Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
NYPD Writes Over 5,000 Summons During Two Day Distracted Driving Crackdown
By
Jen Chung
Published May 20, 2014
Modified May 20, 2014
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published May 20, 2014
Modified May 20, 2014
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The NYPD has announced the results of their two-day effort to penalize drivers who aren't paying attention to pedestrians or anything else because they are using their damn cellphones. Overall, 5,258 summonses were issued.
The police were looking at three bad behaviors: Failing to yield to pedestrians; using a cellphone while operating a vehicle; and texting while operating a vehicle. Here's how the summonses broke down:
Use of a cell phone while driving - 2,938
Texting while driving - 1,066
Failure to yield right of way to pedestrians - 1,254
The NYPD characterized this as "part of the NYPD’s effort to reduce traffic collisions and conditions that cause death and injury to pedestrians," which leads us to believe that maybe they should have this crackdown every day?
The NYPD's statement adds: "Year to date pedestrian deaths have decreased 30.16%. The goal of Vision Zero is to bring the number of pedestrian deaths to zero. Pedestrians and drivers are reminded to avoid distraction while operating motor vehicles and walking City streets."
Tagged
distracted driving
failure to yield to a pedestrian
nypd
summons
texting while driving
original
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
16 arrested in New York auto insurance fraud crackdown involving nearly $500K
State officials say the cases include staged crashes and fraudulent medical claims, with seven arrests in the Bronx alone.
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Oct 20, 2026 at 6:34 p.m. ET
Coney Island's small, 1890s lighthouse may be landmarked by the city
It's in the private community of Sea Gate. Family members of the lighthouse's last civilian keeper are keeping its history alive.
By
Catalina Gonella
News
Coney Island's small, 1890s lighthouse may be landmarked by the city
It's in the private community of Sea Gate. Family members of the lighthouse's last civilian keeper are keeping its history alive.
By
Catalina Gonella
New renderings are out for Queens' Metropolitan Park casino
By
Willow Higgins
Inside Luigi Mangione's legal strategy before his federal guilty plea
By
Samantha Max
NYC proposes crackdown down on AI customer service chatbots
By
Arya Sundaram
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .