Watch CBS News

Traffic Fatalities Down Under Mayor De Blasio's Vision Zero Effort

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Mayor Bill de Blasio's Vision Zero program to keep pedestrians safe seems to be working.

As WCBS 880's Rich Lamb reported, the number of pedestrians hit and killed by vehicles in New York City went down by a third in the first four months of the de Blasio administration.

Traffic Fatalities Down Under Mayor De Blasio's Vision Zero Effort

Forty were killed this year, compared with 60 during the same period last year, and those injured by vehicles dropped by 8 percent.

"Commissioner Bratton, the police commissioner, has been much more focused on enforcing against the infractions that are doing the most harm: speeding, failing to yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk, the two leading causes of injuries and fatalities on our streets. The NYPD is now cracking down on those violations like never before," said Paul Steely White, executive director of the group Transportation Alternatives. "We know that speeding motorists injure more New Yorkers than drunk drivers and distracted drivers combined. That's a very, very important data point and they are listening to what the data's telling them and they're dispatching their police officers accordingly."

Traffic Fatalities Down Under Mayor De Blasio's Vision Zero Effort

The mayor has announced a number of efforts to cut down on traffic fatalities. Last week, the city unveiled a number of slow zones where the speed limit will be reduced from 30 to 25 mph.

You May Also Be Interested In These Stories

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.