De Blasio Stands By NYPD Transportation Chief Thomas Chan, Despite Missteps

Question: So at a recent council hearing NYPD Transportation Bureau Chief Thomas Chan said that the triple-digit-percentage rise in cyclists' deaths this year was due to the increase in the number of people cycling. Is that the new position of the administration or do you see other factors, such as car drivers, as the real cause?

Answer: No, I don't. I respect Tom Chan immensely, but ... I'm sure he did not mean to imply anything but his concern because this is a guy who has devoted himself for years to trying to build Vision Zero and protect cyclists and pedestrians and motorists in a whole new way and, of course, more people always means there's more potential for danger. But no, I think this is about tragedies that we have to, in every way we can, prevent. There's always going to be some human realities that government can't reach. But there's much, much more we can and will do to stem this. And I keep coming back to, you know ... we've had a horrible year, a painful year, an unacceptable year, but the direction is still the right direction. We just have to do a lot more and more deeply.

Question: Given that answer, I’d like you to reflect on another statistic Chief Chan provided. He said that 22 percent of all NYPD-issued red light camera tickets went to cyclists, despite the fact that cyclists have caused less than one percent of the carnage that you're seeing on the streets. The rest of it being caused by cars and they're getting only 78 percent of the tickets. So does that same a proportionate response

Answer: I think we have to do more of everything, honestly, and I've – you know, you and I probably are going to disagree on this. I’ve said a thousand times, you've been there, that motor vehicles are the central problem. That's where the vast majority of our efforts go — the reduction in the speed limit, the speed cameras, the enforcement of speeding, and failure to yield, the street redesign. That's all cars, trucks, cars, trucks, cars, trucks. But I also — we can't have a dishonest conversation when we're talking about life and death. There are still plenty of bicyclists who do not follow the rules and put themselves in danger and can put others in danger.

You're right, much less often they [cyclists] put other people in danger compared to a motor vehicle. Absolutely. I'm worried about them. I'm worried about someone that goes through a red light and putting themselves in danger. So we're going to create order in this whole circumstance, Vision Zero is for everyone. I want pedestrians to stop wading out into traffic because you know, they're texting while walking and not paying attention to the car that's about to hit them. [Editor's note: De Blasio's own DOT said that "distracted walking" is not a thing.] I want everyone to comport themselves differently. But first and foremost, I want motor vehicle operators to understand they're holding people's lives in their hands. So no, we're going to do all of the above.