speeding tickets, but a 28-year old recently stooped to an all-time low.
A New Hampshire woman—who cried her way out of a speeding ticket by claiming to be rushing to her father’s deathbed—was arrested two days later when confronted with his obituary, which was dated 5 years ago!
A New Hampshire State Police cruiser.
The woman was arrested right at her doorstep by the very same trooper who she originally fooled. The trooper told reporters, “I’m pretty used to people trying to bend the truth to get out of speeding citations, but this woman preyed on my emotions as a human being.”
He continued, “She told me her father had stage four cancer, that he was breathing only six breaths a minute, and that she was trying to make it to the hospital before he passed … There was a good act that went along with it.”
After discovering the truth in an online obituary dated 5 years before the incident, he promptly confronted her at her home and charged her with speeding 82 mph in a 65 mph zone as well as driving with a suspended registration, a misdemeanor in NH.
The officer, who (for good reason) was extremely perturbed, also said, “For someone to lie about their deceased father just to get out of a speeding ticket was pretty upsetting to me as a person.”
After confronting her at her door, the woman immediately became defensive and claimed it was her uncle’s obituary and not her father’s. However, after being arrested and brought down to the police station, she finally admitted to the truth and came clean.
It is absolutely astounding what a person will say to an officer in order to try and avoid a speeding ticket.
Instead of lying to an officer (which is arguably much worse), quietly accept the ticket the officer hands you and hire an experienced traffic ticket lawyer to fight it for you. It will save you a lot of time, money, and aggravation in the long run.
Most traffic tickets which fall under the New York Vehicle and Traffic Law carry a mandatory NYS surcharge (usually $88 or $93). However, certain tickets which people commonly pled guilty to as a “plea bargain” reduction do not. Earlier this year the Governor of New York proposed to add a surcharge to those traffic tickets in New York. The Governor also called for reducing the ability of prosecutors to bargain down the charges for any speeding ticket that is 20 mph over the limit. The Governor argued that plea deals that result in a reduction to a traffic violation that do not have a surcharge cost the New York State budget close to $58 million dollars a year in lost revenue. Many argued against the proposal including the National Motorists Association stating that it is yet another way for the government to squeeze money out of the pockets of New York drivers. Recently lawmakers were asked to vote on the Governor’s budget proposal.
A Frenchman was driving his Renault Laguna to the grocery store in France when he found that his brakes were not working. It’s not something you hear every day but when it happens it has got to be up there as a driver’s worst nightmare behind the wheel.
The man said his car went from around 60 mph hour and every time that he tried to apply the brakes, the car kept increasing speed eventually reaching an astonishing 125 mph. Maybe even more amazing is that initial reports indicate that the police did not issue a speeding ticket!
The man was quick to call the police and emergency services and quickly advised the driver to get to the highway for assistance. It was there that the police caught up with the driver and made sure that the roads were clear for miles. The man ended up driving over 100 miles away from his home until the car finally had run out of gas and stopped in a ditch, luckily no one was injured.
During the high speed chase, the police made several attempts to slow the car down and bring the vehicle to a stop. The driver said that the gas pedal of the vehicle was stuck and that it had happened before. The driver was hysterical over the event and suffered two epileptic seizures from the incident. The man has filed a legal complaint against the car manufacturer stating “endangerment of a person’s life”.
Because of a disability that the driver had, the Renault Laguna was altered to accommodate his condition. The brake and gas pedals were removed and replaced with a steering wheel based system. It is said that changing and altering the brake systems of the car would void any warranties by the manufacturer. The Renault is currently being inspected with the driver and the car maker anxiously awaiting the results.
A few years ago Toyota had to recall more than 6 million of its vehicles for faulty brakes. This was a result after several reports started surfacing of unintended acceleration. The reason was said to be that the accelerator pedal would stick causing unintended acceleration or that an issue with the floor mat would cause the accelerator to get stuck. The media ran with this story and all of a sudden Toyota was being blamed for close to 40 deaths for the problem.
The recall was made to fix the mechanical issues however since more claims of electronic failure started springing up Toyota had to take further action. Ultimately it turned out that an investigation was launched by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in conjunction with NASA only to find that there were was electronic defects in the vehicle.
Believe it or not, the New York State Police are preparing for yet another major ticket blitz.
