Speed kills. You know it. Albany knows it. The city knows it too, yet here we are again—waiting.
Last year, 253 New Yorkers died on our streets. Hundreds more had their lives shattered by serious injuries. Speed isn’t the only factor, but it’s the deadliest. A pedestrian hit at 30 mph is five times more likely to die than at 20 mph. The math is brutal.
Albany passed Sammy’s Law, finally handing New York City the power to set its own speed limits. The city can lower residential speeds to 20 mph tomorrow. Will they? Only if we force them.
Act Now: Demand a Citywide 20 MPH Limit
DOT has started sprinkling 20 mph zones, but NYC needs a default 20 mph limit citywide—and Sammy’s Law lets us do it today.
Call your Council Member. Call the Mayor. Call the DOT.
- Find your Council Member: NYC Council District Finder
- Mayor’s Office: Dial 311 or visit nyc.gov/contact-the-mayor
- NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez: Call 212-839-6210 or email ydanisrodriguez@dot.nyc.gov
Your message:
“Sammy’s Law gave NYC the power to set safer speeds. I’m asking you to use it. Lower our residential speed limit to 20 mph citywide. It saves lives. Every day you wait risks another family losing someone they love.”
Victory: Speed Cameras Renewed
Albany renewed NYC’s 24‑hour school‑zone speed‑camera program through 2030. Thank your Senator and Assembly Member for voting “yes.” With cameras secured, our next fights are slowing every street and stopping the worst repeat offenders.
Stop Super Speeders—End Repeat Offenders
A tiny pool of drivers does outsized harm. Just 1.5 % of motorists cause 21 % of pedestrian deaths. Vehicles that rack up 16 speed‑ or red‑light‑camera tickets in 12 months are twice as likely to kill or seriously injure, and 30+ tickets multiplies the risk fifty‑fold. One of those drivers, with 29 prior camera tickets, ran a red light in Midwood this April and killed Natasha Saada and her two young daughters.
The Stop Super Speeders Act (S4045C/A2299C) would require anyone with 11 DMV points in 18 months or 16 camera tickets in a year to install an intelligent speed‑assistance device that prevents the car from exceeding the limit by more than 5 mph.
Call your own State Senator and Assembly Member (look them up below) and say:
“Repeat speeders keep killing people in our district. Please co‑sponsor and push leadership to pass the Stop Super Speeders Act this session.”
- Find your State Senator: https://www.nysenate.gov/find-my-senator
- Find your Assembly Member: https://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/search
Join Forces, Amplify Your Impact
Groups fighting for safer speeds:
- Transportation Alternatives: Join citywide efforts, volunteer locally, and amplify campaigns for safer streets.
- Families for Safe Streets: Stand with survivors and advocate fiercely for policies that prevent tragedy.
Don’t Wait for Another Tragedy
The numbers haunt us. Names become numbers, families become statistics. It must stop. Now.
Lower speeds. Save lives.
Act today.
Citations
- Stop Super Speeders Act (S4045C), New York State Senate, Published 2025-05-20
- The 1.5 % of Drivers Behind 21 % of NYC Pedestrian Deaths, Streetsblog NYC, Published 2024-10-20
- Repeat Speeder Kills Brooklyn Mother and Daughters, New York Daily News, Published 2025-04-15
Tags: traffic safety, speed limit, speed cameras, advocacy, Sammy's Law