WORD ON THE STREET

Have driving regulations (speed cameras/speed bumps/lowering speed limit) made driving in New York safer or just more unbearable? 

Beyond unbearable! Traffic is at a crawl most of the time compared to where it used to be. I’ve given up driving  down Ocean Parkway unless I have to go on the Prospect. There are too many Uber drivers disobeying the speed laws and clogging up streets, but that is just part of the problem. New York’s new driving laws have made it so bad that if I can, I try not to drive  at all and take public transportation instead, but the MTA has its own problems. To be honest, I don’t think accidents have gone down, but tempers have definitely risen. Albert Khashevatsky

When Mayor de Bozo  signed a law lowering New York City’s 30-miles-per-hour speed limit to 25 as part of his  Vision Zero plan  is just proved that he is the one that zero vision on what it takes to run this great metropolis. New York is a fast-paced city that needs to move to make money. All this waisted time sitting in bumper to bumper traffic due to moronic traffic laws that make no sense only makes the city lose money. The new regulations  only lead to reduced productivity, increased pollution through emissions, wasted fuel, and more incidents of road rage. Studies have shown that the vast majority  of accidents happen at slow speeds. All he cares about his improving the lives of cyclists and creating more and more bike  lanes as the expense of drivers. Dov G.

Driving in Brooklyn has gotten so bad that I rarely want to use my car anymore. It used to take me 15 minutes to get from Marine Park to my job in Boro Park, but now on a good day it takes me 30 minutes,  and an hour during rush hour. The limited parking and restrictive driving policies have only achieved greater traffic, congestion, gridlock, chaos, and an overall sense of hopelessness. Lenny Nueman

All these new regulations have done is increase  average minutes on the roadway for everyone, which  just increases the demands on our roadways, which then creates further congestion, which in turn results in more accidents and congestion and everything spirals out of control. All the city cares about is issuing tickets; they don’t really care about road safety. The proof of this is when the city needs to do work on the streets, they violate all their own laws (blocking hydrants and driveways, driving in wrong lane, making illegal U-turns etc..).   The DOT should devote more time into studying our roads before implementing changes. Malka Kohn

People who want to speed will speed regardless of two arbitrary black numbers on an aluminum sign. People who disobey the law do so because they have outsmarted the system and know which blocks have cameras and which do not.   Arye Leib

It’s stupid! People will break the law regardless if there’s a speed limit.  Sharon Sabov

Putting aside the question of new driving laws, let’s address the horror that is the pedestrian island on Kings Highway and Nostrand Ave. which have proven to be disastrous and causes even more problems and accidents. The bus lane on Kings Highway  causes a lot of backup (mostly because people double park for the stores along Nostrand Ave.) and because the lanes allow for only one lane of traffic in already congested areas (like Bedford Ave. ) it leads to blocked intersections and missed lights. I think the speed cameras scare people about getting tickets and they make short stops at a red light to avoid a ticket. The bike lanes, especially when they’re shared with cars, are very precarious. Especially when there can be double parked cars on the opposite side. A car can’t stop abruptly to allow a bicyclist to pass because that can lead to him/her being rear ended. Many cyclists are quick to blame the drivers, but they don’t follow all the rules either.  M. K

The only thing is does is collect ridiculous revenue for the city through ticketing. They get you for licenses, car registration, inspection, but that is not enough. Perel S.