Auto Accidents

Published on: October 17, 2016

Pedestrian killed in NYC car accident

A pedestrian was fatally struck by a car in New York City last night. The 79 year old man was crossing the street at the intersection of Northern Boulevard and Prince Street in Flushing, Queens, when he was struck by a SUV. The driver was a 56 year old woman. She stayed at the scene of the accident and wasn’t charged. The pedestrian was transported to the hospital in critical condition. He later died from his injuries according to the NY Daily News.

Northern Boulevard is considered one of the most dangerous arterial roads in New York City. When mayor de Blasio signed 11 Vision Zero bills into law he held his press conference on Northern Boulevard and 61st Street. This is where 8 year old Nashat Nahian (whose family is represented by our firm) was killed by a truck driver on his way to school.

Northern Boulevard is a Vision Zero Priority Corridor. To reduce pedestrian deaths on the Northern Boulevard, the DOT recently presented several safety projects to local community boards such as Northern Blvd – Honeywell St to Broadway Corridor Safety Improvements and the Northern Boulevard – 105 St to 114 St Corridor Safety Improvements.

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Published on: October 17, 2016

National Teen Driver Safety Week 2016 Starts Today

By GGCRBHS&M

Car accidents are the number one cause of fatalities among teens. 2,679 teens died and 123,000 were injured in car accidents in 2014 in the US according to the most recent statistics. Distracted driving including distraction from other passengers, speeding, alcohol use and lack of seat belts are among the main factors contributing to these accidents. To raise awareness about these dangers and in an attempt to prevent teens from dying or being injured in car crashes the Congress created the National Teen Driver Safety Week in 2007. National Teen Drivers Safety Week 2016 starts Today for the ninth consecutive year. During this week, schools and communities will conduct campaigns related to this issue. If you want to get involved in your community or learn more about National Teen Driver Safety Week you can find campaign material here.

Published on: October 13, 2016

High risk of rear-end crashes for novice teen drivers

By GGCRBHS&M

The Traffic Injury Prevention Journal recently released a study comparing traffic accidents involving novice teen drivers and experienced adults. The study uses data from the Strategic Highway Research Program 2 (SHRP2) Naturalistic Driving Study. Naturalistic driving is a new approach of analyzing driving behavior. In the SHRP2 naturalistic driving study, 2,360 drivers of all ages and genders across the US agreed to have their driving behavior electronically monitored. For a specific period of time, each participant’s car was equipped with high tech data-collecting devices that analyzed their day to day driving activities and behavior.

A team led by researchers from the Center for Injury Research and Prevention at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia used the naturalistic driving data to compare crash rates and rear-end striking crashes among novice teens and experienced adults. Researchers found 539 crashes involving novice teen drivers (16 to 19 years old) or experienced adult drivers (35 to 54 years old). They looked at data from onboard instrumentation such as scene cameras, accelerometers and GPS to identify rear-end crashes. Each of these rear-end collisions were then analyzed to obtain information about impact velocity and severity of the crash.

The study found that rear-end crashes represented 43% of all significant at-fault crashes. Novice teen drivers had a crash rate of 30 per million miles driven and a rear-end striking crash rate of 13.5 compared to respectively 5.3 and 1.8 per million miles driven for experienced adult drivers. The median impact velocity for rear-end crashes was 18.9 mph for novice drivers and 2.8 mph for experienced drivers. Rear-end crash severity was also higher for teens than for adults.

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Published on: October 6, 2016

Bicyclists and pedestrian deaths on the rise again in New York City

By GGCRBHS&M

25 people died and 5,383 were injured in motor vehicle accidents in New York City last August. During this month, the NYPD recorded a total number of 19,388 traffic accidents. Motor vehicle accidents have been on the rise in New York City over recent years. From 16,729 in August 2013 the number of accidents steadily increased to 17,000 in August 2014 and 18,862 in August 2015. A monthly record was reached last June with 20,362 accidents.

In an attempt to reduce the number of deaths related to these accidents, New York The de Blasio administration launched Vision Zero at the beginning of 2014. Since then, the number of fatal traffic accidents has been on a declining trend despite an increase in the total number of crashes. After reaching a monthly record low of 11 in March 2016, fatal traffic accidents spiked again to 29 last June and 25 last August.

While Vision Zero may have helped in curbing the number of deaths on the road, the number of people injured in motor vehicle accidents in New York City continued to rise over in recent years. In August 2013, 4,846 people were injured in NYC traffic accidents. This number decreased slightly in 2014 to 4,445 before increasing again in August 2015 to 4,737 and reaching almost 6,000 in August 2016.

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Published on: September 27, 2016

28 year old pedestrian killed by hit and run driver in Brooklyn, NYC

By GGCRBHS&M

A pedestrian was fatally hit by a car in NYC on Friday night. 28 year old Francis Perez a Sheepshead Bay resident, stepped out of his house around 8:00 pm. He went to a nearby grocery store. He bought snacks for his son and his girlfriend. On his way back, he crossed Avenue V between Ford and Coyle Street. A car hit him at high speed. He flew in the air. A witness ran and gave him CPR. It wasn’t enough. The ambulance took him to the hospital where died there from his injuries. He left behind his girlfriend, Sandra Mcillwain, and their 8 year old son Francis JR. The police are still looking for the hit and run driver who killed him. Read more in the NY Daily News.

