It’s Gonna Be A Slow Road To Preventing Accidents In The City

Motorists who didn’t bother adhering to the old 30 mph speed limit are probably laughing at city officials. “I’ll go however fast I need to go – what’s lowering the speed by a few numbers gonna do?”

Those who read my column earlier this year know that I refer to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s initiative as “Zero Vision” rather than “Vision Zero” because a lot of residents won’t follow rules of the road no matter what “vision” is put in front of us.

Okay – maybe we should give this new speed limit thing a try. It’s only been in effect for a few weeks – sometimes it takes a while for people to follow rules and become accustomed to a new law or regulation, right? Maybe drivers who clearly went way over the speed limit to begin with will notice these 25 mph signs all over the city and think about the preventative measures officials are trying to take to save their lives, right?

NOT LIKEY!

We can’t lie about all the car accidents we’ve seen in the community. Drivers trying to beat the light and blowing through stop signs…Pedestrians walking into the middle of the street while traffic is zooming by…Drivers cutting each other off or jumping the curb because they were “swerving to avoid another car"….

Let’s get real! There are plenty of accidents and casualties that aren’t a result of speeding.  Careless drivers and pedestrians who don’t follow the rules of the road are two factors the city has no control over. Hence, officials have “Zero Vision” for the city, in my opinion.

Another reason I don’t think lowering the speed limit will work – ever – is because the city has so many residents and visitors from different walks of life who practice different driving habits. You’ve got drivers from New Jersey who can make a right turn on a red light – something that’s illegal in New York. You’ve got new residents from the Caribbean, and other islands, who are first learning the rules of the road in the city. Then, of course, you’ve got drivers who just don't care and attempt that illegal U-turn when oncoming traffic is clearly approaching too closely – or that motorcyclist who speeds up on  Remsen Avenue or Rockaway Parkway – trying to beat a driver making a turn onto another avenue.

I don’t think de Blasio and Company truly investigated the causes of most accidents in the city that weren’t a result of speeding. Sure, there’s an entire report on what “Zero Vision” plans to address – including stronger enforcement and driver and pedestrian education. The city’s also going to “implement safety engineering improvements”…Wow, sounds like a complicated term – and a lot of work!

If you’ve read about the reported difference in the survival rate of accident victims– in light of decreasing the speed limit – it seems silly to realistically think that you have a better chance of surviving in the event that ANY moving object plows into you. I’ve been to communities all over the city where pedestrians and drivers are practicing bad road rules – or NO rules at all!

It’s not going to “take time” for residents to get used to and adhere to the new speed limit. And I don’t think, in time, that we’ll see fewer accidents as a result of “Zero Vision” being implemented. In the past few weeks there were numerous fatalities and injuries that were simply a result of drivers not following basic road rules.

On November 13th, six people were reportedly injured after a car – traveling in the wrong direction on the FDR Drive – slammed into two other cars. Going in the wrong direction??? The Daily News reported that the car was heading south on the northbound side of the freeway. WHY? Didn’t this driver account for the fact that they were going the wrong way? Isn’t following traffic – in the designated lane – going in the RIGHT direction – a fundamental driving concept? 
What's great about some careless drivers is that they often get away with illegal moves without a causing an accident. Dangerous drivers take a chance that no one's going to get hurt or killed. Sadly, that one time they thought they could pull off that vehicular "stunt" they've ended their life or someone else's.

It’s not about getting people used to new rules – or enforcing rules that are probably obvious to anyone with common sense, which isn’t so common! “Zero Vision” will only work if everyone living and visiting the city MAKES it work by being conscious of how their driving habits can end or ruin others' lives! 

Just keep track of how many accidents take place within the next few months – and your mind will be racing, like those speeding cars, for a better solution.

(Unpublished as of 11/13/14)