Report-Card-Six Months of Vision Zero Traffic Enforcement

8/12/2019 Report-Card-Six Months of Vision Zero Traffic Enforcement

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Report Card: Six Months of Vision Zero Traffic Enforcement

Despite two decades of steady declines, traffic fatalities remain an epidemic in New York City. More people are killed intraffic than are murdered by guns; traffic crashes are the foremost cause of preventable death for New York City childrenand, after falls, the primary cause of injury-related death for older New Yorkers.

In February 2014, Mayor Bill de Blasio launched a Vision Zero initiative with the goal of eliminating traffic fatalities andserious injuries in New York City by 2024 which the New York Police Department embraced wholeheartedly, instructingall precinct commanders to increase enforcement of the most dangerous traffic violations. Increased enforcementremains a central element to achieving Mayor de Blasios Vision Zero goal.

Transportation Alternatives Report Card: Six Months of Vision Zero Traffic Enforcement reveals that citywide enforcement ofthe most dangerous traffic violations speeding and failure to yield to pedestrians has skyrocketed in the past year.Comparing the first six months of 2014 to the same period of 2013, summonses for speeding increased by 32 percentand summonses for failure to yield increased by 153 percent, an effort which has saved countless New Yorkers fromdeath and injury.

However, according to T.A. research and analysis, the widespread effort to expand enforcement of the most dangerous violations does not extend to every NYPD precinct. In fact, wide disparities exist between the heroic efforts of NYPDprecincts that have increased their enforcement of the most dangerous violations and adjacent precincts where

summonsing has actually decreased.

In order to create more consistency across precincts, T.A. recommends that the NYPD establish an executive officer ineach Borough Command who would be solely dedicated to coordinating traffic enforcement.

THE PROBLEM

Speeding is the leading cause of traffic fatalities in New York City. Drivers who fail to yield are the leading cause of injury topedestrians. 1 The majority of these traffic crashes are caused by drivers making dangerous choices 2 and committing en-forceable moving violations. 3

T.A.s Mid-Year Report Card found that overall summonsing for speeding and failure to yield has markedly increased, butthere are stark disparities in the level of enforcement between individual precincts. Some precincts have made greatstrides to deter drivers from dangerous behavior, buoying citywide numbers, while others issued fewer summonses thanthe prior year.

Transportation Alternatives127 West 26th Street, Suite 1002

New York, NY 10001


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Image 2: Map of the most improved and least improved precincts in each BoroughCommand for failure to yield summonses, January to June 2013 versus 2014.


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RECOMMENDATIONS

Drivers who have received a summons are less likely to kill or seriously injure someone in the future. 4 This is why NYPDenforcement is critical to reaching Vision Zero.

While continuing to increase enforcement of the most dangerous violations is an important first step, consistent

enforcement of these deadly behaviors is paramount. In order to more effectively deter drivers from dangerous behav-

ior, the NYPD must coordinate enforcement citywide so the likelihood of punishment for reckless driving is consistent nomatter where a driver is in the city.

T.A. recommends that the NYPD:

1. Create an executive officer for each Borough Command: This position should report to the NYPD Chief ofTransportation and have sole responsibility for coordinating traffic operations. Having a central person incharge of traffic safety for each Borough Command would help coordinate precincts enforcement efforts andmake the greatest impact despite strained resources.

2. Educate police officers about the lifesaving impact of Vision Zero enforcement operations: The NYPDshould regularly invite New Yorkers affected by traffic crashes to speak at precinct roll-calls or share their sto-ries at TrafficStat to underscore the importance of simple summonsing. Writing traffic tickets to recklessdrivers is often a thankless taskofficers face annoyed drivers but rarely meet the person they saved from be-ing hit. Helping officers see who is impacted by dangerous traffic conditions will send a message that theirsummonses are important and valued by New Yorkers.

3. Emphasize the most dangerous violations in each Borough Command: The NYPD should highlight themost dangerous violations in police officers summons books with insert cards that reference traffic violationsthat commonly lead to serious injury and death. Violations should be defined by the dangers of each BoroughCommand and these summonses should be tracked at every TrafficStat meeting.


