Articles Posted in Personal Injury Law

The New York Times recently reported on the city’s effort to bring back a rule that would allow for local authorities to control the use of speed cameras and establish speed limits, which could be an effective way of decreasing the surge in New York City traffic violence.

A recent report by the New York Times examines the effort to bring “home rule” to New York City.  “Home rule” refers to the local control of traffic enforcement mechanisms, the use of speed cameras and the establishment of speed limits, that currently fall under state authority. City officials are currently pushing state lawmakers to turn this authority over to the city, in order to help it combat recent surges in traffic violence stemming from reckless driving behaviors.

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New research suggests that the number of traffic accidents that happen at dusk and dawn are underreported or inaccurately reported by authorities.

New research by Evari GIS Consulting, a consulting firm based in San Diego, suggests that the number of motor vehicle accidents that happen at dawn and dusk may be inaccurately reported by authorities. Building an analysis of collisions in Tennessee between 2017 and 2020, the firm found that “88% of collisions occurring during dusk or dawn were misreported as either ‘night’ or ‘day,’ and that 20% of “collision ambient light conditions are misreported.” 

These figures have significant implications. As a report by Evari notes, accurately reported nighttime collisions in the Tennessee analysis “were five times more likely to result in a fatality than daytime collisions.” The report notes further that Federal Highway Administration figures show that half of fatal accidents happen at night, despite the fact that there are fewer people—whether motorists, pedestrians, or cyclists—on the road at night. “That means the fatality rate is three times the daytime rate because only 25 percent of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) occur at night,” according to Evari.

Safe transit advocacy group argues that laws preventing New York City from operating speed cameras on nights and weekends is a major contributor to the city traffic violence.

A recent publication by safe transit advocacy group Transportation Alternatives argues that a New York state law preventing New York City from operating speed enforcement cameras on nights and weekends is a contributor to the epidemic of traffic violence afflicting the city. According to the organization’s data, “59 percent of traffic fatalities occur at times when the cameras are not permitted to operate.” Under the state law, the city cannot operate those cameras for the majority of the week. Continue reading

Data shown by the Staten Island Advance shares  that despite the 59 traffic fatalities in NYC, Staten Island did not have any traffic deaths to report in the first quarter of the year.

Even though data shows there were 59 traffic fatalities in New York City in the first quarter of the year, the borough of Staten Island “did not record a single traffic death in January, February, or March,” according to a report by the Staten Island Advance. The report describes a New York Police Department pamphlet offering numerous tips for drivers to avoid deadly traffic accidents. Continue reading