What you should know
- New York City is preparing to activate speed cameras 24/7 beginning next Monday, the city said.
- The city’s 2,000 automatic speed cameras have only worked Monday through Friday, between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m.
- According to the city, this time period allowed the cameras to miss 59% of traffic fatalities that occurred during the time they were supposed to be turned off.
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NEW YORK – New York City is preparing to activate speed cameras 24/7 beginning next Monday, the city said.
The city’s 2,000 automatic speed cameras have only worked Monday through Friday, between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. According to the city, this time period allowed the cameras to miss 59% of traffic fatalities that occurred during the time they were to be turned off.
“Nighttime and weekend crashes have become all too frequent in recent years, and we are so grateful that state lawmakers have heeded our call for 24/7 speed camera coverage. week,” Commissioner Rodriguez of the city’s Department of Transportation (DOT) said earlier.
A state law signed last month by Governor Kathy Hochul allows the cameras to work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
According to the city, speed cameras have been shown to reduce speeding by 72%.
“New Yorkers deserve to be safe on our streets 24/7, and keeping our cameras on is a critical step in that direction,” Mayor Eric Adams previously said. “The speed cameras work – they save lives, reduce speeding and help protect New Yorkers across the city. And we’re expanding this proven program to ensure New Yorkers have that protection at any time of day.”
NYC DOT, along with NYPD and other agencies, will hold a citywide Awareness Day on Wednesday before the 24/7 camera enforcement on Monday.
During “Awareness Day,” street crews will scour the city’s busy spots during rush hour and mid-day periods to provide motorists with cards notifying them of the change.
That campaign began on July 1.
Earlier this year, Adams also announced a plan to redesign 1,000 intersections in New York City to protect pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers with better traffic signals and elevated crosswalks.
“Sadly, we know that reckless drivers are on our streets 24/7, so our cameras need to be on 24/7 as well,” the agency said in early July. Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi.
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