Long Island drivers already navigating some of the nation’s most dangerous roads warn Albany’s stricter new traffic laws will only likely dump more unlicensed motorists on the streets.
New York’s new “point” system, which takes effect Feb. 26, moves the current license-losing threshold of 11 points in 18 months to to 10 points in two years while boosting penalties for common violations such as speeding, tailgating, cellphone use and school-bus passing.
“Between Nassau and Suffolk counties, there were a total of roughly 50,000 speeding tickets [in 2024] — there is no question in my mind that this is going to lead to a massive number of license suspensions,” said Adam Rosenblum, a prominent traffic lawyer, told The Post, citing state DMV data.
Rosenblum warned that the crackdown could have the opposite of the state’s intended safety impacts by actually pushing more drivers off the books and onto the roads illegally, while also piling new financial burdens onto working-class Long Islanders who rely on their cars daily.
That assessment has left some drivers in the region worried about their continued safety, while others are panicked for other reasons — concerned about the points they already accrued — noting that one more single ticket in the next two years could temporarily invalidate their license.
“There are already people that drive with suspended licenses or even no licenses, and now that problem is just going to get worse, they’re still going to drive — this is Long Island — there is no other way to really get around since our public transit system sucks,” motorist Larissa Bars told The Post.
The worrisome situation comes as it was revealed last year that a serious car crash occurs every 7 minutes on Long Island’s 118 miles of roadway — averaging roughly 210 deaths a year and seriously injuring about 1,600 annually.
Bars called the state’s new changes a “cash grab,” pointing to the newly added “driver responsibility assessment,” an additional state-imposed financial penalty that kicks in when a driver racks up points on their license on top of any ticket fines or court fees.
Under the new system, the state slaps a $300 charge once a driver hits six points, plus an extra $75 for every additional point after that, with no cap on how high the assessment can go, meaning the more points a driver accumulates, the more money they owe the state, separate from whatever they already paid for the ticket itself.
The expanded two-year lookback window also means drivers who thought they were almost in the clear may soon find themselves back in danger of suspension, as older tickets from before the changes take effect will continue to count toward the state’s point total extended to 24 months after the date the ticket was issued.
A driver who already has accumulated a few points for speeding told The Post he’s worried that one more unintentional slip up will temporarily cost him his license, $300 and possibly even upend his life under the new system.
“All they do is try to make things harder for people,” said the driver, who asked not to be identified.
“Ubers are ridiculously priced, there’s really no trains, and I would still have bills to pay — if they suspended my license I’d have no choice but to do what I have to do in order to keep feeding my family,” he said, alluding that he would continue driving with a suspended license to get to work.