De Blasio's 3 proposals for safer streets

NEW YORK (FOX5NY.COM) - Saying time is of the essence, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced three proposals to change state laws aimed at keeping dangerous drivers off city roads.

1. Install more speed cameras in school zones. 140 are currently in place. The mayor wants to double that amount to catch drivers going too fast near schools.
2. Increase the fees on red light and speed camera violations. Right now you pay a flat $50 fee, which remains the same for subsequent offenses. A third violation within a two-year period would raise the fine to $150 and six more citations result in a $350 fine and suspended registration.
3. Require physicians to report to the DMV when patients have medical conditions or incidents that may cause them to suddenly lose consciousness.

"If you don't drive your car properly—if you drive your car recklessly, you have a weapon in your hands," de Blasio said. "It's no different than a gun misfiring. You have a weapon in your hands and you can kill someone if you don't handle that car the right way."

De Blasio's action is in response to the recent crash Brooklyn when a white sedan tore through the intersection at 5th Avenue and 9th Street in Park Slope, killing two children and hurting several adults.

The car that the driver, Dorothy Bruns, 44, was driving had received at least four speed-camera and red-light camera violations since 2016. Initial reports are Bruns may have had some sort of emergency or possibly a seizure.

De Blasio called on lawmakers in Albany to pass these proposed bills before the end of the current legislative session in June.