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THE BEST & THE WORST

When compared to their peers within the same borough command, these are the most and least effectual NYPD precincts:

M NH TT N SOUTHB EST W OR ST

Speeding 1st Precinct Speeding 13th PrecinctFailure to Yield 14 th Precinct Failure to Yield 10 th Precinct

M NH TT N NORTHB EST W OR ST

Speeding 26th Precinct Speeding 30 th PrecinctFailure to Yield - 24 th Precinct Failure to Yield 20 th Precinct

BRONXB EST W OR ST

Speeding 52nd Precinct Speeding 42nd PrecinctFailure to Yield 40 th Precinct Failure to Yield 47 th Precinct

B R OOKLYN SOUTHB EST W OR ST

Speeding 67th Precinct Speeding 76 th PrecinctFailure to Yield- 70 th Precicnt Failure to Yield 76 th Precinct

B R OOKLYN NORTHB EST W OR ST

Speeding 81st Precinct Speeding 83rd PrecinctFailure to Yield 77th Precinct Failure to Yield 73 rd Precinct

QUEENS SOUTHB EST W OR ST

Speeding 105th Precinct Speeding 103rd and 106th Precincts tiedFailure to Yield 103rd Precinct Failure to Yield 100 th Precinct

QUEENS NORTHB EST W OR ST

Speeding 110th Precinct Speeding 109 th PrecinctFailure to Yield 110th Precinct Failure to Yield 108 th Precinct

ST TEN ISL ND

The 121st Precinct was created in November 2013 out of areas that were the 120th and 122nd. This makes comparison fromlast year to this year difficult for the whole borough. Combined, the 120th, 121st and 122nd Precincts increased speedingsummonses 85 percent from last year, while the 123rd increased speeding summonses by 87 percent. The120th, 121st and 122nd increased failure to yield summonses 264 percent, and the 123rd increased 300 percent.

LL B OR OUGH C OM M NDS

Finally, rising above and beyond the other borough commands, the Bronx had the largest increase in failure to yieldsummonses (a 421 percent increase from last year), while Queens South had the largest increase in speeding(a 105 percent increase).


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METHODOLOGY

In early 2014, Transportation Alternatives sent a letter to every NYPD precinct, alerting them that they would be evaluatedon their performance enforcing the most dangerous traffic violations throughout the year. This evaluation, which will con-clude in early 2015, will provide a comprehensive evaluation of the NYPDs performance during the first year of Mayor deBlasios Vision Zero plan.

This mid-year report card evaluates how individual precincts have performed from January to June 2014 in summonsingthe most dangerous traffic violations (speeding and failure to yield) when compared to last year and compared to theirpeers.

The NYPDs 76 precincts are grouped into eight Patrol Borough Commands: Manhattan North, Manhattan South, Brook-lyn North, Brooklyn South, Queens North, Queens South, Bronx and Staten Island. Patrol Borough Commands group pre-cincts into geographic areas; precincts in the same Borough Command have a more similar makeup when compared toothers around the city, which facilitates a more accurate comparison between the precincts therein. By comparing pre-cincts improvement (or failure to improve) in summonsing to the average improvement among precincts in their borough

command, a clear picture arises of the best and the worst enforcers in the city.


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APPENDIXThe number of speeding and failure to yield (FTY) summonses issued by precinct, January to June 2013 versus 2014:

Patrol Borough:Manhattan South

2013Jan - June

2014Jan - June

#Change

1st Speeding 41 86 45

FTY 93 218 125

5th Speeding 42 74 32

FTY 109 94 -15


FTY 56 345 289

7th

Speeding 19 57 38

FTY 122 147 25


FTY 113 123 10


FTY 82 62 -20

13th Speeding 49 46 -3

FTY 102 204 102

MidtownSouth (14th)

Speeding 5 27 22

FTY 513 874 361


FTY 74 295 221

MidtownNorth (18th)

Speeding 9 29 20

FTY 56 120 64

Average(Median)

Speeding 25 43 19

FTY 98 176 78


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Patrol Borough:Manhattan North

2013Jan - June

2014Jan - June

#Change

19thSpeeding 18 50 32

FTY 199 382 183


FTY 111 111 0

Central Park(22nd)

