Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Assemblymember Deborah J. Glick today announced the passage of a bill to clamp down on motorists who violate speed limits in school speed zones with state-of-the-art, speed-sensitive technology that will capture images of speeding vehicles so tickets can be issued to the owners.

"This bill will help us increase the overall safety of our streets and especially protect children, who are particularly vulnerable to speeding drivers," said Silver. "By installing these speed-sensitive cameras in school zones, we can crack down on these menacing drivers and enforce speed limits more effectively. It's also going to send the message that if you speed, your chances of getting ticketed are far greater than ever before."

"Unfortunately, the failure to obey the speed limit is now a regular occurrence in our city, and for the safety of our residents and their families, it can no longer be tolerated," said Glick. "There are dangerous drivers who are endangering young people walking to and from school, and more of them must be ticketed. With this technology, a greater number of violators will be cited, and we will be able to better protect our children from injury and fatal accidents."

The bill (A.4327-A,Glick) is intended to make New York City's roads safer by supplementing the enforcement of the New York City Police Department, which each year issues more than 113,000 summonses for speeding violations. This initiative is modeled after the city's 25 year old Red Light Camera program that has brought about a significant drop in red light offenses.

The technology called for in this measure involves the use of photographic, micro-photographic and video electronic devices that are currently being used in Utah, California, Arizona and British Columbia, Canada. The legislation authorizes the city to establish a five-year demonstration program for the installation of speed cameras in up to 20 school speed zones throughout the five boroughs.