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Rise In Traffic Tickets Suggests NYPD Is Cracking Down On Reckless Drivers
By
John Surico
Published Mar 18, 2014
Modified Mar 18, 2014
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By
John Surico
Published Mar 18, 2014
Modified Mar 18, 2014
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One of the main focuses of Mayor Bill de Blasio's first landmark agenda, Vision Zero, is cracking down on reckless drivers. As the plan states, NYPD traffic officers are told to “[increase] enforcement against dangerous moving violations, including speeding, failing to yield to pedestrians, signal violations, improper turns/disobeying signage, and phoning/texting while driving.” And evidently, this is just what NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton is doing.
In the month of February, New Yorkers witnessed tickets rise a significant amount in the area of moving violations, which includes speeding, improperly signaling, and yapping away on your cellphone while driving. Compared with last year's February numbers, some precincts gave away ten times more traffic tickets this time around, and the upward trend can be seen citywide.
For example, 7,702 speeding tickets were issued last month in the five boroughs. In February of 2013, that same figure was 6,495. This amounts to 1,207 more speeding tickets—a 19% percent increase over the past year.
However, as WNYC pointed out, last year's traffic numbers were noticeably lower than most years, skewing the data contrast a bit. So let's look to February of 2012: In that year, 6,872 tickets were handed out to speedsters across New York City, showing still a hefty jump in relation to this year. Even if 2013 was an outlier, one thing is clear: this first February under de Blasio and Bratton was different.
Tagged
nypd
traffic
transportation
vision zero
John Surico
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