Taxi Berkeley
By: Gary
Posted By:www.green-transportations.com
Source: www.nytimes.com
Cabbies who strike pedestrians in New York City can be prohibited from driving a taxi.
Hitting a pedestrian or a cyclist who has the right of way is grounds for a misdemeanor charge.
And certain “exhibition behavior” from motorcyclists, including “an explicit invitation to race,” will not fly, either.
These were among the changes approved on Thursday by the City Council, as part of a package of bills framed as a piece of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Vision Zero plan to eliminate traffic deaths by 2024. Modeled after a Swedish philosophy that treats all road deaths and serious injuries as inherently preventable, the initiative has become the centerpiece of the new administration’s transportation agenda.
“These policies will make our streets safer for pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists alike,” Melissa Mark-Viverito, the Council speaker, said at a news conference before the full Council vote.
In a statement, Mr. de Blasio praised the bills as “a major step forward.”
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Though Mr. de Blasio discussed Vision Zero during the campaign, a spate of grisly traffic deaths early this year compelled the administration to train its attention on street safety in the opening months of his term.
A bill that passed on Thursday, known as “Cooper’s Law,” was named for one of the victims: Cooper Stock, a 9-year-old boy who was struck and killed by a taxicab making a turn on the Upper West Side in January.
The bill, sponsored by Councilwoman Helen Rosenthal, allows the city to suspend and revoke the license of a taxi or livery driver who kills or maims a pedestrian who has the right of way.
Cabdrivers have accused the city of targeting the taxi industries disproportionately.
At the Council’s transportation committee meeting on Thursday, some members expressed reservations about punishing cabdrivers so severely after collisions that might have many causes. “There are bad things that can happen to good actors,” said Councilman Mark S. Weprin, adding, “To take away their livelihood makes me a little concerned.”
Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez, the committee’s chairman and a former livery driver, said that as the operators of “the most important cars in the city,” cabbies must be held to the highest standards.
The rule governing motorcycle behavior — which outlaws “wheelies, doughnuts, burnouts and revving” — drew a rebuke from Councilwoman Laurie Cumbo, who said that it might be too punitive for adventure seekers in her Brooklyn district, which includes Fort Greene and Prospect Heights. A first offense would be punishable by up to 60 days in jail.
“I would hate to see so many young people of color in prison for activities that are happening over the summer,” Ms. Cumbo said. Other bills require the city’s Transportation Department to repair missing or damaged traffic signals within 24 hours of receiving notice and review safety guidelines for bridge workers.
The package of measures also featured a series of resolutions calling on state lawmakers to approve changes that the city cannot make on its own. These included turning over control of automated enforcement cameras to the city, and stiffening penalties for driving on the sidewalk.
The de Blasio administration has also called on the state to lower the city’s default speed limit to 25 miles per hour, from 30 m.p.h. Paul Steely White, the executive director of Transportation Alternatives, a pedestrian and cycling advocacy group, said the bills “rightly focus on holding drivers accountable.”
Some street safety advocates have been critical of recent ticketing blitzes, carried out by the police, which focused on cyclists and pedestrians.
But officers have also turned their attention to dangerous driving. On Sunday, the Police Department announced a weeklong “traffic safety enforcement initiative,” pledging to crack down on speeding, red-light infractions, distracted driving and failing to yield.
During a two-day effort earlier in the month, the police issued more than 5,200 summonses.
The department said last week that pedestrian deaths had fallen by about 30 percent this year, compared with the same period in 2013. But some experts suspect that the frigid weather this year has contributed to the decrease, keeping residents indoors for much of the winter.
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Source: www.nytimes.com
