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VST Program

New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) Commissioner and Chair

Meera Joshi, City Council Member and Technology Committee Chair James

Vacca, and City Council Member and Transportation Committee Chair Ydanis

Rodriguez today announced the launch of the TLC’s Vehicle Safety Technology

(VST) Pilot Program, an extension of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Vision Zero Action Plan.

The TLC is one of three agencies taking lead on Vision Zero, alongside the NYC

DOT and the NYPD. The VST pilot’s goal is to explore the ways that in-vehicle

technology may be employed to improve driver safety.

Data recorders, also known as black boxes, capture and record information on

vehicle dynamics such as speed, acceleration, braking, and abrupt turns. Driver

alert systems notify the driver when the system detects unsafe driving factors.

Testing these types of high-tech systems in TLC-licensed vehicles enables the TLC

to evaluate the practical applications of the technology and its effectiveness in

promoting safe driving practices. Another of the pilot’s benefits is that it will allow

the TLC to evaluate the unique driving conditions found in urban settings such as

New York City, and their effects on driving for-hire.

“The VST Pilot Program will give us a bird’s eye view of what is actually happening

on the road and the mere presence of a black box will keep drivers mindful of the

responsibility they have behind the wheel,” said Commissioner Joshi. “The data

collected by this piloted technology will help the TLC and our industries reinforce

good driving practices that will ultimately keep drivers, passengers, pedestrians and

cyclists as safe as possible. Vision Zero’s mission of eliminating traffic fatalities

challenges us to explore every option at our disposal to ensure the safety of our shared streets.”