Traffic crashes killed 38,824 people across the United States in 2020, according to data released by U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. As a press release by the NHTSA states, that figure represents “the highest number of fatalities since 2007.” The overall number of traffic crashes and related injuries declined between 2019 […]
Motor Vehicle Accidents
Study: Dangerous Driving Increased During Pandemic
A recent survey by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, drivers drove more recklessly and spent more time driving. As an analysis by Streetsblog points out, that latter figure “partly explains” why the rate of fatalities per mile traveled increased during the pandemic, in addition to the number of fatalities […]
Suspect Arrested in Fatal Brooklyn Hit-and-Run
The driver who allegedly struck and killed a Brooklyn schoolteacher while speeding in May 2021 had two driving-related incidents in his past. As Streetsblog reported last week, the New York Police Department has said it arrested and charged the suspect, Tariq Witherspoon, a 30-year-old EMT “who hit and seriously injured a cyclist in 2017,” two years after he allegedly “allowed an […]
After Deadly Accident, City Plans to Make Queens Intersection Safer
The New York City Department of Transportation has pledged to make improvements to a Queens intersection that has seen numerous violent and even deadly car crashes in recent weeks. As the Queens Daily Eagle reported, the intersection of Cooper Avenue and Cypress Avenue in Glendale, Queens was the site of a February incident in which a […]
NYC to Strengthen 20 Miles of Bike Lanes by 2024
The New York City Department of Transportation has begun the process of strengthening 20 miles of protected bike lanes within the city, or roughly half of the city’s protected bike lanes. As a recent report by Streetsblog notes, DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez had previously pledged to strengthen 20 miles within 100 days of taking office. Now, the […]
NYC Moving Forward with Massive Bus Lane Plan
A recent analysis by the New York Times asks whether a plan to install 150 miles of new bus lanes is worth the investment for New Yorkers. The city’s new mayor, Eric Adams, is overseeing an initiative to add to the Big Apple’s 140 miles of bus lanes, which will effectively “create one of the largest such […]
New Yorker Killed by Driver with a Record of Speeding
The SUV driver who stuck and killed 99-year-old Holocaust survivor Jack Mikulincer in Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn earlier this month was the recipient of “10 school-zone speeding tickets and four red-light tickets since 2016,” including six such speeding tickets in 2021, according to a report by Streetsblog. The incident raises questions of what state and city authorities are […]
US Auto Safety Regulators Investigate Hyundai and Kia Engine Fires
In December, The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration has launched an investigation into potentially widespread defects in cars manufactured by Kia and Hyundai. According to a report by the Associated Press, the inquiry will look at “more than 3 million vehicles from the 2011 through 2016 model years,” stemming from 161 reports it received about engine fires. A […]
Pedestrians Suffer as Reckless Driving Rises
The Covid-19 pandemic has “intensified” trends behind an increase in reckless driving-related pedestrian deaths in the United States, according to a recent report by the New York Times. Despite expectations early in the pandemic that a decrease in drivers on the road would lead to a decrease in pedestrian deaths, in reality the relative emptiness of the […]
New York City Traffic Violence Roundup
As reckless driving rises across the nation, New York City has been no exception to the deadly trend. Below is a roundup of recent traffic violence injuries and fatalities in the city. In Park Slope, Brooklyn, a 44-year-old pedestrian was struck while crossing Fourth Avenue near Bergen Street, according to police. The victim was taken […]
Speed Limit Bill Advances in New York Senate
New York State Senate Bill S524 was advanced through the chamber’s Transportation Committee last week, according to a report by 1010 Wins. The bill, also known as Sammy’s Law, “Relates to establishing speed limits in cities with populations in excess of one million people,” according to its listing in the Senate’s website. If passed by the Senate and […]
Car Crash Deaths Continued Rising in 2021
Data released by the federal government shows that traffic fatalities continued in their upward trend during the first two-thirds of 2021, apparently due to the spate of reckless driving that came with the Covid-19 pandemic. According to a report by the Associated Press, there were 31,720 car crash-related deaths in the first nine months of last year, […]
2021 Was NYC’s Deadliest Year for Traffic Deaths
A total of 273 people lost their lives in traffic crashes in New York City last year, according to a study by street safety advocacy group Transportation Alternatives. As the Brooklyn Eaglereported last week, this made the 2021 deadliest year for traffic violence-related deaths, representing an increase of 33% since 2018. Transportation Alternatives’ study found that […]
Data Suggests NYC Open Streets Reduce Car Crashes, Injuries