Speeding 66 92 26

FTY 51 112 61

23rdSpeeding 21 105 84

FTY 148 275 127

24th

Speeding 36 118 82

FTY 156 372 216


FTY 74 284 210


FTY 166 281 115


FTY 102 260 158

30thSpeeding 361 154 -207

FTY 147 329 182

32ndSpeeding 99 128 29

FTY 81 189 108

33rdSpeeding 246 257 11

FTY 107 208 101

34th

Speeding 32 48 16

FTY 89 120 31

Average(Median)

Speeding 51 112 61

FTY 109 268 159


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Patrol Borough:Brooklyn South

2013Jan - June

2014Jan - June

#Change


FTY 60 133 73


FTY 171 211 40

62nd Speeding 88 161 73

FTY 113 223 110

63rd Speeding 42 91 49

FTY 26 78 52


FTY 170 171 1


FTY 55 206 151


FTY 167 430 263


FTY 38 69 31


FTY 128 696 568


FTY 112 375 263


FTY 89 192 103


FTY 111 88 -23


FTY 43 176 133

Average(Median)

Speeding 107 206 99

FTY 111 192 81


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Patrol Borough:Brooklyn North

2013Jan - June

2014Jan - June

#Change


FTY 139 145 6


FTY 25 184 159


FTY 4 170 166


FTY 30 143 113


FTY 11 144 133


FTY 31 95 64


FTY 46 211 165


FTY 2 36 34


FTY 14 126 112


FTY 5 72 67

Average(Median)

Speeding 110 248 138

FTY 20 144 124


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Patrol Borough:Queens South

2013Jan - June

2014Jan - June

# Change


FTY 21 27 6

101st Speeding 141 268 127

FTY 31 83 52


FTY 134 216 82


FTY 163 451 288

105th Speeding 159 330 171

FTY 53 121 68


FTY 67 139 72

107th Speeding 164 277 113

FTY 55 80 25


FTY 7 88 81

Average (Me-dian)

Speeding 99 203 104

FTY 54 105 51


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** The 121st precinct was created in November 2013 so comparison for the first 6 months of each year is not possible.

Patrol Borough:Queens North

2013Jan - June

2014Jan - June

# Change


FTY 113 233 120


FTY 196 237 41

109th Speeding 408 322 -86

FTY 253 480 227

110th Speeding 1637 1893 256

FTY 252 860 608


FTY 60 149 89


FTY 99 589 490

114th Speeding 245 346 101

FTY 131 175 44


FTY 242 341 99

Average(Median)

Speeding 212 290 78

FTY 164 289 126


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REFERENCES

1 New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. (2009). Summary of New York City Motor Vehicle Accidents, 2009.http://dmv.ny.gov/sites/default/files/legacy_files/statistics/2009nycsummary.pdf2 City of New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio. (2014). Vision Zero Action Plan. http://www.nyc.gov/html/visionzero/pdf/nyc-2 City of New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio. (2014). Vision Zero Action Plan. http://www.nyc.gov/html/visionzero/pdf/nyc- vision-zero-action-plan.pdf3 Transportation Alternatives. (2012). Deadly Driving Unlimited: How the NYPD Lets Dangerous Drivers Run Wild.http://transalt.org/files/news/reports/2012/Deadly_Driving_Unlimited_Report.pdf4 Redelmeier, Donald et al. Traffic-law enforcement and risk of death from motor-vehicle crashes: case-crossover study,Science Direct (June 28, 2003): http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673603137701.

Patrol Borough:Staten Island

2013Jan - June

2014Jan - June

# Change

120th Speeding 696 487 -209

FTY 70 204 134

121st** Speeding NA 499 NA

FTY NA 74 NA

122nd Speeding 459 1150 691

FTY 22 56 34

North SI(120, 121, 122

combined)

Speeding 1155 2136 981

FTY 92 334 242

123rd Speeding 610 1142 532

FTY 2 8 6

Average(Median)

Speeding 610 821 211

FTY 22 65 43

Report-Card-Six Months of Vision Zero Traffic Enforcement

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