A new NYC law that punishes dangerous driving by forcing violators to attend a mandatory safety course was passed in February of 2021, but it wasn’t until November that the first group of drivers ticketed under the Dangerous Vehicle Abatement Program completed the course. The new law applies to drivers that have racked up five red light tickets or are caught speeding in a school zone 15 times going back to October 2020.
The legislation was prompted after a driver sped through a red light in Park Slope in 2018, killing two children. The children’s mothers were also injured, and one, who was pregnant, lost her unborn child. It turned out the driver had 12 traffic violations in the two years before the crash.
The city believes more than 5,000 vehicles meet that threshold and will be required to complete the safety program. The first round of letters went out in early November. The required course consists of a 90-minute presentation and screening of a film that was created for the Taxi & Limousine Commission (TLC) in 2015 called “Drive Like Your Family Lives Here.” The video features five different families who lost someone due to a reckless driver.
Source: Gothamist
