NYPD To Launch Traffic Safety Campaign

The New York Police Department (NYPD) on Monday launched a city-wide campaign to promote better traffic safety.

The campaign, which according to the NYPD is scheduled to last three weeks will "focus on hazardous driving behaviors such as speeding, passing through red lights, driving while using a cellphone, driving while texting, making improper turns, disobeying traffic signs, and failing to yield to pedestrians."

The NYPD also noted that "problematic" intersections throughout the city will receive more attention. "The traffic safety operation will focus on the most problematic intersections around the city and take place during all hours of the day," officials wrote in a press release announcing the 3-week-long traffic safety campaign.

So, what changes should you make to stay safe while driving through New York City's busy streets? As previously stated, officials want to crack down on hazardous driving behaviors, some of which includes texting while driving, speeding, going through red lights, and arguably most important -- failure to yield to pedestrians.

To say there are a lot of pedestrians in The Big Apple would be an understatement. Each year, millions of people tie up their shoes to traverse New York City, and motorists who fail to yield place these pedestrians in direct danger. According to NYPD data published at StreetsBlog.org, over 15,000 pedestrians and cyclists were injured and 155 killed in 2012.

NYPD officers will be out 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to crack down on dangerous and/or illegal driving habits in an effort to reduce the number of accident-related injuries. The campaign is scheduled to last for 3 weeks, ending on July 6; however, officials have stated that they will continue to promote traffic safety long after its city-wide campaign comes to a close.

A previous traffic safety campaign performed by the NYPD yielded approximately 4,800 speeding tickets during the course of just 2 days in May. But contrary to what some people may believe, the goal of this campaign isn't strictly to raise money. Granted, the NYPD will obviously generate some valuable tax revenue from handing out traffic violation tickets to motorists, but the real goal is to prevent injuries and save lives.

The NYPD's traffic safety campaign comes just months after Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the Vision Zero Plan -- a plan to eliminate all traffic fatalities within the city.

How do you feel about the NYPD's traffic safety campaign? Let us know in the comments section below!