The fatal auto accident this past July involving a truck driver and a speeding motorist have brought on renewed calls for stronger traffic enforcement on the New York Tappan Zee Bridge. According to the police investigation, the driver of a 1995 Mitsubishi was driving recklessly and struck the rear of a tractor trailer driven by Ricardo Riveros. The impact of the accident caused the truck to swerve across several lanes of travel, break through 270 feet of concrete barrier before flipping over and exploding into flames on the other side of the bridge, killing Mr. Riveros. This tragic accident has resulted in calls for more traffic enforcement on the Westchester County and Rockland County sides of the bridge, as well as the installation of cameras which could track the rate of speeding drivers.
The problem on the Tappan Zee Bridge is that there are no shoulders, preventing enforcement of traffic regulations by troopers who must see the infraction to issue tickets to violators.
Other states, such as Texas and California, have begun testing the use of cameras to catch and penalize speeding drivers. There are no present plans to do this in New York, which would require action by the New York State legislature.