BILL NUMBER: S7678A
SPONSOR: MAYER
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law and the public officers law,
in relation to establishing a school speed zone camera demonstration
program in the city of White Plains; and providing for the repeal of
such provisions upon expiration thereof
 
PURPOSE OF BILL:
To authorize the City of White Plains to install and operate speed
cameras in up to three school speed zones.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section one amends the Vehicle and Traffic Law to authorize the City of
White Plains to impose monetary liability on the owner of a vehicle
using a speed violation monitoring system for not obeying the posted
speed limit in a school zone. The city is authorized to operate speed
cameras in up to three school speed zones and may use them on a school
day, during, one hour before, and one hour after school hours, and
during, thirty minutes before and thirty minutes after a period of
student activities. Speed data, crash history and roadway geometry must
all be considered by the city when determining where to install and
operate the devices. This section also sets the conditions that a speed
violation monitoring system must satisfy each day before it is used and
annual calibration requirements. Finally, section one requires that the
City of White Plains prepare a yearly report for the legislature and the
executive on the pilot program for the duration of the program.
Section two amends the Public Officers Law to allow photographs, micro-
photographs, videotape or other recorded images captured by the speed
violation monitoring system authorized by the Vehicle and Traffic Law to
be exempt from Freedom of Information Law requests.
Section three requires that the purchase or lease of equipment by the
City of White Plains to carry out this program must be subject to the
provisions of section 103 of the general municipal law.
Section four sets the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Speeding endangers every community in New York. According to the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, speeding drivers are at
a higher risk for loss of control of their vehicle, reduce the effec-
tiveness of occupant protection equipment, require an increased stopping
distance after the driver perceives a danger, and increase the likeli-
hood of a crash being severe. Consequently, driving above the posted
speed limit is a factor in 29% of traffic related fatalities nationwide.
This danger is magnified in school zones where large numbers of students
are arriving by bus or on foot and are often outside during the school
day.
To mitigate this danger, New York City implemented the State's first
speed camera pilot program. The program has been an overwhelming
success. On average, speeding decreased 73% in school zones that had
speed cameras added and some areas saw reductions of 90%. Cameras have
also proven to be effective at preventing repeat offenses: 46% of driv-
ers who received a ticket from these cameras did not receive a second
and an additional 19% of drivers did not receive more than two between
2019 and 2021.
New York City's program has demonstrated that speed camera programs make
streets safer. The City of White Plains has requested legislative
permission to enact a school speed zone camera program to help make
their school zones safer for students and the surrounding communities.
This legislation would authorize the city to implement a speed camera
program until 2030 to test the efficacy within the city's school zones.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have
become a law and be deemed repealed December 31, 2030.

Statutes affected:
S7678: 87 public officers law, 87(2) public officers law
S7678A: 87 public officers law, 87(2) public officers law