Goodbye, Dangerous Vehicle Abatement Program, the city hardly knew you. We mean that literally, as of the more than 1,600 drivers who triggered a notice — having been caught with a 15 speeding tickets or 5 red light tickets over a period of just a year — only about half even bothered to even take the required safety course. All in all, only 12 vehicles were ever seized, meaning that the program got dangerous drivers off the streets in much the same way that Kevin McCarthy was technically speaker of the house. Now it’s gone, having expired with nothing on deck to replace even that middling effort.
Every type of enforcement we have is intended to punish bad behavior and dissuade future bad behavior, and it’s generally understood that the penalty and deterrence should be commensurate with the harm done, or the harm that’s possible. A small fine seems appropriate to littering, while many years in prison seem appropriate for premeditated murder. This seems to break down when we’re talking about traffic violations, in part because driving is such a daily, quotidian activity for so many people.
That doesn’t change the fact that, while traffic violations might register in some people’s minds as on par with littering or an open container, the potential consequences are anything but equivalent. Just last week, a seven-year old boy was killed on his way to school by an NYPD tow truck driver who allegedly failed to yield and exercise due care. Some might argue these are minor errors, but how can we accept that when a child is dead, one of more than 70 pedestrians killed in crashes this year.
The fact of the matter is that it’s rare for someone with no documented risky behavior behind the wheel to suddenly escalate to a fatal collision. In most cases, there are plenty of signs that a driver is reckless long before someone is seriously hurt or killed.
Just about two years ago, another child lost her life in a Brooklyn collision after Tyrik Mott sped the wrong way down Gates Ave. and slammed into another car, causing both to jump the curb, killing 3-month-old baby Apolline Mong-Guillemin and injuring her parents. It later emerged that Mott had a suspended license and his car had racked up a stunning 160 traffic violations. This was essentially a death foretold.
At the time, then-Borough President Eric Adams called for “proactive enforcement.” It’s tragic that we are again asking for this enforcement after the death of another child.
The city has plenty of data, including a list of the hundreds of drivers who managed to trip the already-high requirements for the abatement program and then didn’t have their vehicles seized. It also has a lot of weight to force better driving; even within the fleets that the city itself already operates or regulates, like for-hire vehicles, a requirement for safe driving would go a long way. What’s missing is the political will to do what’s necessary to safeguard the public.
In general, Mayor Adams and city leadership must get comfortable with acting to stop crashes before they occur, which means taking away cars and doling out real penalties that will hurt. Unless that happens, it’s only a matter of time before the next child is buried.
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