New York City streets have never been safer — but one persistent danger demands our full attention. A small but reckless group of recidivist speeders poses a grave threat to the health and safety of everyone. That is why we, and Mayor Mamdani, support Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) to rein in super speeders and save lives.
Since Vision Zero launched in 2014, New York City has led the nation in combating traffic violence by deploying world-class street design, greater public education, and expanded enforcement efforts. We also recognized that traffic safety is not just a transportation issue, but a health crisis for injured patients and the providers that treat them.
The results of the program are undeniable. One effective intervention, automated traffic enforcement cameras, has reduced speeding by 96% where cameras are installed. The vast majority of drivers stop speeding after one or two camera violations, but a small and extremely reckless group of super speeders flagrantly endanger themselves and everyone around them.
The choice to speed, putting personal convenience ahead of the lives of others, is made from the driver’s seat. That is where we must act next if we are serious about treating traffic violence with the same urgency as other preventable causes of death.
Though traffic deaths have reached historic lows in New York, there is more work to do. Each year, more than 200 people are killed in crashes across the five boroughs. This is unacceptable.
We know that we must evolve our approach to Vision Zero by targeting the super speeders — those drivers who rack up a high number of enforcement camera violations in one year. They pose a grave threat to the health and safety of everyone on our streets: drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians. A driver who strikes a person at 30 miles per hour is twice as likely to kill that person as a driver going 25 mph. Speed kills. And we see this all too often: Speeding is a leading cause of traffic deaths and severe injuries in New York City.
NYC Health + Hospitals emergency departments and trauma surgeons see this grim reality firsthand: broken bones, back and head injuries, concussions, and much worse. Many of these patients require surgery. Some require long-term rehabilitation. And some experience the emotional toll of a disability or chronic pain that can often lead to depression. This is preventable harm.
Fatal crashes are often predictable: Department of Transportation data show that a vehicle with 16 speed camera violations in one year is twice as likely to be involved in a crash causing death or severe injury. A vehicle with more than 20 violations is five times as likely.
ISA technology can target and preempt super speeders’ dangerous behavior. It prevents a vehicle from exceeding the speed limit in the first place, potentially changing the fate of everyone in its path. This technology was installed on more than 700 city fleet vehicles and successfully eliminated speeding in those cars and trucks.
Authority to use the technology in the vehicles of the most egregious repeat offenders is currently included in budget bills being advanced by both Gov. Hochul and the state Senate. The Mamdani administration supports this and urges the Legislature to include ISA in the final state budget. We urgently need this powerful new tool to target the small but extremely dangerous group of super speeders.
ISA, coupled with safer street design, robust traffic enforcement, and public education, will reduce crashes, save lives, and protect the health of all New Yorkers.
Flynn is commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation. Katz is president and CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals.