New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) Commissioner Ydanis Rodríguez joined advocates and elected officials to advocate for the passage of legislation to renew the city’s red light camera program, which exists for 30 years, and expand the authority to operate the program beyond the current 150.
The order comes as the program, the first in the country, is set to expire this year and as the city experiences a deadly surge in drivers running red lights. The agency also announced its support for legislation that would require the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to suspend the vehicle registrations of the worst offenders with five or more red light camera violations. This duo of bills would help curb the surge in reckless driving the city has experienced since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Three decades of data make it clear: red light cameras reduce accidents and change driver behavior, but unfortunately state law limits their safety benefits to a small fraction of intersections,” said Commissioner Rodríguez. “By renewing and expanding the program and cracking down on dangerous repeat offenders, the New York City Department of Transportation will have new and improved tools to combat the historic rise in reckless drivers we have seen since the pandemic. “This legislation will support the agency’s holistic approach to Vision Zero by redesigning our streets, as well as education and enforcement against the most dangerous behaviors,” he added.
Accidents decrease
NYC DOT’s red light camera program has been proven to produce significant safety results over its 30 years of operation. On average, intersections with red light cameras saw a nearly 13% decrease in crashes with right-angle or T-bone injuries. The program has also been shown to change driver behavior and discourage them from repeatedly running red lights. In 2023, 94% of vehicles caught running a red light received no more than one or two violations. Less than 0.5% of vehicles received five or more violations.
Despite these safety advances, the program is too limited to serve as a broader deterrent against reckless and dangerous red light violations. Current state law limits these cameras to operating in no more than 150 locations at a time, or less than 1% of the city’s more than 13,700 signalized intersections.
With this restriction, the city is severely limited in its ability to use this life-saving tool to address a recent increase in red light use. In 2023, 29 people died in red-light running accidents (the worst annual total ever recorded and more than double the average annual total of such deaths from the previous decade), all at intersections without red-light cameras.
To counter these trends, the New York City Department of Transportation will work with legislators in Albany to pass legislation from State Senator Andrew Gounardes (S2812) and Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (A5259), which would reauthorize the program through December 1, 2030 and would expand the number of locations to 1,325, or about 10 percent of signalized intersections.
Although most drivers change their behavior after one or two violations, a small group of repeat offenders are not deterred by repeated tickets alone. These major offenders pose a serious risk to themselves and their fellow New Yorkers and require a substantial fine that will also help keep their vehicles off the road. In 2023, about 2,400 vehicles received five or more red light camera violations in a 12-month period. Research has shown that receiving five red light camera violations triples a driver’s risk of being involved in an accident that causes injury.
“Red light running continues to set record levels across New York City. Despite this, Albany limits red light cameras to just 1 percent of signalized intersections,” said Danny Harris, Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives. “We agree with DOT Commissioner Rodriguez: New York City needs every tool possible to curb reckless driving and create safe streets. “Albany should renew and expand the city’s red light camera program, while giving the DMV the power to suspend the vehicle registrations of repeat offenders.”
2024-02-22 19:03:46
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