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A chance to win $1,000!​​ Walk Safe Long Island’s 2025 Lowell Wolf Memorial Scholarship -create an original video about pedestrian, bike, and/or micromobility safety



Walk Safe Long Island’s 2025 Lowell Wolf Memorial Scholarship asks Long Island and Queens juniors and seniors to create an original video about pedestrian, bike, and/or micromobility safety for a chance to win $1,000!​​

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How do we make Long Island and Queens safer for pedestrians? The first step is making sure everyone knows the same rules. Do you know, which traffic laws apply to pedestrians? What the law is regarding crosswalks?  What do you do if there isn't a crosswalk? What about sidewalks?

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Walk Safe Long Island, a collaborative of health and transportation safety educators from across Nassau and Suffolk Counties, wants your help in educating Long Islanders and Queens residents how to stay safe.​

30-second to3-minute law-based video

$1,000 each for 2 winners!


Open to LI & Queens high school juniors & seniors

  • Video no less than 30 seconds, no longer than 3 minutes

  • Content should focus on highlighting one or more of the Vehicle and Traffic Laws for Pedestrian Enforcement. You can reference those laws HERE or download the quick reference guide HERE.

  • Video cannot contain profanity, lewd or inappropriate content, or personal information

  • Submission of video, regardless of selection for award, gives the New York Coalition for Transportation Safety (award-granting entity) permission to use and repurpose content for educational and promotional purposes related to video’s original content.


INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Please create a short video that illustrates one or more of The New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law for Pedestrian Enforcement as detailed by the New York State Department of Transportation.

  2. Answer the question, “Why is it important to educate your community about pedestrian and traffic safety?”

  3. Submit your video file and answer via the form on this webpage (If you have any questions about acceptable file formats for submission, please reach out to lihc@nshc.org with your questions and we will work with you to get your video submitted)


Details and Guidelines

Walk Safe Long Island’s 2025 Video Scholarship Contest is open to Long Island and Queens high school juniors and seniors who submit a video adhering to the following parameters:

Deadline: Saturday, May 31, 2025 at 11:59 pm

A prize of $1,000 per student will be awarded to two winners! 

About Lowell WolfLowell Wolf was a Nassau County Transportation Project Manager and professor at Farmingdale State College, SUNY. His interests and concern for pedestrian safety led to a position as an educator with the New York Coalition for Transportation Safety. NYCTS is a grant based nonprofit dedicated to and funded by the New York State Governors Traffic Safety Committee. Lowell’s work involved sharing best practices for transportation safety as well as creating educational programs and events throughout Long Island, with the goal of reducing preventable traffic injury and death. This scholarship is a fitting tribute to Lowell, as it ensures the education of future generations. Road safety audits like these in the scholarship will make more increase awareness and help create changes to dangerous intersections, thus saving lives.


Resources for Applicants

Feel free to use as inspiration and/or reference:

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Free Video Editing Resources

 

If you have any questions about acceptable file formats for submission, please reach out to lihc@nshc.org with your questions and we will work with you to get your video submitted.


Our 2019 scholarship winners submitted the following videos in response to Walk Safe Long Island's first-ever video scholarship contest. Please refer to these winning entries as an inspirational example. **Check them out on the Walk Safe LI website

By Olivia Vinson, Wantagh

By Morgan Flaherty, Wantagh

Submission Form
Submit Video

2025 Video Scholarship Submission

 
 
 

City of New York Advances Fleet Safety with New Technologies in Updated Vision Zero Plan; Exceeds 100k Safety Upgrades. February 4, 2025

February 4, 2025

NYC DCAS’ 2025 Safe Fleet Transition Plan Update details the latest advancements in vehicle safety technology and proposes innovations to enhance road safety for New Yorkers

DCAS promotes pedestrian safety with emergency braking now in 6,900 city vehicles, and pilot turning alert technology in 200 city trucks

Consistent with Mayoral Executive Order 39, DCAS to add 782 surround cameras for city trucks

New York, NY – Today, the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS), in partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe), released the second update to the City’s Safe Fleet Transition Plan (SFTP). The report, titled 2025 NYC Safe Fleet Transition Plan Update offers insight into the best-practice safety technologies currently deployed across the fleet, while also outlining proposed innovations to further prevent and mitigate crashes. The plan directly supports the City’s Vision Zero initiative which aims to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries, making roads safer for all New Yorkers. Since launching the Safe Fleet Transition Plan in 2017, DCAS has now introduced over 100,000 safety enhancements.

