Auto Accidents

Published on: May 14, 2014

After two pedestrians died and many suffered personal injury after being struck by motor vehicles, the intersection of Broadway and 96th Street in Manhattan will be redesigned to enhance pedestrian safety

As part of the Vision Zero plan to reduce traffic fatalities and injuries, NYC DOT, NYPD, Congressman Nadler, Borough President Brewer, Council Members Rodriguez and Rosenthal announced yesterday that the dangerous intersection of Broadway and 96th Street in the Upper West Side of New York will be revamped.

The project simplifies signal timing, eliminates two left turns at the intersection, adds pedestrian space, enhances access and safety by reducing pedestrian crossing distances and creates a signalized crosswalk across West 96th Street between the two median malls at this busy transit connection.

Read more in the Department Of Transportation Press Release

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Published on: May 13, 2014

A Potential Delay in Air Bag Deployment during Rollover Crashes and Defective Door Handles Prompted Ford Motor to Recall the 2013-2014 Model-year Escapes and C-Max Hybrids

By GGCRBHS&M

Defective software may delay the deployment of the airbags in case of a rollover accident in the 2013-2014 model-year Escapes. Therefore Ford Motor is recalling 692,487 vehicles in North America to fix the glitch.

Ford also announced the recall of 692,744 2013-2014-MY Escapes because they may have defective handles that may prevent the doors from latching properly, posing a safety risk when the car is in motion. Dealers will inspect the door handles and re-position them if necessary.

The majority of the recalled Escapes are at risk for both problems – the air bag software glitch and the faulty door handle.

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Published on: May 12, 2014

Worker at Gowanus Auto Body Shop killed by Hit and Run Driver

By GGCRBHS&M

A worker who was repairing a car on the sidewalk in Brooklyn, NYC, was struck by a hit and run driver and died from his injuries at the hospital on Saturday afternoon. Felipe Castro Palacios was repairing a car that was parked halfway on the sidewalk in front of the Gowanus Auto Body Shop when the accident happened. The driver of a black Nissan Altima lost the control of his vehicle and crashed into the car that Felipe was repairing as well as two other cars. The driver took off but according to the New York Daily News a witness was able to write down the plate number. The car was a rental and the police are still looking for the driver.

Gowanus%20Body%20Shop%20Accident.jpg

Felipe Palacio Castro and the Gowanus Auto Body Shop (Google Street Map)

Published on: May 12, 2014

Reckless driver loses his arm in an accident during which he hit a van injuring the 3 passengers and then tries to run away from the scene

By GGCRBHS&M

Miguel%27s%20flower%20shop.jpg 4 people suffered serious personal injury as a result of a car accident that happened at the intersection of the Cross Bronx Expressway and White Plain Road in the Bronx, NYC, on Sunday morning. A 38 old man crashed his car into a van parked by a flower store injuring the 3 passengers inside it. The crash was so strong that the car flipped on his roof and the minivan crashed into another vehicle. The reckless driver who suffered critical injury to his arm managed to get out of the wreckage and tried to flee the scene. He was caught 2 streets away by the police and brought to the hospital where his arm was amputated. The 3 passengers of the van suffered neck and back injuries and were also taken to a hospital for treatment. The accident happened in front of a flower shop (picture) where people were buying flowers for mother’s day. Read more in the New York Daily News

The night before a few blocks away a livery cab driver lost the control of her SUV and crashed into a barber shop injuring a child. Read more here

Published on: May 9, 2014

New York Mayor de Blasio’s executive budget allocates more than $40 million toward measures to reduce traffic fatalities

By GGCRBHS&M

Mayor de Blasio said that 286 traffic deaths in New York City compared to 333 homicides in 2013 compelled him to take action and launch the Vision Zero program. Last week the mayor announced that close to $30 million of his executive budget would be allocated to DOT initiatives to make the streets safer such as the installation of speed bumps in school zones and the development of additional slow zones as well as speed cameras and street redesign. $13 million were also allocated to NYPD traffic enforcement and $ 1.1 for a Taxi and limousine advertising campaign about safety.

