As traffic violence across the city continues to spike, lawmakers in Albany have introduced legislation to keep speed cameras on 24/7 as a new effort to get drivers to slow down.

As it is, each speed camera ticket you receive could costs $50 each if a driver exceeds the speed limit by more than 10 mph.

Under the current law, speed cameras are only working Monday - Friday, are turned off from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. and don't work at all on the weekends. Some lawmakers argue that when these cameras are off is when people are speeding up the most and it costs lives.

"We know that speed cameras help reduce speeding by up to 72 percent once they're installed," said State Sen. Andrew Gounardes. "This is a proven tool that we have in our toolkit to help fight reckless driving and save people's lives. There is an urgent crisis on our hands and we know that this is a proven way to slow down cars, and when you slow down cars, you save lives."

The city is investing $900 million in street safety and 1,000 intersections will be redesigned citywide to make it safer for pedestrians. The DOT reported a 69% increase in traffic related deaths during the pandemic, which is why they say this new bill is a goal is to save lives.

This deal is expected to pass in the City Council by early June.