Results tagged “drivers”

The holidays must be a lucrative time for drivers who lure passengers into their unlicensed taxis at airports, but the Port Authority is making it tough for them this year. Yesterday Queens DA Richard Brown announced [pdf] that a crackdown on unlicensed taxi drivers has resulted in 18 arrests at JFK and LaGuardia. The arrests come a month after Governor Paterson signed a bill increasing penalties for unlawfully soliciting ground transportation at an airport, making it a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail and/or a fine of up to $1,250.

As the NY Post continues their takedown of the pedicab industry today, we wonder who causes the most trouble on the city's streets.

We all know that pedestrians are crazy about jaywalking, and bikers are outspoken about every single thing they can possibly be outspoken about, but what about drivers? Well, they're just rude. You knew that, but now Streetfilms has a scaremongering video, complete with subtle eerie soundtrack music, that assures the viewer they probably encountered death multiple times today.

According to GMAC Insurance's annual National Driver Test, drivers in the Empire State are dead last in the country. You can take the test here; New Yorkers scored an average of 70.5 while top honors went to Idaho and Wisconsin drivers, who received 80.6. NJ is second to last and California is fourth to last, with Hawaii in between. NY1's Roger Clark posed some questions to drivers—here's an exchange (spoiler warning, if you planned on taking the test): "Roger Clark: 'A traffic light with a flashing red signal means: A) Yield; B) Stop; C) Caution.' Driver: 'I think it's C. Caution, slow down. When I see it, I slow down.' Clark: 'Actually, you're supposed to stop.' Driver: 'You are? I do not stop.'"

Like Melissa Plaut before them, it's being reported that "thousands of New York City residents laid off in the financial crisis have turned to driving taxis." One problem: now there are too many cabbies and not enough cabs. Harlem Yellow Cab says they're "sending people home every shift without a car. It's a very bad situation." City officials report 45,805 taxicab drivers, 13,000 taxis, and "the number of new hack licenses the city issued rose 19% in the past three months." The Daily News points towards one driver, who turned to the profession a few months ago after being a successful realtor and mortgage broker for 20 years. He told them he wanted to remain anonymous for the article: "not because I am ashamed, or embarrassed, but my children are. We are very well-known in our community and lived a good life for so many years." But with the economic crisis hitting just about everyone, are people even taking cabs anymore?

In the wake of the fatal stabbing of B46 bus driver Edwin Thomas by a passenger earlier this month in Bedford-Stuyvesant, the MTA has announced a pilot program to test partitions that would separate drivers from passengers. The partitions will be tested on buses operating out of the Flatbush Depot in Brooklyn, the Times reports. A committee studying bus driver safety is also urging the MTA do away with the paper transfers issued on buses because it's a common cause of confrontation between drivers and passengers. Thomas was allegedly stabbed to death by 20-year-old Horace Moore after Thomas refused to hand out a paper transfer because he hadn't paid his fare. And the MTA also released a study showing that there were 236 assaults on bus drivers so far this year through December 9th, and 18 percent of those were related to fare evasion. (67 of the incidents involved the driver being spit on.)

Four more people can be added to the total number of New Yorkers who have been run down by drivers finding it difficult to stay on the road this weekend. In the fourth incident in two days, two toddlers were badly injured when a 16-year-old driver swerved onto the sidewalk in Flatbush, Brooklyn and injured two children and two young women. Both of the toddlers needed to be hospitalized--one in critical condition and the other in stable condition.

Gerritsen Beach posted this photograph of $4-and-over gasoline in Sheepshead Bay and asked, "Is this hell?" Well, for those drivers who could afford to fill up and head out of town this Memorial weekend, it might be heaven--the Daily News has two photos showing the contrast in traffic between this year's and last year's automobile rush on the Sunrise Highway.

The existence of dedicated bike lanes are a sought-after city feature by New York's cyclists; but even when they appear they're often blocked by delivery trucks and drivers who remain oblivious to their existence. While Mayor Bloomberg has attempted to discourage drivers--or cash in on them--in the city with congestion pricing, the mere existence of bike lanes apparently does little to prevent drivers from owning the roads. The Times looks into the conundrum of bike lane non-compliance today.

Although city regulations forbid cars from blocking bike lanes — a violation that carries a $115 fine — those rules are routinely ignored by drivers who use the lanes as parking spots, loading zones and places to pick up passengers. Such maneuvers have enraged cyclists who say they are unlawful, rude and dangerous.

Streetsblog recently featured some video from online magazine Slate, which set out to identify the stupidest bike lanes in America. Slate's conclusion: don't rely on a thin stripe of paint to protect you from idiotic or disrespectful drivers. For those who imagine that Europe is a halcyon haven of bike friendly traffic design, the Slate video has multiple examples to the contrary.

Weighing in on the modified congestion pricing plan the Traffic Congestion Mitigation Commission recommended, Mayor Bloomberg said:

"The Commission has done a thorough and thoughtful job. They've taken testimony from hundreds of residents, community leaders and civic organizations. They've held dozens of public meetings and have analyzed mountains of data. Although the final recommendation varies from our original proposal, I accept it.

Continue reading "Bloomberg Accepts Commission's Modified Congestion Pricing Plan "

Short-term strategic improvements to subway, bus, and express bus service should be put in place before pricing kicks inYou can read the recommendation here (PDF) and Streetsblog's Aaron Naparstek is at the meeting and tells us the commission's recommendation "is an impressive piece of work."

"The commission did a great job of taking the mayor's plan and improving it by incorporating feedback from the public. The process was outstanding. I really hope that the Council and Assembly will see the wisdom in passing this and allowing this pilot project to go forward.. If they do, NYC will immediately be a model for 21st cent urban sustainability and any example to other cities around the world."

Continue reading "Commission Recommends Modified Congestion Pricing Plan; Boundary Would Start at 60th Street"

Although traffic fatalities decreased for pedestrians, drivers and their passengers in 2007, last year saw an uptick in motorcycle and bicycle deaths. The numbers announced yesterday by the mayor at a press conference in Brighton Beach add up, overall, to the lowest number of traffic deaths since the city began keeping track almost a century ago.

The Independent Budget Office released a report examining who might be affected by congestion pricing. The report, "Behind the Wheel: Who Drives Into The Proposed 'Congestion Zone'" can be read here (PDF) but the topline is that drivers are middle-class and over half are from Nassau County, Westchester, NJ, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. The report states, "Looking at the extremes of the earnings distribution for all congestion zone commuters, motor vehicle users were less likely...