A New York City police officer has amassed a staggering 547 traffic tickets over the past four years, many for dangerous driving, yet the New York Police Department has declined to punish him. Officer James Giovansanti, 33, ranks among the most reckless drivers in the Big Apple, with infractions including speeding through school zones and running red lights.
A Staggering Number of Violations
In the last year alone, Giovansanti received 187 tickets across Staten Island, according to Streetsblog. He is the second most-fined driver in the city, with $36,650 in fines, trailing only an unidentified Brooklyn racer who owes $63,744. It remains unclear whether Giovansanti has paid any of his tickets.
Vehicle and Dangerous Driving
Giovansanti drives a 4,800-pound RAM 1500 truck, whose size and power raise additional concerns given his repeated recklessness. Two cameras near Port Richmond High School have captured him running red lights 105 times since 2022. While the data does not specify his speeds, fines have ranged from $50 to $176 per ticket.
NYPD's Response and Inaction
Despite the hundreds of tickets, the NYPD stated it is not punishing Giovansanti because his infractions are "not related to his job or his duties in the department." After being identified as one of the city's worst drivers, he was seen exiting his truck in a parking lot.
The New York City Department of Transportation notes that drivers with two or more moving violations annually are over 40 times more likely to cause a crash. Giovansanti's moving violations by year: 116 in 2022, 127 in 2023, 124 in 2024, and 180 in 2025. It is unknown if he has ever been involved in a collision.
Political and Public Reaction
News of Giovansanti's record has caught the attention of lawmakers. New York state Senator Andrew Gounardes told the New York Post that he introduced the "Stop Super Speeders Act" with such drivers in mind, targeting "serial speeders" by requiring speed limiters for those with 16 or more speeding tickets in a year. "Cops are supposed to protect and serve, not speed and swerve," Gounardes said.
Former NYPD officer and criminal justice professor Michael Alcazar told Streetsblog that Giovansanti should face "serious discipline," adding that his record suggests "indifference to public safety." Alcazar noted that during his tenure from 1989 to 2019, supervisors tracked off-duty conduct and often punished violations. "Patterns of off‑duty behavior, including traffic violations, were absolutely something supervisors paid attention to," he said.
The Daily Mail contacted the NYPD for comment, and Giovansanti did not respond. When Streetsblog approached his home, a woman reportedly yelled, "Get away from my house before I call the cops!"