“This administration remains steadfast in its commitment to bold, innovative, and results-oriented initiatives that place the safety of all New Yorkers, and especially our dedicated City workforce, at the forefront,” said Chief of Staff and Deputy Mayor for Administration Camille Joseph Varlack. “I am deeply appreciative of the work by DCAS to integrate cutting-edge technology into our fleet vehicles, further enhancing our efforts to create safer streets and a more secure City for everyone.”

“Our unwavering commitment to fleet safety drives us to implement the best possible tools and initiatives to protect New Yorkers on the road,” said DCAS Commissioner Louis A. Molina. “New York City’s streets are dynamic, shared spaces where safety is paramount. By continuously enhancing the City’s fleet vehicles with preventative technologies, we are taking proactive measures to ensure that, no matter the destination, New Yorkers are safe on their journeys.”

"Traffic safety is public safety, and all New Yorkers deserve to be safe on our roadways,” said NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez. “The City of New York is leading by example by using technology and driver education to promote the safe use of City fleet vehicles. We applaud DCAS for their steadfast commitment towards our shared Vision Zero goals.”

The updated plan provides a detailed breakdown of DCAS’ safety fleet investments and integrations since 2017, showcasing the progress and performance of many vehicle safety technologies. Notably, the update highlights the successful implementation of Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) technology, which reduced speeding incidences by 64% within its pilot phase. Additionally, the report highlights that 200 city trucks will soon be equipped with Truck Turn External Audible Alerts, a protective feature that signals to pedestrians as truck operators make turns. During the recent NYC Truck of the Future (ToF) pilot, one of the ToF fleets saw a 50% reduction in vulnerable road user (VRU) alerts within its first three months while deploying this alert technology. Alongside these features, DCAS has also expanded investments in truck surround cameras, rear and forward automatic braking, backup sensors, lane departure alerts, and more, demonstrating the decisive steps being taken to increase safety features for city vehicles and fortify the City’s fleet overall.

“Rethinking car and truck design is critical to achieving Vision Zero for safety,” states DCAS Deputy Commissioner and NYC Chief Fleet Officer Keith Kerman. “DCAS has partnered with US DOT Volpe to analyze safe design options and has invested in over 100,000 safety improvements including nation leading programs in intelligent speed assistance, truck side-guards, surround cameras, and telematics, along with forward and rear automatic braking, pedestrian alerts, backup sensors, and more.”

“The 2025 NYC Safe Fleet Transition Update focuses on some of the most crucial elements of fleet truck safety, including enhancing driver visibility and the use of proven and effective technology and telematics, which help protect vulnerable road users and lead to safer roads,” said Peter Goldwasser, Executive Director of Together for Safer Roads. “These priorities are also at the center of our work, and we are proud to continue to partner with NYC DCAS to improve fleet safety in New York, including our recent Truck of the Future Pilot.”

As outlined in the report, technologies have been added and recategorized within the SFTP to reflect transformations in vehicle safety technology and best practices since the previous 2019 edition. All technologies are classified amongst three divisions; DCAS requires technologies designated under tier 1, tier 2 are encouraged as best practices, and tier 3 will be further studied for future implementation.

Major highlights of the Safe Fleet Transition Plan Update include:

  • Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) Adoption: After a successful pilot program reporting a 64% reduction in speeding, ISA technology has been promoted to a Tier 2 best practice. DCAS has 500 vehicles with ISA now and plans to bring ISA to 1,600 more.

  • Enhancing Truck Operator’s Visibility: Consistent with NYC Mayoral Executive Order 39 of 2023, surround cameras are required for trucks when high-vision truck cabs are unavailable. This mandate works to improve the operator’s situational awareness of other road users in close proximity. DCAS now has over 2,000 trucks that are cab-over/high vision and/or using surround cameras with 782 additional trucks on order.

  • Pedestrian Safety Alerts: Now recognized as a best practice technology, DCAS is rolling out turning alarms on an initial 200 trucks. The external alarm is designed to warn pedestrians of turning vehicles and prevent “close calls” before they turn into collisions.

  • Forward and Reverse Automatic Braking: Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) has been designated as a best practice for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles to help prevent collisions by automatically activating vehicle brakes. DCAS has now invested in 6,893 forward or reverse AEB systems and will work to make these standard on all fleet when available.

