Traffic Enforcement

There's nothing all that special about this traffic safety video from the Portland Police Bureau. It's just a short talk from retired officer Ron Hoesly, formerly of the department’s traffic division, on the importance of enforcing speed limits.

Within months of taking office, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed into law several bills intended to add teeth to his Vision Zero street safety initiative. In the year since taking effect, however, the most important of those laws was barely used by NYPD.

Yesterday the 104th Precinct, in Queens, tweeted a photo of officers giving a ticket to a cyclist. The precinct deleted the tweet when it triggered blowback from street safety advocates, but you can see it at the end of this post. "Bicyclists are no exception to Vision Zero," it read. "Ride safe!"

Editor's note: Stephen filed one last story before wrapping up his tenure at Streetsblog earlier this month. Here it is.

Ignition interlock devices, intended to prevent cars from starting if alcohol is detected in a driver's breath, can be an effective tool to curb drunk driving. Governor Andrew Cuomo’s DMV rule reforms include an interlock requirement for drivers who are issued restricted licenses after multiple DWI convictions. In 2009 the state legislature passed Leandra’s Law, which among other things mandates six months of interlock use for drivers convicted of DWI.

Legislation introduced by City Council members this week would require NYPD to publish data on crashes and summonses along NYC truck routes. The bill is intended to improve safety on truck routes, but a better approach would be to have NYPD post all traffic summons data.

When DOT installed new bike lanes on Sherman Avenue in Inwood a few weeks back, it didn't take long before they were blocked by double-parked drivers.

A truck driver hit a cyclist in a bike lane in Queens yesterday, causing serious injuries. Though the police account of the crash indicates the cyclist had the right of way, NYPD has not charged the driver with violating the Right of Way Law.

In response to motorists fatally striking seniors in the Brooklyn South command, NYPD admonished seniors to be more careful when going outside. A recent fatality in the 70th Precinct is a prime example of how focusing on the behavior of victims is a wrongheaded and ineffective approach to street safety.