By JENNIFER KUFA
Speaker Christine Quinn and several other City Council members urged on Tuesday to authorize placing 20 to 40 stationary or mobile speed cameras throughout the city.
The pilot program would not photograph drivers, but would identify the license plate number of the vehicle. The owners of speeding vehicles would be fined.
Penalties for speeders caught by these cameras would range from $25 to $100.
“Speeding is the number one cause of fatal car crashes in New York City,” said Quinn. “We must do everything in our power to prevent these collisions.”
The push for this state legislation comes a week after Nachman and Raizy Glauber, air max 90 femmes Williamsburg parents expecting a baby, were killed in a hit-and-run accident where the driver was allegedly going twice the speed limit.
The proposal for speed cameras also comes in the wake of a sixteen-year-old boy being killed along with five other people injured on a sidewalk near LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City on Monday. This occurred in the district of Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer who has been fighting for many years to prevent speeding.
“We are obligated to protect the lives of our city residents and introducing a speed camera pilot program in New York City will help reduce excessive speeding in areas that have been plagued by drag racing, excessive vehicular crashes and pedestrian collisions,” said Van Bramer.
According to the council members, the program is not meant to create revenue, but simply increase safety and prevent injuries and deaths.
“I don’t believe in the ‘I gotcha’ tickets when it comes to traffic enforcement,” said Councilman James Vacca. “This isn’t something I do as a revenue raiser, this is something I do as a life-saver.”
“It’s not about ‘gotcha’ tickets, it’s about safety,” said Quinn. “There is technology available that could help the police and it could also allow them to be doing other things, which we also desperately need them to do.”
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