NYPD Motor Vehicle Collision data are now available in friendly format and are updated on a daily basis

By GGCRBHS&M

A new feed on NYC Open Data portal provides New Yorkers with easy to read data on traffic crashes that are updated on a daily basis. Previously data on traffic accidents were only available monthly on the NYPD website.

This new format allows users to filter the information by date, time, borough, zip code, latitude and longitude, street name and cross street name, number of persons injured and killed including number of pedestrians, cyclists and motorists injured or killed as well as the contributing factors of the accident for each vehicle involved.

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Published on: May 8, 2014

In New York City, the number of pedestrians killed in traffic accidents last March was 11, the same number as in March 2013

By GGCRBHS&M

It’s too early to say if the first Vision Zero measures to reduce traffic fatalities are effective yet. After a decrease of the number of people injured or killed in vehicle accidents in New York last February, the numbers are up again for March 2014 and are pretty much at the same level as they were a year ago according to the most recent statistics from the NYPD

people%20injured%20in%20vehicle%20accidents%20march%202014.jpg number%20of%20people%20killed%20in%20car%20accidents%20in%20march%202014.jpg The number of pedestriandeaths, 11, is exactly the same in March this year than it was in March last year. 952 pedestrians were injured in auto accident this march compared to 990 in March 2013 and 820 the month before. The number of bicyclists injured was also pretty much the same from one year to the other.

Pedestrians%20injured%20and%20killed%20in%20March%202014.jpg bicyclists%20injured%20and%20killed%20in%20March%202014.jpg Bus Accidents were slightly on the rise from one year to the other with 572 accidents in March 2014 compared to 523 in March 2013.

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Published on: May 5, 2014

10 year old pedestrian girl injured after being struck by a Police Car in Brooklyn, NYC

By GGCRBHS&M

A young girl who was crossing Mother Gaston Blvd with her brother was injured after being struck by a police car yesterday night in Brooklyn. The 10 year old pedestrian Tajahnae Price was crossing Mother Gaston Blvd at New Lots Ave in Brownsville when the police car hit her. She went flying through the air and her top teeth were knocked out. She was transported to the Hospital and she is in stable condition.

Children are the most vulnerable pedestrians with middle school youth making up the bulk of injuries and fatalities related to pedestrian accidents involving children younger than 14 year old.

A 9 year old girl died and five other people were injured in a car accident caused by a driver fleeing the scene of another accident in Brooklyn, NYC

By GGCRBHS&M

9 year old Rebecca Ramnarine died and 5 other people suffered personal injury after a reckless driver crashed into the car that Rebecca was riding in with another 11 year old girl and a female driver in Brooklyn, NYC. A third car with 3 occupants was also involved in the crash. According to the media, the driver, 62 year old Kenneth Palache from Long Island, was fleeing the scene of another accident he was allegedly involved in. He ran a red light and crashed into the two other vehicles.

Palache had a suspended license and was arrested for criminally negligent homicide, leaving the scene of an accident and operating a vehicle without a license.

Published on: May 2, 2014

To reduce personal injury and death related to traffic accidents, New Yorkers can now report live any traffic issue in the city trough the new Vision Zero Interactive map

By GGCRBHS&M

Vision Zero is asking pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists to pinpoint dangerous traffic areas in New York City on an interactive map that can be accessed online directly with an email address or through a Twitter or a Facebook account. Pedestrian crash corridors are highlighted in red on the map while all pedestrian fatalities that happened from 2009 till now are indicated by a red square. Unfortunately bicycle accident fatalities are missing on the map. New York road users can share, comment, agree on and pinpoint directly on the map the following type of traffic issues:

– Not enough time to cross – Double parking – Long wait to cross – Red light running – Jaywalking – Poor visibility – Speeding – Long distance to cross – Failure to yield – Cyclist behavior

It is a fantastic tool however there is a risk of distortion. The map was launched a few days ago and we can already see that high poverty areas are typically misrepresented. This can be due to language barriers, less access to technology or maybe less interest in current events. Hopefully Vision Zero workshops in these areas will be helpful in addressing this unbalance. The map shows big areas such as the West Bronx, East Brooklyn and Harlem with with very little activity compared to the rest of the city. Areas of the city where the youngest population live such as Downtown Manhattan and West Brooklyn are the most active areas on the map.

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