  • Backup Sensors: DCAS has added backup sensors to 1,002 vehicles with a focus on trucks. The backup sensors complement backup cameras, providing drivers with specific alerts of any nearby objects or people when backing up.

  • Lane Departure Warnings: DCAS is requiring lane departure warnings (LDW) for light-duty vehicles and exploring the future integration for trucks. LDW technology is designed to prevent certain crash types, including sideswipes, lane drifting, and single-vehicle rollovers resulting from veering off the road shoulder. DCAS has now installed 5,048 vehicles with driver alerts including lane departure and/or forward collision warnings.

  • New Research Areas: To explore the future frontiers of road safety, License Plate Readers (LPR), telematic tracking for lights and sirens, and minimal sound detection for large electric vehicles have all been added to Tier 3 as exploratory technologies.

The 2025 Safe Fleet Transition Plan also addresses many additional mandates introduced under local laws and executive orders, reinforcing the City’s dedication to fleet safety and efficiency. In accordance with Local Law 56 of 2015 and Local Law 108 of 2021, sideguards are required for city trucks and all trade waste fleet vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) over 10,000 pounds. All city trucks are now equipped with sideguards, helping prevent collisions with surrounding cars and pedestrians. Additionally, under Executive Order 41 of 2019, city vehicles must be tracked using telematics. To date, 36,000 city vehicles and contracted school buses are equipped with live telematics. DCAS’ Fleet Office of Real Time Tracking (FORT) manages telematics, live tracking thousands of vehicles daily.

These advancements reflect DCAS’ ongoing efforts as a national leader in sustainable, safe, and efficient fleet operations, managing the largest electric vehicle (EV) fleet and charging networks in New York State with 5,400 EVs and 2,200 chargers respectively. DCAS is also the first large fleet on the East Coast to completely transition from fossil diesel fuel to renewable diesel. Moving forward, DCAS remains committed to transforming the City’s fleet with more innovative technologies and effectively developing a greener, and safer New York City for all.

About the NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services

The NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) makes city government work for all New Yorkers. Our commitment to equity, effectiveness, and sustainability guides our work providing City agencies with the resources and support needed to succeed, including:

  • Recruiting, hiring, and training City employees.

  • Managing 55 public buildings.

  • Acquiring, selling, and leasing City property.

  • Purchasing over $1 billion in goods and services for City agencies.

  • Overseeing the greenest municipal vehicle fleet in the country.

  • Leading the City’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions from government operations.

Learn more about DCAS by visiting nyc.gov/dcas and by following us on X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and listening to the Inside Citywide podcast.

Contact:Dan KastanisDirector of Media Relations, DCAScommunications@dcas.nyc.gov


 
 
 

Pols Let Suffolk Co. Red Light Cams Expire, Inviting Deadlier Streets Long Islanders should be red hot mad that streets are about to become less safe. By Kevin Duggan

The red light camera program in suburban Suffolk County will expire in December because state lawmakers failed to reauthorize the life-saving program this year, a failure that will make Eastern Long Island roads more dangerous, advocates warned.

The cameras installed at 100 intersections have consistently reduced serious collisions over the last decade, according to the county's own stats, and studies show deadly crashes surged by as much as 30 percent in cities that disabled their red light camera programs.

"Suffolk is going to be sorry, and I think you’re going to see crashes go up at intersections, like you saw before," said Cynthia Brown, director of the Long Island-based New York Coalition for Transportation Safety.

State and local politicians blamed each other for the failure to pass a reauthorization bill that would allow automated enforcement after the current program expires on Dec. 1, reported Newsday, which first uncovered the program's slated demise.

The suburban paper focused almost entirely on the $8.1 million in foregone ticketing revenue, not on the program's safety benefits, a skewed view widely held on the island, said another local advocate.

"It’s really not a money grab, it’s to diminish crashes at these locations," said Daniel Flanzig, an attorney focusing on pedestrian and cycling crashes, and a legal advisor for the New York Bicycling Coalition.

The cameras issued 357,732 red light tickets last year — or roughly 3,577 tickets per intersection, or close to 1,000 tickets per day — according to County Executive Ed Romaine's office, and lawmakers could still renew the 15-year-old program if they reconvene at the State Capitol for a special session, for example to figure out what to do about Hochul's congestion pricing debacle.

"It truly is a beneficial program and it’s going to be a public safety issue if it’s not renewed," said Flanzig.

Serious crashes down

The cameras have consistently cut down on the most dangerous crashes over the past decade, including wrecks that have injured people, according to yearly reports published by the County and an outside review.

