NY State Legislatures Pass Bill Exempting Hatzolah Vehicles from Speed Camera Violations

By: Yehuda Alter

A bill passed in the New York Senate and Assembly—sponsored by State Senator Simcha Felder and Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein—may save lives in the community.  

By their very nature, Hatzolah first responders violate speed and red-light violations on nearly every call. In the past, this meant incurring summonses through the speed and red light cameras. 

Members would appear in court to fight the summonses, and in many cases to no avail.

Thanks to the bill passed today, all tickets will be dismissed—so long as Hatzolah sends an affidavit confirming that they were responding to a call at the time.

“When it comes to saving a life, every minute counts. That’s why it’s so important that our heroic Hatzolah volunteers reach patients as quickly and efficiently as possible, without having to worry about monetary fines.” said Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein. “I am delighted that my colleagues at the state legislature overwhelmingly supported my bill recognizing that emergency medical first responders should be allowed to operate without concern of traffic violations.”