Using an electric bicycle or e-bike is more likely to result in injury than using a motorcycle or car, according to a recent UCLA study. However, the study found, those injuries were “less serious than those victims of motorcycle and car crashes, and significantly less deadly.” As a report by Electrek explains, the study involved a review […]
Personal Injury Law
NHTSA Raises Awareness of Distracted Driving Injuries, Deaths
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a division of the Department of Transportation, launched a campaign raising attention to the dangers of distracted driving. As a recent release by the agency notes, April is “National Distracted Driving Awareness Month,” and the NHTSA marked the occasion with a weeklong enforcement effort intended to stop drivers who were texting […]
Reports: NYPD Van Driver Strikes, Kills Pedestrian in Brooklyn
An NYPD driver struck and killed a pedestrian in Brooklyn last week, according to a recent report by the New York Post, which states that the 53-year-old pedestrian “was believed to be homeless and panhandling” in the painted central median of Eastern Parkway. The driver was at the wheel of a police van that was reportedly […]
Data: Traffic Fatalities Rise in NYC
Public data indicates that New York City traffic fatalities have increased 35% in the first three months of 2022 compared to a similar period in 2021. According to a recent report by the New York Post, New York Police Department figures reflect the deaths of 58 people in motor vehicle accidents, as opposed to 43 people […]
Report: Car Crash Deaths Rose in 2021
This month the Governors Highway Safety Association released its annual Spotlight on Highway Safety report on pedestrian traffic fatalities by state, using preliminary data gathered from State Highway Safety Offices. According to the report, traffic fatalities continued rising through the first six months of 2021, with the GHSA projecting that 3,441 pedestrians lost their lives in traffic […]
Report: NYC Construction Incidents Fall, Deaths Rise
The New York City Department of Buildings released its second annual Construction Safety report last week. Among other things, the DOB revealed that building construction-related incidents fell for the third year in a row in 2021; at the same time, construction-related injuries and fatalities slightly increased. As the report explains, building construction-related incidents fell 10% in 2021 […]
New York Bill Would Put New Requirement on Student Drivers
A new bill recently introduced in the New York state legislature would place higher standards on student drivers. Senate Bill 8677, introduced by Senator Andrew Gounardes, would require student drivers to take at least six hours of training under a “certified instructor” before they could be issued a license. According to a report by Streetsblog, […]
NYC Mayor Renews Call For Home Rule over Traffic Enforcement
In a news conference last week, New York City Mayor Eric Adams called for New York’s state government to pass a suite of legislation designed to mitigate rising traffic violence in the city. Joined by city officials, lawmakers from all levels of government, and transit safety activists, he renewed demands for state legislators to give […]
NHTSA Launches Automated Safety Tech Media Campaign
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a federal agency that writes and enforces motor vehicle safety standards, has announced a new media campaign to educate drivers about “the safety benefits of advanced driver-assistance technologies in newer vehicles.” According to a press release issued by the agency, the yearlong campaign will involve $1.25 million in spending […]
Brooklyn Activists Call for Safer Bike Lane in Williamsburg
Brooklyn residents are pressing New York City authorities to protect a bike lane on Williamsburg’s Grand Street with concrete barriers. According to a recent report by Brooklyn Paper, transit safety advocates have sent an open letter to the mayor and the commissioner of the Department of Transportation, arguing that the bike lane’s current protections—plastic bollards—are not enough, […]
How to Reduce Gasoline Dependence? Keep Cars off the Roads
A new analysis by Streetsblog the International Energy Agency’s recent proposal of 10 ways countries around the world can reduce their reliance on gasoline. In brief, the IEA’s 10-point plan argues that advanced nations can reduce oil demand in four months by reducing highway speed limits; working from home up to three days each week; establishing “car-free Sundays in […]
NYC Advocates Applaud New Pedestrian Safety Law but Call for More
A new law recently went into effect in New York City that requires the Department of Transportation to “identify each intersection next to a school that does not currently have a traffic control device” and install one by October 2024, according to a report by Streetsblog. Introduced in 2018 by former City Council member Inez Barron, […]
Car Crashes Kill Two Senior Citizens in Queens
The epidemic of traffic violence continued wreaking havoc in New York City last week, as car crashes killed two senior citizens in Queens. According to Streetsblog, one victim was a 75-year-old woman backed over by an 85-year-old man driving a Mercedes Benz; the other was a 88-year-old man hit and killed by the 52-year-old driver of […]
Data: Car Crash Injuries Still Rising in NYC
New York Police Department statistics analyzed by Streetsblog show dramatically increasing traffic violence in New York City in 2022, with “crashes that cause injuries, total injuries and injuries to pedestrians” all rising by double digits. “The violence on New York City streets,” Streetsblog cautions, “is even worse than you think.” According to data concerning traffic […]
NHTSA Issues Final Rule for Autonomous Vehicles
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration has issued a final rule designed to “ensure safety of occupants in automated vehicles.” According to a press release by the agency, the new rule serves as an update to existing standards, accounting for vehicles without the same manual controls. As a report by TechCrunch explains, the rule updates “terminology in the Federal […]
Reports: Traffic Fatalities Rise in 2020, 2021
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 […]
Study: Construction Workers May Bring Toxic Metals Home From Worksites
A pilot study published in a forthcoming issue of Environmental Research found that construction workers may “unintentionally pick up” toxic chemicals at their worksites and carry them to their homes. As an analysis by Construction Dive explains, the chemicals in question include not only lead, but also “arsenic, chromium, copper, lead, manganese, nickel and tin,” which were found in construction workers’ […]
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 […]
NHTSA Investigates 1.7 Million Honda Cars
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has launched an inquiry into 1.7 million Honda-manufactured vehicles in relation to concerns over unintended, or “phantom” braking. According to a report by Automotive News, the probe includes Honda Accord sedans manufactured in 2018-2019 and Honda CR-V SUVs manufactured in 2017-19. Like other NHTSA investigations, this one stems from […]
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 […]
Report: Construction Worksite Fatalities Increased in 2020
A new report by the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health concludes that construction worksite deaths rose during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic. A total of 41 workers lost their lives in job site incidents in 2020, the NYCOSH found, 13 of whom died in New York City sites. According to the Gotham Gazette, […]
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 […]