Two days after yet more children were killed by a reckless driver, a small number of city pols who get it did what they always do in this situation: rally for more accountability to rein in the worst of the worst drivers.
This time, however, the solution is so simple that it just might take.
A proposal by state Sen. Andrew Gounardes would mandate speed-limiting devices be installed if drivers accumulated six or more speed- or red-light camera tickets within a year, or accumulate 11 points on their license within 18 months – the equivalent of four tickets traveling up to 10 miles over the speed limit.
Unlike Gounardes' prior efforts to rein in the most reckless drivers — including making the camera-issued tickets count as points on a driver's license or mandating that insurance companies be told when drivers accrue multiple camera-issued tickets — this one could have an easier time now that Virginia has become the first state to approve a similar measure.
“It shows that this is possible. I think it caught people’s attention and we have an example to point to, as we go about our advocacy,” Gounardes told Streetsblog's Aaron Short recently. “When we see other jurisdictions take our policy solutions into our own hands it becomes a more mainstream idea. You don’t have that initial hesitancy.”
Had Gounardes's bill been law, driver Miriam Yarimi could never have piloted her fancy Audi at such a high speed to slam through another car and devastate an entire family — she had racked up 21 camera-issued speeding tickets and five red-light tickets since August 2023.
On Monday, Gounardes was joined at Brooklyn Borough Hall by his Assembly sponsor, Emily Gallagher, plus a panoply of pols — though none from the Orthodox community that has long stymied street safety efforts even as two more kids and their mom were killed by a reckless driver last week.
Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez was also on hand to deliver the Adams administration's strong support for the bill. It was widely known that City Hall supports the legislation, but Rodriguez's remarks were the first time he said it publicly.
In doing so, Rodriguez echoed his own agency's recent report on speeding. Vehicles — like Yarimi's — that receive more than 20 violations in one year are five times more likely to be in a serious crash, Rodriguez pointed out.
Virginia's rule, which was approved by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin late last month and expected to go into effect in July 2026, will allow judges to order anti-speeding devices to be installed in the cars of drivers convicted of hurtling over 100 miles per hour.
Such intelligent speed assistance devices allow the judicial system to crack down on lawbreakers without depriving them of the ability to get to work or medical appointments, which has long provided cover for lawmakers who oppose punishment for scofflaw drivers.
In a car-dependent country such as ours, losing access to a vehicle is seen as such a severe punishment that 75 percent of motorists whose license had been suspended continued to drive anyway, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimated.
The consequences are deadly. In the Commonwealth of Virginia, for instance, there were 13,474 injuries and 449 deaths that resulted from 25,274 crashes in 2023, according to state Department of Motor Vehicle records and Northern Virginia Magazine’s report.
And in New York City between 2021 and 2023, more than 200 people were killed in crashes involving a speeding driver where drivers were speeding. And the worst of the worst drivers — the 1.5 percent of drivers who received the most automated speeding tickets — were involved in 21 percent of fatal pedestrian crashes in 2022, one report found.
The Post, amNY and Crain's covered the bill. Gothamist covered the idea of maybe, just maybe, making Ocean Parkway safer.
In other news:
- Speaking of Miriam Yarimi, the Brooklyn wig-making influencer had been involuntarily committed in October. All the more reason why her car should have been fitted with a device to prevent reckless driving. (NYDN, NY Post)
- Also, cops say she was going twice the speed limit at the time of the crash. (NYDN, NY Post)
- The Daily News editorial board joined the chorus of outlets blaming the City Council for the lame outdoor dining program that resulted from Adrienne Adams's decision to make it seasonal instead of year-round.
- You don't understand: It's a tree grows in Brooklyn, not a tree gets chopped down. (NY Post)
- The city is gearing up to take advantage of last year's state expansion of the small red-light camera program, announcing that Verra Mobility would start installing the 450 new cameras, as amNY reported. Left unreported? That Verra and the Department of Transportation have never explained why so many recklessly piloted cars never get picked up on cameras. The DOT looked for another contractor, but apparently couldn't find one.
- Like Streetsblog, amNY covered the effort by Assembly Member Tony Simone to make roadside dining areas year-round again.
- Meanwhile, Hell Gate shared our take on the demise of outdoor dining.
- The return of the Redbirds might be the only good thing about Met opening day on Friday (the long-term forecast calls for rain). (Gothamist)
- Well, at least Rep. Josh Gottheimer is consistent: he doesn't want the benefits of congestion pricing for anyone, even his own constituents. (CBS)
- And, finally, only four mayoral candidates — Jessica Ramos, Scott Stringer, Brad Lander and Zellnor Myrie — have filled out Streetsblog's candidate questionnaire (the only one devoted to street safety and transit). The rest of you know who you are, so get cracking. Don't let us leave you out when we publish the answers later this month.
