Traffic Enforcement

Mayor Bloomberg joined Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan and NYPD Chief of Transportation James Tuller outside a Crown Heights high school this morning to announce the impending launch of the city's first automated speed enforcement program. Cameras issuing fines for drivers who exceed the speed limit by 10 mph or more will begin operating on September 9, when students head back to school, though for the first few weeks the program will only send violators warnings.

Last week, we brought you the story of Sam Shankman, a cyclist who got caught up in NYPD's bike ticket blitz by legally turning on a green light. Shankman, who isn't the first cyclist to get a ticket for not breaking the law, sent along this New York Times account of NYPD targeting cyclists for tickets, dating to August 1997:

A cyclist was killed by a motorist in Howard Beach this week, on a street where residents say drivers routinely ignore stop signs. The crash occurred in the City Council district represented by Eric Ulrich, who has not responded to inquiries concerning street safety in the district.

[Update: According to Cy Vance's office, prosecutors are investigating this crash. We'll have another post shortly.]

Three pedestrians were injured, two seriously, this morning when a cab driver jumped a curb in a Midtown precinct where NYPD has issued 10 speeding tickets in the last year and a half.

NYPD's approach to traffic enforcement -- all but ignore speeding, and launch ticket blitzes against cyclists for minor offenses -- is an ineffective policing method if you're looking to protect New Yorkers from things that are actually injuring and killing them on the street. Logic aside, the NYPD bike ticket blitz continued under this morning's dry, sunny skies.

The American Automobile Association, often perceived as simply a non-profit that runs a friendly towing service, has lost what little credibility it had on street safety issues.

In the span of little more than 24 hours, drivers killed three pedestrians in New York City this weekend.

Considering what happened to longtime street safety advocate Hilda Cohen last Friday afternoon, you have to wonder how many "scofflaw cyclists" are in actuality the victims of police harassment. The incident is also another example of wasted NYPD resources that could be used to make streets safer.