WCBS Channel 2
Mayor de Blasio’s SUV zips through stop signs and violates posted speed limits in Queens, as captured by Channel 2.
It’s another tale of two cities — one set of traffic rules for Mayor de Blasio, and one for the rest of us.
Just two days after de Blasio announced a sweeping plan to crack down on dangerous driving, an SUV with the mayor riding shotgun ran stop signs, changed lanes without signaling and flouted the speed limit.
It was caught on camera by a WCBS-TV/Channel 2 news crew that trailed de Blasio’s official two-vehicle motorcade after he left a press conference in Queens Thursday touting the city’s pothole repair work.
The behavior was a far cry from de Blasio’s comments Tuesday when he announced his “Vision Zero” plan to end traffic deaths.
He proposed a slew of measures, including lowering the citywide speed limit and installing more cameras to catch drivers who speed and run red lights.
Enid Alvarez/New York Daily News
Mayor de Blasio announced a plan on Tuesday to crack down on dangerous driving and eliminate traffic deaths in the city. His proposal came just two days before his official vehicle was caught breaking traffic laws.
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“We’ve put a very bold plan before you,” he said Tuesday, “and we want the public to know we’re holding ourselves to this standard and we intend to achieve these goals.”
Yet, on Thursday, his official black SUV blew through two stop signs in Queens and was clocked by Channel 2 traveling 40 to 45 miles per hour in a 30 mph zone and pushing 60 in a 45 mph zone.
When he reached City Hall, the mayor lingered in his SUV, leaving the second car in his caravan unable to pass through the City Hall gate — blocking a crosswalk and an intersection.
If a driver had been ticketed for all the violations, he would have racked up 13 points on his license — more than the 11 that trigger a suspension, Channel 2’s Marcia Kramer reported.
WCBS Channel 2
Channel 2 follows Mayor de Blasio, who is riding shotgun in the lead black SUV as it runs a stops sign. Later, the crew observed de Blasio’s motorcade traveling 40 to 45 miles per hour in a 30 mph zone and pushing 60 in a 45 mph zone.
It is not clear why the mayor was in a rush, but he is often behind schedule. His press conference in Queens began 15 minutes late.
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De Blasio’s press secretary, Phil Walzak, said, “We believe public safety is everyone’s responsibility. We also recognize NYPD’s training and protocols, and refer questions related to security and transportation to them. With that in mind, Mayor de Blasio is firmly committed to the traffic safety policies outlined this week.”
In a prepared statement, the Police Department said, “Personnel assigned to the mayor’s security detail receive specialized training in driving based on maintaining security as well as safety.”
“At certain times, under certain conditions, this training may include … maintaining speed with the general flow of traffic, and may sometimes include tactics to safely keep two or more police vehicles together in formation when crossing intersections.”
It wasn’t the first time city officials have been caught violating traffic rules.
In 1998, a Daily News columnist clocked then Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s vehicle traveling 72 mph in a 50 mph zone on the Gowanus Expressway, and traveling 66 mph in a 40 mph zone on the Verrazano Bridge. The incident occurred after Giuliani announced a crackdown on speeding in the city. Giuliani denied the report.
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