UPDATE on Elected Officials Announce Agreement with TLC

The following came in from Allan Fromberg the Deputy Commissioner for public affairs at the Taxi and Limousine Commission. 

I read your blog this morning with great interest and very much appreciate your highlighting our policy change.  I was hoping, however, to respectfully clarify a couple of things.

First, I should mention that Vision Zero remains the TLC's first and foremost mission.

Our goal of zero traffic fatalities and serious injuries is a bold and ambitious one, but it is a goal that is well worth pursuing in this city full of children, and quite realistic.  While your blog uses the word "oppressive" with regard to our efforts to enforce safety rules,  I want to share a perspective with you that I hope and believe you will agree with....and it's that we all share the responsibility to make our streets safer, and protect our children's lives, and that we all have a role to play in making that happen.  This is especially true for our professionally-licensed drivers, not only because they carry precious cargo in their work, but also because they are the greatest users of our streets.  It's appropriate that we hold them to a higher standard, and most drivers and industry representatives with whom we speak agree on that, as do the many elected officials, like Ydanis Rodriguez, who partnered with us to make it happen.  This policy change is in no way diminishes of our unshakable commitment to Vision Zero.  Rather, it was a decision reached after positive discussions with Senator Diaz and his colleagues and industry leaders, in the understanding that vehicle owners who receive a camera summons from DOT often pass the summons along to the driver who was driving at the time of the offense.  It was never the TLC's intent that drivers be penalized twice for the same offense, and so we were happy to effect the policy change in the name of fairness.  We look forward to similarly constructive dialogue on other, non-related issues, and we will continue to weigh them with an eye to fairness, but that said, such decisions will never, ever come at the sacrifice of safety.  I strongly encourage you to take a few moments to watch our recently-produced public safety announcement, "Drive Like Your Family Lives Here" -- I am certain you will find it as compelling as others have.  Here's the link:

http://youtu.be/OAnSw3nzj0U

Lastly, your post refers to the potential for some drivers to receive "30 summonses" -- and while I am at the disadvantage of not knowing the circumstances that led to your statement, I assure you, this is not in any way accurate in this context.

Editors Note:

The reference to the 30 summonses was said by Senator Diaz Sr. and other elected officials in which drivers had no knowledge that their vehicles had received red light summonses (most of which I was told were in the Manhattan area where being caught in the intersection is a violation after the light turns red, thus making it a red light summons).