Data shows that the implementation of car-free streets leads to a reduction in car crashes and injuries, according to a new analysis by Streetsblog. The analysis specifically examined New York City’s “Open Streets” program on 34th Avenue between 69th Street and Junction Boulevard in Queens, which is kept pedestrian-only for 12 hours every day. Using data […]
Advocates Call for New NYC Mayor to Double Down on Road Safety
A new analysis by Streetsblog identified five “dangerous neighborhoods” for pedestrians and other vulnerable road users for New York’s new mayoral administration to focus on. Noting that there were more traffic fatalities in New York in 2021 than in any other year during the Bill de Blasio administration, the report stressed the need for Mayor Eric […]
NYC’s Next Transportation Commissioner Pledges to Make Streets Safer
After a fatal truck crash on the Upper East Side on Christmas Eve, New York City’s soon-to-be Transportation Commissioner said he would take immediate steps to increase pedestrian and cyclist safety as soon as he takes office. The incoming Commissioner, Ydanis Rodriguez, described traffic violence in New York as a “pandemic of crashes,” according to Streetsblog. […]
NYC Agencies Launch Traffic Safety Initiative During Holidays
Four New York City agencies announced they would step up traffic enforcement during the holiday season. In a press release issued last week, the New York City Police Department, New York City Department of Transportation, New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission, and New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene announced efforts “to crack down […]
NYC Safe Streets Advocates Applaud Adams’ Transportation Commissioner Pick
While deadly streets remain a concern for New Yorkers, recent reports by Streetsblog and the New York Post suggests that the incoming mayoral administration may be a cause for hope. Mayor-elect Eric Adams has reportedly selected City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez to be his Transportation Commissioner, plucking him from his eight-year tenure on the City Council’s Transportation Committee. As Streetsblog […]
Traffic Violence Continues to Injure and Kill New York Motorists, Pedestrians
A review of recent car accidents in New York emphasizes the importance of street safety and enforcement of criminal traffic laws. More information on the below incidents is available via the linked news reports. In Elmira, New York, WETM recently reported that an accident involving a jeep and a pickup truck resulted in unspecified injuries. The collision resulted in “minor damage” to […]
Reckless Driving Killed Tens of Thousands in 2020; Experts Ponder Causes
Earlier this year the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released data projecting that in 2020, motor vehicle traffic crashes resulted in a stunning 38,680 deaths, even traffic volume decreased as people drove less during the pandemic. This figure represented the highest number of motor vehicle traffic crashes since 2007, and an increase of about 7.2% over 2019, when there […]
New York Set to Receive Massive Bike Safety Funding
New York Senator Chuck Schumer has promised his constituents that they’ll receive “an effing lot of money” for cycling infrastructure, according to a recent report by Streetsblog. During a news conference at the Queensboro bridge discussing the freshly passed federal infrastructure bill, Schumer said that $289 million in federal funding will be directed toward making […]
Is the NYPD Mishandling Illegal Parking Complaints?
A new investigation by Streetsblog asks whether the New York Police Department responded to as many 311 complaints regarding blocked bike lanes as it claimed to. According to the report, the NYPD said it issued “more than 100 tickets last year” over such complaints, but an analysis of city-provided data “contain no record of nearly one-fifth […]
Debate Rages Over East Flatbush Bike Safety Proposals
A New York state legislator is working with a New York City transportation policymaker to stymie a move by the NYC Department of Transportation to make East Flatbush safer for cyclists, according to a recent report by StreetsBlog. The Assembly Member, Brooklyn’s Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, and the Community Board 17 Transportation Committee Chairman, Roderick Daley, recently declared their […]
NYC Bill Would Make Food Delivery Companies Cover Accident Costs
New York City Council member Mark Gjonaj has introduced a bill that would require food delivery services like DoorDash and Uber Eats to reimburse delivery workers for “certain costs” resulting from vehicle crashes as they delivery food. According to a New York Post report and the City Council’s website, require the companies to reimburse expenses relating to medical treatment and property damage, […]
NYC Steps Up “Dusk and Darkness” Traffic Enforcement
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office has announced the return of multi-agency traffic enforcement to protect vulnerable and road users after sunset in the fall and winter. Referred to as the city’s “Dusk and Darkness campaign,” the effort involves increased traffic enforcement in the evening and nighttime, specifically with regard to speeding and failure to […]