Mayor: NYPD To Expand Traffic Safety Enforcement As School Begins

NEW YORK CITY — Ahead of New York City public school students' first day back on Monday, the NYPD is expanding its traffic enforcement – focusing especially on violations that endanger child pedestrians – while the city pushes for 24/7 speed cameras.

Officers on highways and local streets will crack down on drivers who speed, drive recklessly in the vicinity of schools, and fail to yield to pedestrians and cyclists – which has been a cause in over 60 percent of pedestrian fatalities in 2021, Mayor Bill de Blasio's office said in a news release.

Additionally, the NYPD is targeting drunk drivers and illegal cellphone use, and is prioritizing motorcycle safety – through both enforcement against reckless motorcyclists and against dangerous driving by other vehicles that causes risk to motorcycles.

De Blasio is also renewing his call for state lawmakers to allow 24/7 operations of the city's speed cameras.

New York state law currently only allows cameras to operate between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. on weekdays, according to the DOT, but a recent department analysis found that one-third of fatal crashes in 2020 happened in school speed zones during nights and weekends.

"Thanks to the tireless public servants at DOT and NYPD, our schools will be safer than ever this year," de Blasio said in a statement. "Now it’s time to take the next step: Albany must allow us to operate our speed cameras overnight and hold dangerous drivers accountable, no matter when they break the law."

DOT Commissioner Hank Gutman agreed, calling 24/7 speed cameras "common sense legislation."

"School's back in session, and we're proud to be partnering with the NYPD to put drivers on notice – reckless driving and speeding are going to be met with stiff penalties," Gutman said in a statement. "That said, we urgently need Albany to pass common sense legislation that allows our automated speed cams to operate 24/7, because lives are not only at risk when school is in session."