With the popular NASCAR race coming up on Sunday at Watkins Glen International Raceway, New York police have taken the opportunity to beef up their patrols of the area.
Particular attention will be focused on the Staten Island Expressway and neighboring areas.
According to Major Kevin Molinari, the Commander of State Police Troop C, every available trooper will be on patrol during the week to catch speeders and distracted drivers.
Some worry that this campaign is simply an attempt to generate revenue for the state by nabbing unsuspecting motorists who truly are not posing any danger while on the road.
Likewise, others are concerned that out-of-state drivers who are planning on attending the prestigious race will get ensnared in the speed blitz.
On the other hand, a small minority of drivers actually like seeing police officers out on the roads in full force.
According to these drivers, it makes them feel better knowing that the police are doing what they can to ensure road safety.
Nevertheless, regardless of whether Speed Week was designed to raise revenue or promote safety (or both), one thing is for sure: New York State police plan to issue plenty of speeding tickets during the upcoming week.
Remember, Speed Week begins Monday and runs through Sunday, the day of the big NASCAR race.
Therefore, be prepared to drive even more carefully than usual. However, if you run into trouble, you know who to call.
If you or a loved one recently received a NY speeding ticket, contact Rosenblum Law today.
According to the Daily News, Tom Cruise led the paparazzi on a high-speed chase through Manhattan in order to avoid unwanted questions and to protect his 6-year-old daughter.
Tom Cruise, who recently divorced Katie Holmes, has been receiving a tremendous amount of news coverage during what can only be described as a very trying time of his life.
After a father-daughter sleepover at Robert de Niro’s luxury Greenwich Hotel in TriBeCa, Cruise attempted to avoid photographers who were waiting outside to catch a glimpse of him and his daughter.
They left the hotel in Manhattan’s Lower West Side in a black Chevy Suburban and headed toward a heliport at 12th Avenue and West 29th Street, blowing through red lights along the way.
At least 10 cars and six motorcyclists and bicyclists followed Cruise as his SUV reached 20 miles per hours beyond the posted speed limit.
One of the vans was even pulled over by police for speeding.
This car chase came just two days after Suri, Cruise’s daughter, got into a fender bender with her mother, actress Katie Holmes.
According to E! News, they were traveling on the West Side of Manhattan when their chauffeured car was struck by a garbage truck.
Holmes and her daughter were uninjured and only minor damage was done to Holmes’ Mercedes.
Remember, whether we are famous or not, when we are going through difficult points in our lives, we have a tendency be overwhelmed with emotion and sometimes act recklessly.
If you ever find yourself in a situation similar to this, make sure to avoid driving recklessly or doing anything on the road that you might regret later.
The Daily News recently reported that state budget problems may actually be giving motorists a license to speed on New York highways.
According to their sources, NY police have written 10% fewer speeding tickets within the first six months of 2012 than in the first six months of 2011.
Total ticket issuance (for all offenses including speeding) by troopers dropped by 11.6%.
The President of the New York State Troopers PBA explained, “I am surprised it is only down 11% because we just don’t have the manpower.”
He noted that it has been almost 4 years since the state police academy graduated a new class of recruits.
The figures reveal that troopers wrote only 533,878 total tickets from January through early July. This was down from 603,668 during the same period in 2011.
Nevertheless, most state police officials credit drivers for obeying the laws due to the decrease, even though critics believe that it truly is a shortage of officers.
Police Superintendent Joseph D’Amico said, “We are seeing more motorist compliance, resulting in safer highways, as a result of our traffic enforcement and educational efforts.”
He continued, “New York’s motorists have a better understanding of the potential dangers of speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and driving while distracted.”
D’Amico also emphasized that “[o]ur troopers continue to do an excellent job of preserving public safety, protecting our roads, and helping better promote driver safety.”
In spite of what D’Amico asserts, the state controller’s office explained that the number of troopers decreased from 2,811 in 2008 to 2,647 in July 2011 and only 7 more than that were added in 2012.
A new recruit put it simply when he said, “We are at bare bones.”
Meanwhile, this year’s ticket drop-off extended across all categories of motor vehicle violations, including the failure to use seat belts (which went down by 24%), equipment problems (which went down by 16%) and the failure to use child restraints (which went down by 19%).
Nevertheless, despite this sharp drop in ticket issuance, be sure to properly follow all of the appropriate vehicle and traffic laws. After all, you never know when you might get pulled over.
