The Nassau County Legislature unanimously approved a home rule message in support of speed camera enforcement yesterday. The home rule message serves to formally endorse a New York State bill that would authorize 56 speed cameras for Nassau County (one for each of Nassau County’s school districts).

Nassau County is home to some of the deadliest roads to pedestrians, cyclists and motorists in the region. According to a TSTC analysis of federal data, 88 pedestrians were killed along roads in Nassau County between 2010 and 2012. According to Governor Cuomo’s Traffic Safety Committee, 185 motorists and passengers, and 13 cyclists were killed during the same time period.

There were over 100,000 crashes from 2010-2012, roughly 70 percent of which the Nassau County Police Department was the lead investigating agency. Yet speeding tickets made up only 11 percent of all tickets issued during the same time period, a number that is shockingly low to anyone who has driven Nassau County’s roadways, where drivers often speed without consequence.

Nassau County has taken significant steps to combat dangerous driving with better enforcement. In 2009, the New York State Legislature, at the County’s request, authorized red light cameras for 50 intersections in Nassau County, and in 2013, the County adopted a Complete Streets policy.

Although the bill would provide just 56 speed cameras, research suggests that speeding would be reduced throughout the county thanks to a phenomenon known as the distance-halo effect. The bill would also authorize the use of speed cameras in Suffolk County, but Suffolk leaders would have to issue a similar message to Albany.

If enacted, we’re optimistic that both Nassau and Suffolk would use revenues generated from speeding to develop a complete streets implementation fund that would redesign county roadways to further enhance safety.