At the end of October 2024, Russian-speaking Telegram channels reported that in New York, fines were canceled for crossing the road in the wrong place or with a prohibiting traffic light signal. It was argued that traffic rules were changed to the fight against racism. We checked the reliability of these messages.
“In New York, pedestrians were allowed to cross the street anywhere-even to Red. It turned out that last year 92% of such fines received black and Latin Americans-this was calculated by racism, ”the Telegram channel said on October 30"Ax+"(1.8 million views at the time of writing this analysis). “Natural selection is launched,” commented the alleged change in the rules in the channel Voblya (132,000 views). The news was also discussed in Facebook And on entertainment sites.
The active struggle for the safety of pedestrian movement began in New York almost 70 years ago: in December 1957 then mayor Cities Robert F. Wagner Launched The campaign "Come on the street to green." Legislative ban on the transition of streets in the wrong place or on a prohibiting traffic light signal He began to act In New York in June 1958. By 2024, the fine for the corresponding violation was $ 250.
Discussions about the abolition of this rule I was conducted In New York for more than ten years. Supporters of such a decision reminded that initially the law was Introduced For the convenience of motorists, in fact does not affect the level of mortality on the roads. “In the UK, where there is no legislative ban on the transition of the road in the wrong place, the number of accidents with a fatal outcome is one fourth from the American level. The mortality rate of pedestrians is also lower - in the UK in 2012 there were 420 dead pedestrians, or about seven by 1 million people, while in the United States there were 4743, or about 15 by 1 million people, " - Explained The need for decriminalization in 2014 lawyer Michael Levin. In addition, activists also noted the bias of the police in relation to the one who to punish for violation and who is not. So, for 2023, the police of New York I wrote it out A total of 463 fines for the transition of the road in the wrong place, and 92% of the fined were dark -skinned or Latin American, although representatives of these groups together They make up No more than 55% of the city’s population. Similar statistics were recorded in Other years.
In 2024, the City Council of New York still accepted Resolution, which decriminalizes the habit of many (including white) New Yorkers to cross the road anywhere. At the same time, his text does not say that the corresponding decision is motivated by the fight against racism. At the same time, the authors of the document urge the townspeople to observe caution and remind you that they are not exempted from civil liability if their decision to cross the street in the wrong place leads to an accident.
During the discussion of the resolution, the initiator of the abolition of the Mercedes Narsisse from Brooklyn really said: "The laws that punish for ordinary behavior should not exist, especially when they unfairly affect color communities." But before that she noted: "Let's recognize the obvious: all New Yorkers cross the road in the wrong place."
Thus, recently, New York authorities actually abolished fines for the transition of the street in the wrong place, but this long-discussed decision, judging by the text of the relevant document, was not motivated by the fight against racism. Some activists and legislators note that the high proportion of “color” among those who previously wrote out such fines is explained by the bias of the police, because in fact many New York residents did not observe the law regardless of the color of the skin.
Photo on the cover: Pexels
Read on the topic:
- Is it true that in Sweden drivers who do not violate the rules participate in a special lottery?
- Is it true that in 2011, Harris knocked down a teenager and disappeared from the scene of the accident?
If you find a spelling or grammatical error, please inform us of this, highlighting the text with an error and by pressing Ctrl+Enter.
