Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf is a New York Plaintiff's personal injury law firm specializing in automobile accidents, construction accidents, medical malpractice, products liability, police misconduct and all types of New York personal injury litigation.

Articles Posted in Auto Accidents

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A boozed up 20 year old driver was going 120 mph when he lost control of his car and slammed into the guardrail on the Grand Central Parkway in Queens, New York early Saturday. Two of the passengers died and two others suffered injury and were taken to the hospital. The driver suffered minor injuries and was booked for several charges including manslaughter, assault and criminally negligent homicide according to the New York Daily News

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Last Monday a woman died when she was struck by a truck and fell underneath the rear wheels of the tractor-trailer as it was turning onto onto Prospect Expressway in Kensington, Broolyn, New York. The intersection that once again proved to be very dangerous for pedestrians has been waiting for New York Department of Transportation to install a pedestrian island on Ocean Parkway near Church Ave at the entrance of the expressway.

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Side car crash test shows that car occupants are better protected than 10 years ago in severe side crash accidents. See below the new video from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

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If a child is struck by a car at a speed of 40 mph there is 70% chance that the child will be killed. If a child is struck by a car at a speed of 30 mph there is a 80% chance the child will suffer personal injury and survive.

The legislation that we discussed last week in our blog has passed. 20 new cameras will be installed near schools that experience speed issues in their vicinity. Here is the link to the statements of Mayor Bloomberg and Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan.

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Dangerous speeding in the vicinity of New York schools put members of communities at risk of a car accident . Even five miles per hour can make a difference between life and death for a child. To fight this danger, Senator Jeff Klein (D-Bronx/Westchester) has introduced legislation to authorize the use of speed cameras in New York City school zones where dangerous speeding is most prevalent.

After the New York City’s Department of Transportation released a traffic safety reportindicating that 96% of the vehicles were speeding while driving in the PS 81 school district in the Bronx, Senator Klein commissioned a follow-up study at PS 81. Results presented last Friday by Senator Klein and NYC Department of Traffic Commissioner Sadik-Khan confirmed a pattern of dangerous speeding near the Riverdale elementary school.
Speeding%20PS%2081.pngTo fight dangerous speeding in school zones, the Senator and the New York City Traffic Commissioner are both pushing to pass legislation that would authorize speed cameras near NYC public schools.

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18% of Designated Drivers (DDs) are driving while impaired exposing themselves and their drunken passengers to a higher risk of a car accident reveals a recent study conducted during week-ends in in a southeastern college community restaurant and bar district.

65% of DDs tested abstained from drinking alcohol completely, 17% had a Blood Alcohol Content between 0.02 and 0.049 and 18% had a BAC above 0.05. according to the study conducted by the Department of Health Education and Behavior, University of Florida and published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

The study also screened participants for Alcohol Use Disorders and results showed that participants with Alcohol Use Disorders were more likely to serve as DD and have a blood alcohol concentration that significantly impaired driving ability and psychomotor function.

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In an Upstate New York truck accident that happened several days ago, a trailer disconnected from the rig that was pulling it and crashed into a minivan killing 7. Investigation will determine if the cause of the accident was mechanical failure or driver action.

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, mechanical failures are the cause of only 1% of fatal accidents involving large trucks and among mechanical failures, the truck’s couplings, hitches or chains are the cause of 1 in a thousand fatal accidents.

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In New York State, cell phone related car accidents have increased by 143% from 2005 to 2011. In 2011, there were 25,165 fatal and personal injury crashes involving distracted driving in New York, compared to 4,628 caused by alcohol-related driving.

Governer Cuomo wants to crack down on drivers who are using their cell phones while they are driving and put their life and the lives of others at risk. Therefore the governor of New York just announced that texting while driving will cost 5 points instead of 3 for all drivers effective June 1st. Adding to that drivers with probationary or junior licences will get 60-day suspensions for a first conviction and revocations of 60 days (for junior licenses) or 6 months (for probationary licenses) for subsequent convictions within 6 months of the time a license is restored after suspension.

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Raechel and Jacqueline Houck died driving a rental car that had been recalled for a power steering hose defect but had not been repaired. The car caught fire because of the defect while traveling on the highway, causing a loss of steering and a head-on collision with a semi-trailer truck.

To make sure this tragedy is not repeated, U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) have introduced a bill that would ban rental car companies from renting cars that have been recalled by manufacturers. The bill is named in memory of the two sisters who tragically died in a rental car that had been recalled by the manufacturer but wasn’t repaired by the rental car company (see picture).
Hearing in the Senate is planned for May 21st.