Vision Zero: NYC DOT and NYPD Remind New Yorkers to Not Drive IMPAIRED During Holiday Weekend
NYPD to lead aggressive enforcement of drunk and impaired driving during summer’s kickoff weekend
Agencies also remind the public about two urgent state legislative priorities, including the need to: 1) renew & expand the city’s red light camera program and 2) increase accountability for drugged-driving; Current Albany session ends on June 6 – two weeks from Thursday
Editor’s note: There have been high-profile cases, including a recent investigation by 11Alive in Georgia, where drug detection experts were mistaken about the presence of drugs in a person’s system, especially since there is no actual evidence required, just observation, with this new law and others like it across the country. This is not a scientifically based analysis of a person’s impairment; it is completely subjective. For whatever reason, there have been multiple individuals who were believed by these experts to be impaired by marijuana; when their blood tests came back completely clean, and they had no alcohol in their system.
For example, Katelyn Ebner: “Katelyn Ebner crossed the center line, and got pulled over on the way home from work. She works in a bar, and does not drink while at work….The waitress spent the night in jail, had her alcohol server’s permit revoked because of the arrest. After four months, prosecutors dismissed all her charges — because the blood test came back completely clean….
“You had to spend months — and thousands of dollars — proving your innocence,” Keefe said.
“I did,” Ebner said.
Another individual had a similar experience in the same county with the same officer. “The same thing happened to college student Princess Mbamara two weeks earlier — on Good Friday….
“Princess Mbamara was also jailed. She fought the DUI-drug charges for half of 2016.
‘So the blood test comes back, and they toss the case?’ Keefe asked.
“Mbamara’s toxicology screen came back and only showed positive for lidocaine — an over-the-counter local anesthetic used in transdermal patches to treat back pain, insect bites and other types of pain and discomfort. Lidocaine can be found in many other anti-burn, anti-itch and pain creams, lotions and medications sold both over-the-counter and by prescription under a myriad of brand names, including Aspercreme, Icy Hot, Salonpas, Preparation H, Gold Bond, Solarcaine and others.”
NEW YORK – The New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT), the New York City Police Department (NYPD), the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) stood outside One Police Plaza to announce the annual initiative to crack down on speeding and drunk driving ahead of Memorial Day weekend. Agency leaders also strongly advocated for the passage of state legislation that would renew and extend the city’s red light camera program; the law authorizing the use of these cameras expires later this year. The city is also separately advocating for state legislation that increases accountability for the growing incidence of drugged driving. The current Albany legislative session is scheduled to end on June 6, two weeks from today.
“Drinking, drugs, and driving never mix, and we have a shared responsibility to keep each other safe as we celebrate the unofficial start of summer this coming weekend,” said NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez. “We are proud to work with our Vision Zero partners to reduce speeding and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. As our Albany colleagues enter the homestretch of a very productive legislative session, we are eager to work with them to address critical outstanding public safety legislation that governs our life-saving red light cameras and combats drugged driving.”
“NYPD officers will be highly visible on New York City roadways during this long Memorial Day weekend to deter unsafe driving and, when necessary, to take appropriate enforcement action,” said NYPD Commissioner Edward A. Caban. “Motorists can expect targeted enforcement of many offenses, including impaired driving, speeding, and reckless driving. Officers will also continue looking for unlicensed drivers, unregistered or uninsured vehicles, and vehicles displaying illegal license plates. Everything we do is geared toward reinforcing our primary mission of public safety, and we ask that motorists contribute by making smart, responsible decisions.”
“We know that holiday weekends pose the greatest threat when it comes to people driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and we know that increased enforcement can make a difference,” said Deputy Commissioner Ira Goldapper of the TLC’s Uniformed Services Bureau. “If you are planning on going out, you don’t even need to drive at all. TLC regulates 180,000 taxi and for-hire drivers. Every single one of them is drug tested. All of them complete Vision Zero safety courses and mandatory refresher training. Let them do the driving while you have fun.”
NYPD Memorial Day Enforcement: The NYPD will continue to keep New York City’s highways and surface roads safe by conducting enhanced enforcement throughout Memorial Day weekend. In addition to actively enforcing the laws against speeding and reckless or impaired driving, the police will carry on the city’s highly successful efforts to remove unlicensed operators from our streets while identifying and seizing uninsured or unregistered vehicles and those with fraudulent license plates.
Red Light Camera Renewal and Expansion: According to NYC DOT’s recent Red Light Camera Report, the red light camera program has yielded significant safety results over its 30 years in operation. In addition to a 73 percent decline in red light running, intersections with red light cameras saw injury-causing T-bone collisions decline 65 percent, and rear-end collisions drop 49 percent.
The program has also changed driver behavior and deterred repeat offenders; in 2023, 94 percent of vehicles caught running a red light received no more than one or two violations. Fewer than 0.5 percent of vehicles received five or more violations.
Despite these safety gains, the red light camera program is too limited to serve as a wider deterrent. Current state law limits these cameras to operating at no more than 150 intersections at a given time—or 1 percent of the city’s more than 13,700 signalized intersections. Without state legislative action, that law will expire at the end of 2024.
With these restrictions, New York City has been unable to use this life-saving tool to address the recent spike in red light running. In 2023, 29 people were killed in red light running crashes—the worst annual total ever recorded and more than double the average annual total of such deaths from the previous decade—all at intersections without red light cameras.
To counter these trends, NYC DOT has been working with Albany legislators to pass legislation sponsored by State Senator Andrew Gounardes (S2812) and Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz (A5259), which would reauthorize the existing program through December 1, 2030, and expand the number of locations to 1,325 — or about 10 percent of signalized intersections.
Drugged Driving Accountability: The city has joined a growing coalition of law-enforcement officials and advocates supporting legislation sponsored by State Senator John Mannion and Assemblymember William Magnarelli (S3135/A174) to make it possible for all drivers who drive under the influence of drugs to be held accountable for their dangerous and reckless behavior. Currently, individuals who are driving while impaired by drugs can only be prosecuted if officers can prove exactly what drug they were taking and that it was on an outdated public health list. With this bill, New York would join the majority of states in allowing officers to rely on the observations of highly trained drug recognition experts to charge impaired drivers and help deter this dangerous behavior.
“Adding red-light cameras to more intersections is not just a good idea – it is a responsible and proactive step toward creating safer streets for everyone. This safety measure should be coupled with efforts to deter motorists from driving under the influence and actually being able to hold them accountable,” said Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine. “It’s imperative that we pass laws that properly enforce against reckless drivers who put their neighbors and our families in harm’s way.”
“Drunk driving is one of the most pressing issues plaguing our roads,” said Regional Executive Director (NY/NJ/PA) of MADD Paige Carbone. “It is a topic that warrants our utmost attention, for behind every statistic lies a story of shattered lives and irreparable loss.”
Banner Image: Drunk Driving. Image Credit – stevepb
NYC DOT
The New York City Department of Transportation’s (NYC DOT) mission is to provide for the safe, efficient, and environmentally responsible movement of people and goods in the City of New York and to maintain and enhance the transportation infrastructure crucial to the economic vitality and quality of life of our primary customers, City residents.