March 26, 2014 By Michael Florio
The 114th precinct is going to be cracking down on careless and dangerous drivers.
Deputy Inspector Kevin Maloney said the precinct is going to ticket irresponsible drivers more than ever before—particularly those who run red lights, speed or fail to yield to pedestrians.
Furthermore, the precinct will also be targeting distracted drivers—those who text while driving or forget to wear their seatbelts. Meanwhile, drunk drivers are more likely to be caught in Astoria than ever before.
Maloney said that the 114th precinct supports Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Vision Zero initiative, which aims to bring traffic fatalities down to virtually zero within 10 years. He said that in 2013 the number of people killed in traffic accidents on New York streets was almost the same as the city’s murder rate.
In 2013, there were 333 murders, compared to 286 traffic fatalities.
Maloney said the precinct is looking to set up sobriety checkpoints.
He said that the precinct has already been targeting drunk drivers this year– but plans to step it up further. The precinct has made 94 drunk-driving arrests for the year through March 23, up from 62 for the same period last year.
Maloney also cautioned pedestrians to be careful, although he did not say that the precinct would ticket jaywalkers.
“Everyone is always quick to blame the driver but it can be the fault of the pedestrians,” he said. “No matter who’s wrong, the pedestrian loses.”
Maloney also warned pedestrians not to text while crossing the street.
