Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
DOT

DOT Vision Zero Ad Targets Drivers Who Speed and Fail to Yield

DOT has released the first in another round of ads for its "Your Choices Matter" Vision Zero education campaign. It's an effective and reality-based video spot that targets drivers who speed and fail to yield -- leading causes of death and injury for people who walk and bike in NYC.

The 30-second PSA depicts a driver adjusting his radio and accelerating down a city street before making a fast right turn into a crosswalk and striking a child on a bike. “He wasn’t racing," reads the title card. "The driver was. Slow down. Your choices matter.”

A DOT press release says the new ads "specifically identify driver behaviors," and that "[r]eckless or dangerous driving decisions by motorists are key factors in 70 percent of pedestrian fatalities citywide."

Motorists hurt and kill thousands of pedestrians on city streets every year, and most victims who are struck in crosswalks have the walk signal.

“While NYC DOT redesigned more streets than ever and NYPD increased traffic enforcement, bringing safer streets to the five boroughs is also the responsibility of drivers,” Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg said in the press release. “Drivers’ choices behind the wheel matter and these television advertisements will remind millions of people that their actions can have fatal consequences for New Yorkers and their families.”

A second video ad will be released later this week, according to DOT. The video spots will run on broadcast and cable television through the end of June.

Other ads "will feature images of items found at crash scenes and tell the stories of the pedestrian-victims," and relate findings from DOT borough pedestrian safety action plans, the press release says. Ads will be placed on radio, in newspapers, online, on billboards, and at street-level locations including busses and bus shelters, phone kiosks, and along priority corridors identified in the pedestrian safety action plans.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Monday’s Headlines: ‘We Speak English in America’ Edition

Read that talk bubble. That's really what the cop said to a man under arrest. Plus other news from a busy weekend.

May 12, 2025

Cyclist Launches Class Action Suit For Bogus NYPD Red Light Tickets

The NYPD keeps ignoring a law that allows cyclists to pass through a red light on the "Walk" sign. Now, someone is making a federal case about it.

May 12, 2025

Decision 2025: Mayoral Hopefuls Discuss the Death of Outdoor Dining

We asked, will you commit to expanding both Open Streets and outdoor dining in the roadway. And here's what they said...

Car Harms Monday: ‘Car Brain’ is the Demon Spawn of Car Dependency

Our policies, our budgets and our cultural narratives assume everyone can and does drive. That's car brain.

May 12, 2025

Zohran Mamdani Wants to Take a Free Bus … Straight to Gracie Mansion

So let's talk about the candidate's fare-free bus policy.

May 12, 2025
See all posts