Letter Report on the New York City Department of Sanitation’s Monitoring of Its Employees Who Drive City-Owned or Personally-Owned Vehicles on City

 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The audit determined whether the New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) monitored its employees who drive who drive City-owned or personally-owned vehicles on City business. The objective of this audit was to determine whether determine if DSNY is effectively monitoring such employees’ driving.

New York City requires that only those employees who exercise reasonable care in operating City-owned or personally-owned vehicles be allowed to use them to conduct City business.  This requirement is outlined in the City of New York’s “City Vehicle Driver Handbook” (Handbook).  Agency heads, through their agency’s Agency Transportation Coordinator (ATC), must ensure that all employees assigned a City-owned vehicle either for full-time use or temporary use have been authorized to drive.  It is also the ATC’s responsibility to ensure that each driver has a valid license.  An employee’s driver’s license must be issued by New York State unless the employee is exempt from City residency requirements.  In that case, the authorized driver must have a valid license from the state where he/she resides and must have the appropriate classification for the vehicle which he/she is driving on City business.  The Handbook further specifies that City agencies must establish programs that promote safety along with proper training in the use of motor vehicles.

City agencies participating in the New York State (NYS) Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) License Event Notification System (LENS) program are required to monitor the driving behavior of their employees.  The LENS program is designed to notify an ATC of any event that affects the driver’s license, such as an expired license, the accumulation of points, an accident, and charges against the driver for driving while impaired or driving under the influence.  This enables the ATC to ensure that only employees with valid licenses are driving on City business.

In January 2014, the City launched the Vision Zero Action Plan (Plan), a comprehensive initiative to reduce driver, bicyclist, and pedestrian injuries and fatalities in New York City.  The Plan detailed steps to improve street safety, including lowering the speed limit from 30 miles per hour to 25 miles per hour and increasing the penalties for driving with a suspended license and leaving the scene of an accident.  The Plan also proposed increasing the number of red light cameras and installing additional traffic devices to control speeding.  With respect to City employees, the Plan included implementing a citywide defensive driving program and adding safety-related equipment and devices to City vehicles.

Results

The audit found that DSNY effectively monitors the driving behavior of its authorized drivers.  DSNY subscribes to the DMV’s LENS program, receives its updates and revokes the privileges of drivers who have suspended or revoked licenses in a timely manner as prescribed by regulations.  Further, for its employees who do not live in NYS, DSNY has taken additional steps to ensure compliance with NYS DMV regulations so that those employees adhere to NYS motor vehicle regulations.  In addition, DSNY ensures that all its licensed Sanitation drivers have the accurate endorsements or classification to drive the appropriate vehicle.  Moreover, DSNY provided its employees with a required safety awareness program.

DSNY should continue to monitor the driving behavior of its authorized drivers and take the appropriate steps as required.  DSNY should continue to promote driver awareness and public safety programs. 

In its written response, DSNY agreed with the report’s finding and stated, “We are pleased with the results of the audit and appreciate your approval of the agency’s efforts in effectively monitoring its drivers.”