Even the yearly ticket revenue Newsday cited shows a steady downward trend, dropping by more than half from $20.4 million in 2017 to $8.1 million this year, indicating drivers are following the law more at intersections where the enforcement tech is set up — a trend that mirrors what New York City has found with its red light system.

Without the cameras there would have been two more deaths at the automated enforcement locations and 169 more injuries over three years, according to an independent review commissioned by the county in 2017, leading the authors to argue that it "should be continued due to a reduction in crashes resulting in injury or fatality."

On a national level, the cameras reduced fatal red light running crash rates in large cities by 21 percent, while deadly crashes jumped 30 percent in 14 cities that shut down their programs during 2010-2014, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

The latest data for the state's easternmost county show that collisions with injuries continued to decrease at the 100 intersections, down by 10.3 percent in 2021 compared to before the cameras were in place, while dangerous right-angle collisions, better known as T-bone crashes, dropped 8.3 percent, according to an annual report.

By law, the county has to produce a report on its red light camera program every year by June 1, but it has not released anything newer than the three-year-old publication available on its website. The local government's press office did not respond to repeated requests by Streetsblog.

Fender benders rise

Overall crashes were up 15.1 percent in the county in 2021, and the less serious rear-end collisions were up 55 percent, which the report attributed to more distracted driving as motorists increasingly use their smart phones behind the wheel. Tickets for texting while driving and using portable electronic devices surged 10-fold in the county over the past decade, according to the report.

A Federal Highway Administration study chalked up increases in rear-enders at red lights with automated enforcement to more drivers stopping at the signals, causing reckless motorists behind them bump into them.

New York City's Department of Transportation, which recently won the right in Albany to expand its red light cams from 150 intersections to 600, attributed rear-end bump to drivers used to running red lights hitting cars whose operators are following the law.

"Drivers who do not expect traffic signals to be enforced are more likely to run red lights and are also more likely to collide with a car in front of them where the driver is complying with the law," reads DOT's latest report on its program.

The rear-end crashes are especially common after cameras first go in, DOT wrote.

Unlike other jurisdictions, the city, which launched the nation's first red light automated enforcement program 30 years ago, actually registered a 49-percent decrease in rear-end collisions last year along with 65-percent fewer T-bones compared to before the cameras were in place.

Plain old politics

Politicians representing Suffolk at the county and state level might not have wanted to stick their neck out for the ticketing program this session, especially as an automated camera enforcement program for stop arms on school buses has faced pushback on the island, local advocates said.

"It just became exceedingly more controversial after they put in the school bus cameras," said Brown, of the Coalition for Transportation Safety.

There was a Suffolk County red-light extension bill in the Assembly, but no state Senator offered one in the upper chamber. Meanwhile, Suffolk County legislators never sent a so-called "home rule message" to their counterparts in Albany. The local pols told Newsday that didn't pass a home-rule request because the Albany pols didn't have a bill in both houses — but in the end, no pol was forced to go on the record to support the life-saving measure, a classic example of how politics can be the ultimate accountability avoidance machine.

Neighboring Nassau County and New York City were able to secure extensions, and Flanzig said the eastern Long Island politicians just didn't want to put their name on a bill unpopular with their constituents.

"Nobody wants to be the one to sponsor the bill," said Flanzig, of state lawmakers. "The public looks at this thing as money grab, and they never look at the safety aspect of it."

Rochester outright ended its red light camera program in 2016, and the Western New York city's then-Mayor Lovey Warren justified the move by saying the scofflaw snappers were disproportionately targeting drivers in poor neighborhoods.

Leading New York City pols have made similar arguments about speed- and red-light cameras unfairly targeting low-income communities of color here.

But as Streetsblog reported in detail, the technology is evenly distributed in the city — but more people in poorer areas are ticketed because roadways in poorer neighborhoods are disproportionately filled with dangerous highway-like streets that enable more reckless driving.


Kevin Duggan

@kduggan16

Kevin Duggan joined Streetsblog in October, 2022, after covering transportation for amNY. Duggan has been covering New York since about 2017 after getting his masters in journalism from Dublin City University in Ireland. After some freelancing, he landed a job with Vince DiMiceli’s Brooklyn Paper, where he covered southern Brooklyn neighborhoods and, later, Brownstone Brooklyn. He’s on Twitter at @kduggan16. And his email address is kevin@streetsblog.org.

 
 
 
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