With less than a month to go before the speed limit drops from 30 to 25 miles per hour in New York City, officials are launching a public awareness campaign to educate people about the new speed limit — and explain the reasons behind it.
"It's not just a random thing we're trying to do to make your life miserable," said Polly Trottenberg, the city's transportation commissioner. "If you drive slower on the busy streets of New York, you're very likely to save a life."
To hammer that message home, the DOT is running ads, getting the word out via social media, and handing out flyers to pedestrians and drivers — as well as partnering with family members of crash victims.
At a press conference in Brooklyn on Wednesday, Amy Cohen — the mother of a 12-year-old boy who was killed on Prospect Park West last year — said if the driver had been going slower, her son would still be alive.
"There is a culture in New York," said Cohen. "People think they're in a hurry. My message is: this could be your child, this could be your husband. This could be your parents. And it's really important to reflect on that and slow down."
Trottenberg said hearing from people like Cohen could help shift that culture by explaining "the reason behind the policy, and...why you need to embrace it."
Meanwhile, the NYPD has been stepping up enforcement of those moving violations most likely to lead to pedestrian injuries or death. According to agency data, failure to yield summons have increased 147 percent from 10,703 in 2013 to 26,482 in 2014; speeding summons have increased 36 percent from 65,985 in 2013 to 89,630 in 2014, calendar year to date.
But Trottenberg says enforcement, while important, shouldn't be drivers' sole motivation for obeying the law. "Don't be slowing down because you're always worried about a ticket," she said. "Slow down because it's the right thing to do."
Besides, she added, quoting something a colleague once told her: "Culture eats policy for breakfast."
The speed limit formally becomes 25 miles per hour on Nov. 7.