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Early Addition
In the world of traffic regulation/enforcement, we guess you should assume anything goes. Because this exchange on Streetsblog between Tribeca resident Charles Komanoff and the NYPD shows that even if there's a cop around to complain to, not much will come of it.
Komanoff wrote to the NYPD:
At 5:52 pm, a heavy-duty truck, probably in the 20,000-lb class, made an illegal left turn from Hudson Street onto Duane Street in lower Manhattan and drove west, the wrong way, on east-bound Duane Street to Greenwich Street. ...in fact pedestrians had to scatter to avoid being struck in the striped crosswalk running from the southeast corner of the T-intersection to the northeast corner.The letter was sent in November, and the NYPD's response arrived last week (though it was dated December 2006), and you can read it here. It basically says that there are many different levels of traffic enforcement agents, and the agents who witnessed the incident are not allowed to stop trucks and issue them summonses. Hello, bureaucracy!What was equally frightening — and even more upsetting — is that two uniformed NYPD traffic enforcement agents who were in the Duane Street crosswalk at that time did nothing to intervene...
I understand that TEAs are limited in the violations they can issue. But I cannot believe that their duties require them to ignore both a violation of this gravity and a request for help from a citizen.
Streetsblog also believes that Michael Horodniceanu will be the next Department of Transportation Commissioner. He's apparently an "old-school traffic engineer" - a little more "cars first" than "people first."
Photograph by autovac on Flickr
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figures.
I live on a busy street on the UWS. Almost everyday, I see extra those long MTA buses (accordion style) constantly speed down streets, often make their turns after a light has turned red, and nearly run over crossing pedestrians. Police either on foot or in their car are nearby - yet nothing happens. Unfortunately, something tragic will happen before it becomes a more exposed issues that will force the police to do something.
Buses aren't the problem. They are the solution.
Hahahahahaha, #1 - the bus drivers can KILL people (i.e. my elderly neighbor, killed about a year ago outside our building - the bus driver ran the light and hit her) and not even get a ticket, you think they'll get one just for running a measly red light?
That being said, I have lived in this city for two years and walk to work every day. I have never, in all that time, seen anyone pulled over for any traffic violation, anywhere in the city. Ever.
To my knowledge, Traffic Enforcement Agents do not have the authority to stop vehicles or write moving violations, just issue parking tickets and such.
So I don't think there is anything they could have done if they wanted to.
Tag on an out -of-state plate and you got yourself a ticket. Whether it is a parking or moving violation, I guess that just depends on who actually sees your plate. And depending on the traffic agent.
You can probably blame it on the police union as much as bureaucracy. But an awful lot of the cops out there are just out the collect a regular paycheck anyway. I've personally seen them ignore quite a few violations whenever they felt like they didn't feel like filling out a lot of paperwork.
I've been in the car for two traffic violations, as a passenger. Sucked both times. One was not wearing a seatbelt, and the second was turning south from 34th st onto 7th avenue.
I got pulled over by cops for not wearing a seat belt when I was wearing one! And then they tried to get me to be thankful they weren't ticketing me and went nutty when I said I had nothing to thank them for. So they yell at me for 20 minutes, claim there is all sorts of stuff they could ticket me for, and finally found one thing that I knew and they knew I could beat in court.
So I get the ticket, go to court and it is dismissed in seconds. Those two guys were dicks.
Those Elongated buses are a real time danger for any foot traffic .Forget the trucks, When will the MTA learn it's lesson and discontinue their use .