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Read the press release here.

NYPD Begins Two-Day Crackdown on Speeding

 As part of the Vision Zero campaign, police also cracked down on drivers using cellphones.
As part of the Vision Zero campaign, police also cracked down on drivers using cellphones.
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NEW YORK CITY — The NYPD launched a 48-hour citywide crackdown on speeding Tuesday amid its effort to reduce traffic collisions.

The speeding crackdown, which will run unti 11.59 p.m. Wednesday, comes on the heels of a similar enforcement initiative last week that targeted drivers using cellphones in their cars. It yielded 5,258 summonses, according to police.

The NYPD has joined other city agencies in a campaign to dramatically reduce the number of traffic related deaths and injuries after a slew of high-profile crashes.

For two 24-hour periods on May 13 and 16, police cracked down on drivers using cellphones and failing to yield to pedestrians. By the end of it, they issued 2,938 summonses for using a phone while behind the wheel, 1,066 for texting while driving and 1,254 for failing to yield to pedestrians, the NYPD said.

Pedestrian deaths have decreased by 30.16 percent so far this year compared to the same period of time in 2013, police said, but added that the ultimate goal of the citywide reduction, dubbed Vision Zero, is to eliminate all pedestrian deaths.

Drivers should adhere to newly created "arterial slow zones" and "school zones" throughout the city where speed limits are reduced to 25 and 20 miles per hour respectively, police said in their announcement of the speeding crackdown. 

If they don't, they could be fined anywhere between $90 and $600 and receive a 3 to 11 points on their license, police warned.