New York, NY — Here's another way to get a ticket in New York City. The city is cracking down on "blocking the box'' vioolations. The city plans to hire 117 additional Traffic Enforcement Agents this year to look for motorists who get stuck in the intersection when the light changes red. Some drivers get caught by trying to squeeze through the intersection just as the light is changing.

NYC Cracking Down on ‘Blocking the Box’

New York, NY — Here’s another way to get a ticket in New York City. The city is cracking down on “blocking the box” vioolations. The city plans to hire 117 additional Traffic Enforcement Agents this year to look for motorists who get stuck in the intersection when the light changes red. Some drivers get caught by trying to squeeze through the intersection just as the light is changing.

However some drivers pull into the intersection as soon as they get a green light and get stuck there because traffic in front of them didn’t move. Either way you’ll get a ticket.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said unblocking intersections will help ease traffic and lessen pollution.

Currently, blocking the box is classified as a moving violation. Only police officers and a small number of enforcement agents are authorized to issue a violation, which comes with a $90 ticket and two points on the driver’s license. The city is seeking state legislation to make blocking the box a non-moving violation that will allow all of its 2,800 traffic enforcement agents to issue a ticket.

9 Comments

  • Boruch ben Tzvi HaKohaine Hoffinger

    B”H
    The city will make a fortune at the intersection of Utica Ave & President Street, and Utica Avenue and Union Street.

  • Someone who hates NYC

    Its about time. This makes the traffic worse for everyone just because some idiot doesnt want to wait 30 seconds at a red light

  • chummut

    to someone who hates NYC:shhhhhhhhhhhh just calm down… relaxxxxxxxxxxxxx, take it easy!!!

  • Yitz

    Crown Heights Lubavitchers are among the worst drivers I’ve ever seen. Crackdowns will do some good. Go Mayor Mike!

  • Milhouse

    Good. When I learned to drive I was taught never to enter an intersection until I could see that there would be room at the other end for me to leave it. Every time I see intersections blocked like this I wish I could issue the drivers tickets. Let the people behind you honk if they like; you don’t work for them.

  • cher

    to hello.blocking the box means entering an intersection on green light when there is not enough room to make it through to the other side of the intersection without blocking cross traffic coming the other way after the light changes.for example you are driving up kingston you are at the corner of union before the intersection(kahns grocery or sweet expression)but there is a car stuck in traffic imediatly after the intersection by wlcc or the union mikva then you go through the intersection but you cannot make it through to the other side of the intersection because of a car stopped in traffic by wlcc or the union mikva then when the light changes cars going down union st can not make it through the intersection because your car is in their way.that is called blocking the box.

  • NYC Motorist

    its not like it has a goal of lowering the amount of vehicles in intersections and no effort was made to improve the flow of traffic through intersections.

    a hundred more salarys is enough to employ a massive traffic engineering team to do something about improving the flow of traffic throgh the congested intersections of NYC. instead, it seems, they use the financial funding to employ proffesionals who will be taxing motorists for a living, and the only one who benefits from this is the city’s unemployment office.

    at least these creatures are given unifomes. traffic light cops do a better job yelling at cars.