NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – The Department of Transportation, advocates, and officials are pushing for the expansion of the city's red light camera program to increase the number of cameras and prevent more deaths, officials argued on Thursday.
Officials argued that the current program's impact is limited because it is only applicable at 150 of the city's more than 13,700 signalized intersections, which is less than 1%.
The DOT is looking to expand this by working with state lawmakers to pass bills that would extend the program until Dec. 1, 2030, and increase the camera locations to 1,325, covering about 10% of the city's intersections.
Additionally, the statement draws out its support of a new law to suspend the registrations of severe violators with five or more red light camera offenses in an attempt to tackle the increase in reckless driving recorded since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
“Three decades of data makes it clear: red light cameras reduce crashes and change driver behavior—but state law unfortunately limits their safety benefits to a tiny fraction of intersections,” said NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez. “By renewing and expanding the program and cracking down on dangerous repeat offenders, NYC DOT will have new and improved tools to combat the historic rise in reckless driving we’ve seen since the pandemic. This legislation will support the agency’s holistic approach to Vision Zero through redesigning our streets as well as educating and enforcing against the most dangerous behavior.”
Intersections with red light cameras have seen a 13% drop in T-bone injury crashes, according to the statement.
The cameras also seem to help change driving habits, with 94% of violators in 2023 getting no more than two tickets, and less than 0.5% getting five or more, the release stated.
In 2023, red-light running led to 29 deaths, the highest ever, mostly at intersections without cameras, according to the release.
Studies show that drivers with five red light tickets are three times more likely to be in injury-causing crashes, according to the release. To tackle this the DOT backing a bill proposed by by State Senator Michael Gianaris and Assemblymember William Magnarelli, which would let the Department of Motor Vehicles suspend the registration of vehicles with five or more red light violations within a year.
“The logic behind these cameras is simple: most drivers don’t run red lights. And those drivers, along with everyone else, are safer when the ones who do are held accountable,” said State Senator Andrew Gounardes. “In 2021, 45 percent of all traffic fatalities in the city happened at intersections. But only 1 percent of city intersections have cameras. If we found the antidote to a deadly illness, would we give it to only 1 percent of patients? Of course not. That’s why I’ve introduced legislation to expand the cameras across the city, so more New Yorkers are safe on our streets, whether they’re traveling by foot, bike, wheelchair, or motor vehicle. I'm thankful to Commissioner Rodriguez and DOT for their steadfast commitment to keeping all New Yorkers safe.”