On Thursday, the City Council reintroduced legislation prohibiting Philadelphia police from intercepting drivers for various minor violations. The legislation was previously amended to clarify when police are allowed to conduct traffic interceptions.

This measure, known as the “driving equality agenda”, will no longer allow the police to stop drivers for second-level traffic violations that are not a public safety risk. These violations include expired registration, damaged or unchecked brakes or taillights. Instead, the driver will receive a warning or ticket in the mail.

However, the police can still intercept vehicles for major traffic violations that may pose a public safety risk. Violations that qualify for traffic parking include drunk driving, driving the wrong way on one-way streets, running red lights, and driving past stop signs.

The main supporter of the legislation, member Isaiah Thomas (Isaiah Thomas) also proposed a supplementary bill that requires a searchable database of traffic stations and regular reports by the police.

Thomas said that the “Drive Equality Agenda” will seek to protect drivers from racial discrimination, and he wrote that he was stopped by Philadelphia police last fall for emergencies. Philadelphia Tribune.

Thomas said the measure will also seek to improve the relationship between the police and the local community without compromising public safety.

“We need to rethink the relationship between the police and the community in a way that does not violate public safety. I believe my driving equality agenda does just that,” Thomas Said in a statement“The first communication between people of color and the police should not be during discriminatory traffic stops.”

“By working closely with the Philadelphia Police Department, we were able to identify traffic stops that did nothing to ensure people’s safety and eliminate negative interactions,” Thomas continued. “I believe this legislation in Philadelphia can set a precedent for other cities, not only through the policy itself, but also through a collaborative process.”

The bill was originally introduced in the city council Last october After months of negotiations between Thomas, the Philadelphia Defenders Association, the Philadelphia Police Department, and city lawyers, the legislation changed.

After the city council has closed its summer recess and held a committee hearing on the measure, the legislation could be voted on this fall. Thomas said it is expected that the driving equality agenda will be accompanied by an executive order from Mayor Jim Kenney.

The bill was co-sponsored by seven other lawmakers, who believed that the measure would end discriminatory practices and legalize several traffic violations in the city’s motor vehicle regulations.

Philadelphia officials made 309,533 stops of motor vehicles between October 2018 and September 2019. whyBlack drivers account for 72% of these sites, but only 43% of the city’s population. Only 1% of parking stations confiscated illegal drugs or guns.