Just another city motorist breaking the law with impunity. Photo: NYT

In his response to Executive Order, the thorough and damning report on lax NYPD traffic enforcement released by Transportation Alternatives last month, Commissioner Ray Kelly was dismissive and defensive.

"I don’t know what they are talking about," said Kelly. "In 2007 and 2008 we issued 1.2
million moving violation summonses."

As Ben Fried reported at the time, Kelly’s recitation of a gross figure means nothing without context. Executive Order author Jessie Gray Singer sent over some figures gauging the significance of that number.

• 1.2 million summonses issued by NYPD last year = 3,288 summonses a day.
• Roughly 4 million New Yorkers own cars.
• According to NYMTC, there are over 1.5 million daily auto trips into and out of the Manhattan CBD alone.
• A 2000 study by then-city comptroller Alan Hevesi found that city drivers run 1.23 million red lights every work day.

Given a little perspective, you can see how 1.2 million summonses stacks up when compared to the number of vehicle trips and documented (if dated) incidents of just one type of violation. Meanwhile, it appears that NYPD’s concentration on cell phone use rather than speeding (195,579 vs. 75,599 summonses, respectively, in 2007) has failed to deter city cab drivers from driving while distracted.

All in all, when it comes to clamping down on traffic crime, 1.2 million summonses a year = 1 drop in the bucket.