NYC touts success of speed-limiting technology pilot; officials hope to expand program in coming years
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The initial results of New York City’s speed-limiting technology pilot have been encouraging, prompting officials to push for a massive expansion of the program in the coming years.
In August, Mayor Eric Adams announced that intelligent speed assistance technology had been installed in a select number of city fleet vehicles.
The intelligent speed assist technology was installed in 50 of the city’s vehicles in late June as part of an $80,000 pilot program that limits vehicles’ speeds based on an area’s speed limits.
On Wednesday, Adams provided the first update on the traffic safety initiative, announcing that vehicles equipped with the speed-limiting technology have traveled 133,400 miles thus far, abiding by the speed limit 99% of the time.
The remaining 1% represents the driver’s initial acceleration before the speed-limiting technology kicked in and reduced their speed, according to the city.
“Our administration is leading by example on street safety, and the results of the intelligent speed assistance pilot show that we can leverage technology to reduce unsafe driving behaviors,” said Adams. “This pilot helped ensure almost all drivers with this technology in their cars complied with local speed laws — undoubtedly making our city safer.”
Each equipped vehicle has an override button that can temporarily disable the speed-limiting technology for 15 seconds, which was used roughly 600 times during the pilot program.
Based on the positive early results, the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) has submitted grant funding requests to vastly expand the rollout of the speed-limiting technology to 7,500 New York City fleet vehicles over the next three to four years.
“Excessive speeding is one of the greatest safety risks,” said DCAS Deputy Commissioner and NYC Chief Fleet Officer Keith Kerman. “New York City is focused on reducing speeding through street re-design, enforcement, and speed cameras. DCAS is now taking the next step, leading the effort to design a vehicle that can’t and won’t speed in the first place.”
BILL TO REQUIRE SPEED-LIMITERS
In August, State. Sen. Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan) introduced legislation that, if passed, would require all vehicles built after Jan. 1, 2024, that are registered in New York to include advanced safety technology, including speed-limiting capabilities.
The speed-limiting technology, known formally as intelligent speed assistance, is widely used in European countries and can be programmed to prevent drivers from exceeding the posted speed limit.
The bill references a rise in traffic fatalities in New York City, citing the spike in deaths as justification for requiring the new vehicle safety features. Recent data shows that New York City’s traffic fatalities have started trending down following three consecutive years of increases, but the number of residents losing their lives on city streets remains well-above the low levels reached in 2018.
“Traffic violence in New York City skyrocketed in 2021 to levels not seen in years. There were over 270 traffic-related deaths on city streets in 2021 -- the deadliest year of Mayor de Blasio’s term. Unfortunately, it was not an outlier. There were also record deaths in 2020, with 243 confirmed traffic fatalities. The unfortunate trends we are witnessing add up to a crisis. Each death is preventable. A multifaceted approach to street safety is necessary to keep our pedestrians, cyclists, motorists and all road users safe,” the legislation reads.
In addition to the speed-limiting technology, the bill would require all new vehicles to come equipped with various other advanced safety features, including advanced emergency braking (AEB), emergency lane keeping systems (ELKS), blind spot information systems (BSIS), drowsiness and distraction recognition technology, rear-view camera sensor systems and event data recorders (EDR).
“Vehicle technology has advanced significantly in recent years, with advanced safety features now available that have the potential to greatly reduce injuries and deaths on our roadways. We must use every tool available to us to keep New York safe,” the bill continues.
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