Lander Proposes Removing NYPD from Traffic Enforcement and Moving to a More Effective Way to Reduce Crashes
On World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, Comptroller Candidate’s Plan Builds on Work to Hold Reckless Drivers Accountable Through Data-Driven, Restorative Approach
Lander Will Hold Virtual Press Conference at 1:30 PM with Street Safety and Police Reform Advocates
NEW YORK – Comptroller candidate and City Council Member Brad Lander released a set of recommendations today for improving street safety with less policing. Citing the failure of the NYPD to effectively prevent or hold accountable persistently dangerous drivers, along with the deep history of racial profiling in police enforcement of traffic violations, Lander called for removing uniformed NYPD officers from routine traffic enforcement. The full proposal is available here.
To improve street safety, Lander proposed immediately implementing and expanding the Reckless Driver Accountability Act (which Lander sponsored, and the Council passed in February, but which the Mayor has failed to fund or implement) to provide a data-driven, restorative approach to holding dangerous drivers accountable, curbing reckless driving by City agencies and reducing settlement costs, and investing in street safety infrastructure and intersection redesigns.
“For too long, we have shifted more and more roles to police officers, bloating their budgets while starving other public safety and public health programs of resources. Traffic enforcement by police does little to achieve safer streets, but brings with it the risk of racial profiling and escalatory violence. Mayor de Blasio continues to spend $11 billion on policing, but he has failed to provide the mere $1.6 million to implement the Reckless Driver Accountability Act. We have better tools to reduce crashes, save lives, and prevent thousands of injuries every year,” said Brad Lander, Comptroller candidate and city Council Member.
In 2017, there were 46,000 hit-and-run crashes in New York City, more than 5,000 of which resulted in injury. Yet on average, NYPD detectives have arrested just 1% of all hit-and-run drivers each year. The implementation of changes to street design has proven far more effective in reducing speeding, crashes, injuries, and deaths. At the same time, local and national data tell a sadly familiar story about racial profiling and racialized escalation of traffic stops. Here in NYC, Allan Feliz was shot and killed by an NYPD officer in October 2019 in the Bronx after being pulled over and (wrongfully) accused of failing to wear a seatbelt.
Lander’s recommendations include:
Remove NYPD officers from conducting routine traffic stops.
Implement and expand the Reckless Driver Accountability Act, which uses red-light and speed cameras to identify the city’s most persistent dangerous drivers, and utilizes a restorative, escalating approach that requires them to change their behavior (or ultimately risk losing their privilege to drive).
Transfer the Collision Investigation Squad from the NYPD to the Department of Transportation, so it can focus more effectively on preventing crashes.
Require City agencies to take action to reduce traffic crashes and associated settlement payouts, building on the successful model implemented by NYC DOT.
Invest in life-saving infrastructure to discourage speeding and protect cyclists.
In February 2020, the City Council passed, and Mayor de Blasio signed, Lander’s groundbreaking Reckless Driver Accountability Act, which relies on speed camera data to identify repeat speeders and require them to go through a restorative justice driver safety course, or risk impoundment of their car. The program was scheduled to go into effect in October, yet the City’s FY21 budget passed in June omitted the modest $1.6 million in funding needed to implement it. Lander voted against the budget in the City Council because it failed to shift significant funding from the NYPD to social services.
The COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped NYC’s streets and transit patterns, yet traffic deaths have spiked. Even with fewer cars on the road this spring during the city’s lockdown, nearly 200 people have been killed by cars this year -- putting in on track to be the most deadly year for traffic crash deaths in the past decade.
Following the World Day of Remembrance for Traffic Crash Victims event virtually hosted by Transportation Alternatives at 12 PM, Lander will hold a press conference on Zoom at 1:30 PM to answer questions about his street safety proposals. Register here to attend.
Quotes from policing reform and safe streets advocates:
“As a parent who has buried my child, my heart aches for all parents whose children have been killed and harmed whether it be in a traffic crash or by the hands of the police. All New Yorkers should be able to move freely and safely around the city, no matter the color of their skin, income level, or neighborhood,” said Amy Cohen, mother of Sammy Cohen Eckstein who was killed in a traffic crash outside her home in 2013 at the age of 12. “I have long fought for automated enforcement because it is effective at saving lives without bias and potential violent escalations including reckless chases. The technology exists to enforce red light running, distracted driving, blocking the box, bus/bike lane blockage, and more. We just need the political will to implement them. Once cameras are used to enforce the majority of traffic violations and the data used to target the most dangerous violators, the need for live enforcement would be greatly reduced. And in the interim, armed police officers should not be enforcing traffic laws but rather should be the domain of the DOT.”
"The Transforming Traffic Safety Platform to remove the NYPD from traffic enforcement is long overdue. The NYPD's murder of my brother, Allan Feliz, is a painfully clear example of this. Allan was a loving son, father, and brother who would be with us today if NYPD officers had not racially profiled, attacked, and shot him after falsely accusing him of not wearing his seatbelt and unjustly stopping his car. NYPD Sgt. Rivera and Officers Barratt and Almanzar must be fired from the NYPD and the NYPD must be completely removed from traffic enforcement," said Samy Feliz, brother of Allan Feliz who was killed by NYPD officers during a routine traffic stop in 2019.
“Achieving safe streets in New York requires a lot of creative problem solving. That includes changing city institutions so they can better deliver on that goal. Many thanks to Brad Lander for proposing real steps to hold dangerous drivers accountable and situating them in a broad call for better designing and managing streets at a time when traffic safety in New York City is deteriorating,” said Jon Orcutt, advocacy director at Bike New York and former NYC DOT policy director.
“Brad Lander’s vision of a data-driven, highly automated, restorative approach to enforcement of dangerous driving violations, coupled with his plans to remove police from routine traffic stops and reform CIS, promises a future that’s both safer and fairer. I look forward to working with him to put these proposals into practice,” said Eric McClure, executive director of Streets PAC.
“Councilmember Lander’s commitment to improving traffic safety with less policing is rooted not in ideology but in pragmatism. He knows what works: automated enforcement, restorative justice and people-centered street design; as well as what doesn’t: deploying more cops in cruisers to get people walking and bicycling to toe the line. Brad’s "street safety with less policing" program points the way to fairer and safer streets in New York City, and Right Of Way is proud to support it,” said Charles Komanoff, Organizer with Right Of Way.
"At a time when more New Yorkers than ever agree on the need to design streets for people of all ages and abilities, Councilmember Lander's proposals will ensure that the city's approach to guaranteeing mobility and preventing traffic violence is guided by such vitally important principles as equity and restorative justice. I'm proud to support his efforts,” said Doug Gordon, safe streets advocate.
“Substituting automated systems and trained civilians in the place of police to conduct routine traffic law enforcement is the lowest-hanging fruit for the police accountability movement—and it is supported by many police officials as well. There is no excuse to further delay the common-sense reforms in Lander’s platform,” said Steve Vaccarro, cyclist and pedestrian attorney.