A Google aerial picture of the location of the accident shows that there are several stores and businesses on Avenue V between Coyle Street and Ford Street. It also shows that there are no pedestrian crossings despite commercial activities.

aerial picture of Avenue V

Published on: September 27, 2016

The US DOT looks into regulations for automated vehicles

By GGCRBHS&M

Human error is the main factor in fatalities and injuries related to car accidents. The introduction of automated vehicles (AV) is expected to lead to a significant improvement of safety on American roads. However just like actual cars, new automated vehicles must pass safety standards. The US Department of Transportation’s role is to ensure public safety on the roads. With the arrival on the market of self driving vehicles, the agency is confronted with to new challenges. How to keep road users safe with automated vehicles? How to keep up to date with safety as technology related to AVs is developing very quickly?

The DOT consulted with experts, safety advocates, industry leaders and State governments among others before to publish a “Federal Automated Vehicles Policy”. This document was released with the purpose of seeking public comments. The DOT will consider all received feedback and release an updated policy in one year.

The document can be downloaded here

Published on: September 22, 2016

Left Turn Accidents in NYC Scrutinized by the DOT

By GGCRBHS&M

Left turn accidents in New York City kill or severely injure pedestrians and bicyclists 3 times more than right turns. These findings are part of a study focusing on left turn crashes that was recently released by the NYC DOT. As part of Vision Zero, the DOT carefully analyzed 1,105 crash reports over a period of 5 years.

The most dangerous intersections for left turns are those when a vehicle is turning left from a one lane and one way street onto a two way and two lane street wider than 60 feet. When a driver makes a left turn in this type of intersection, his visibility of pedestrians is limited. Additionally, the driver often pressured by traffic behind him, has to find gaps between the incoming traffic and the pedestrians crossing.

The study also found that victims of left turn accidents are mostly pedestrians with a median age of 67. They are most commonly hit by cars, vans or pickup trucks.

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Published on: September 22, 2016

Pedestrian killed in New York car accident

By GGCRBHS&M

accident scene A reckless driver fatally backed up into a pedestrian in Manhattan. The 41 year old man was driving North on Third Ave. As he was crossing E. 71st Street, he suddenly stopped in the middle of the intersection. He then proceeded to back up toward a parking spot. As he was doing so, 83 year old Lee Strong, a Upper East Side resident, had just started to cross the street in the crosswalk. The driver didn’t see her and backed into her. She was knocked down and suffered severe head injuries. She was transported to the hospital in critical condition. She died of her injuries one day after being admitted. The driver stayed at the scene of the accident. The police have not made a decision yet as to charge him or not. Read more in the NY Daily News

Published on: September 19, 2016

Pedestrian critically injured in NYC car accident

By GGCRBHS&M

accident location A 39 year old old man suffered critical injury after he was hit by car in the Bronx, NYC. The accident occurred Saturday night around 3:00 am on East Tremont Ave near Waterbury Ave. The driver of the car, a 28 year old man, remained at the scene of the accident. He was later taken into custody by the police after he was given a breathalyzer test.

East Tremont Ave between Williamsbridge Road and Bruckner Boulevard is one the most dangerous corridors in New York City. According to the NYC Department of Transportation, hundreds of people were injured in car accidents on this specific segment between 2009 and 2013. Among them, 21 people were severely injured or died. Speeding is a major issue in this wide corridor with undefined moving and parking lanes. Crosswalks are mostly very long diagonals or are simply lacking, making it difficult for pedestrians to cross safely.

In 2015, as part of the Vision Zero Initiative, the DOT proposed to the Community Board to re-engineer East Tremont Ave to make it safer (see DOT proposal here). The proposal included a reduction from 4 to 2 traffic lines with a center turn lane as well as the construction of pedestrian islands. The proposal which didn’t include any bike lanes was turned down by the community board. However after a bicyclist died on this segment last June, the DOT by-passed the community board decision and confirmed it would implement the safety measures. (see more in Streetsblog).

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Published on: September 16, 2016

NYC pedestrians better protected in case of an accident

By GGCRBHS&M

In a previous blog, we wrote about a bill that would extend NYC pedestrians’ right of way when the countdown clock is in progress at a crosswalk or when the signal is flashing. This bill was unanimously passed by the City Council on Wednesday. It was backed by the DOT and by The NYPD and is expected to be enacted by the mayor as soon as possible.

With the enactment of this new bill, the NYPD and District Attorneys will have no more excuses for not bringing cases against drivers who strike pedestrians while they are in the crosswalk. According to Streetblog, in the past, many cases were not pursued because Section 4-03 of the Traffic Rules of the City of New York stated that “no pedestrian shall enter or cross the roadway” during the flashing “Don’t Walk” phase”.

The new bill intro-997, amends this section of the Rules of the City of New York and establishes the right of way for pedestrians “when a steady walking person, flashing upraised hand, or flashing upraised hand with a countdown clock is displayed on a pedestrian control signal”.

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