Auto Accidents

Published on: August 14, 2014

Following two recent pedestrian fatalities, CB7 Transportation committee approves the NYC DOT proposal to improve pedestrian safety on West End Ave

61 year old Jean Chambers died on July 10th after being struck by a driver making a left turn at the intersection of of West 95th Street and West End (see previous blog). Earlier this year 9 year old Cooper Stock was crossing the street in the crosswalk and holding his dad’s hand when a taxi turning from 97th Street onto West End Ave struck them. His dad only sustained minor injuries but the young boy died (see previous blog). 96 pedestrians, 41 cyclists and 160 motor vehicles occupants have been injured in traffic accidents on West End between W 75th Street and W 106th Street from 2008 to 2012. West End Ave is dangerous because it is a large 4 lane avenue located in a residential area with schools and seniors center that handles a lot of traffic entering and exiting the Henry Hudson Parkway between 95th and 97th street.

To calm traffic and make it safer for the residents, the Community Board 7 Transportation Committee accepted this week a Road Diet proposal form the NYC Department of Transportation. The proposal includes the reduction of the number of lanes from 4 to two with turn bays, flush median and several pedestrian islands but no bike lanes. The proposal also bans two left turns where traffic exit and enter the Henry Hudson Parkway:Northbound left at W 97th St and Southbound left at W 95th St. The next step is to get the endorsement of the CDB7 full board meeting on September 2nd.

Download the complete DOT Proposal

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Published on: August 13, 2014

A young pedestrian sustained critical injuries after being struck by a van yesterday night in the West Village in New York

By GGCRBHS&M

A woman in her 20s was hospitalized in critical condition after she was hit by a van last night around 3:00 am. According to the New York Daily News, the woman was running across 10th Street under a pouring rain when a van driving northbound on Hudson St. hit her. The driver stayed at the scene and he wasn’t charged. He told the police he never saw the woman.

Published on: August 11, 2014

Surveillance video shows car crashing into a Queens beauty salon at high speed

By GGCRBHS&M

A car driver miraculously suffered only minor injuries after he crashed his car into a Queens beauty salon last week on Thursday night. According to the NY Daily News the car driver was about to leave the gas station across the street when he mixed up the gas pedal with the brake pedal. The video shows a car flying across the street and crashing at high speed into the store.

Source: NY Daily News

Published on: August 11, 2014

4 people suffered personal injury after a driver ran a red light and crashed into another car in Queens, NYC

By GGCRBHS&M

A car accident near the Long Island Expressway in Maspeth, Queens, NYC, left 4 men injured on Sunday morning. Three men in their 20ies were riding in a Nissan Sedan when the driver ran a red light and crashed into a Mercedes Benz. The driver of the Mercedes Benz was critically injured while the three young men suffered serious personal injury. The police found marijuana and heroin in the Nissan. The three men are expected to be charged after their release from the hospital.

The number of pedestrians who died in traffic fatalities in NYC is down by 24% but the number of fatal bicycle accidents is up 33% for the first six months of the year

By GGCRBHS&M

There were 18,321 motor vehicle accidents in New York City in June according to the recent statistics published by the NYPD. This is the highest number of accidents per month in one year and the second consecutive month that this number is above 18,000. A similar increase in vehicle accidents was also observed for the months of May and June last year. During these two months this number was also above 18,000. The total number of motor vehicle accidents for the first six months of 2014 is 8068 compared to 8828 in 2013, a decrease of 9.1%.

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4950 people suffered personal injury in a motor vehicle accident last June compared to 4621 in May and 5046 in June 2014. During the first six months of the year 24,383 people suffered personal injury in a vehicle accident compared to 26,119 for the first six months of 2013, a decrease of 7%.

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For the first 6 months of 2014 there were 117 traffic fatalities compared to 121 in 2013. 20 people died in traffic accidents in June compared to 25 the previous month and 22 in June 2013. The number of motorist deaths was higher than usual for the last two months.

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Published on: August 5, 2014

To reduce traffic fatalities the NYC Department of Transportation is reviewing each street of the city to determine where a new 25mph default speed limit would be suitable

By GGCRBHS&M

On June 25th the New York State Senate passed a bill that granted Bill deBlasio the authority to reduce the maximum speed limit from 30 mph to 25mph in all 5 boroughs of New York City (see previous blog). Now the Department of Transportation is conducting a street by street analysis to determine which streets will have their sped limit lowered from 30 mph to 25 mph. According to the DOT, most of the major avenues will see a speed reduction.

The NYPD and Vision Zero: Transportation Alternatives new report shows that while some preccints excel at enforcing dangerous traffic violations others are lagging

By GGCRBHS&M

Speeding and failure to yield to pedestrians are the leading causes of traffic fatalities and personal injuries to pedestrians in New York City. Therefore as part of the Vision Zero Initiative all NYPD precincts have been instructed at the beginning of this year to increase enforcement of the most dangerous traffic violations.

A new report card from Transportation Alternatives published last week looks at six months of Vision Zero Traffic Enforcement in New York City. Globally across the city, speeding tickets increased by 32% and tickets for failure to yield increased by 153% for the first 6 months of 2014 compared to the first 6 months of 2013. However while looking at the numbers precinct by precinct, Transportation Alternative discovered huge discrepancies. The most troubling was to find neighborhood precincts with similar traffic conditions and street design that had very different enforcement efforts. For example In Harlem,the 26th Precinct nearly doubled the number of speeding summonses issued from last year(294 to 533),

while the adjacent 30th Precinctin Washington Heights issued half as many summonses as they did the prior year.

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Published on: August 4, 2014

79 year old pedestrian died after being struck by a van in Queens, NYC

By GGCRBHS&M

A 79 year old woman was killed in a traffic accident in Queens on Friday morning. The woman was crossing 99th street when she was hit by a van which was making a left-hand turn from 62nd road. The driver stayed at the scene (see video below).

One day before another elderly pedestrian was killed by a vehicle in Queens (see previous post) and a 77 year old woman suffered critical personal injury after being struck by a Jeep Wrangler at the Lily Pond Avenue and Narrows Road South in Arrochar, Staten Island, NYC (read more in the SILive)

Last week, the AARP published the results of a voter survey that indicates that 40% of of voters above 50 years old consider drivers who fail to yield to pedestrians a serious problem and 25% of them also say that traffic signals are too quick and don’t allow enough time to cross the road. (read more in New York City Street Blog)

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Published on: August 4, 2014

Two men dead in speeding car accident on Long Island Expressway in Queens, NYC

By GGCRBHS&M

A man who was driving at 107 mph in a 50 mph zone lost the control of his vehicle and killed himself and his passenger in a frightening car accident, Friday night, a little after midnight in Queens, NYC. The 30 year old driver who was speeding West on the Long Island Expressway lost control of his car as he was trying to switch lanes near Flushing Meadows Park. The car struck a guardrail, flipped over over it and ended it course against a pillar. Both the driver and his passenger, another man in his 30’s died shortly after they arrived to the hospital.

The driver who killed an 80 year old woman after crashing into her on a neighborhood street in Bath Beach in Brooklyn, NYC, in broad daylight will not be charged

By GGCRBHS&M

How in the middle of the day, did a driver fail to see an 80-year-old crossing the street in front of her on a one way residential street?
In a recent article in StreetBlog, Brad Aaron is questioning why the police didn’t charge the driver who crashed into 80 year old Margherita Nanfro as she was crossing Rutherford Place at Bay 16th Street in Bath Beach, Brooklyn, NYC, around noon on July 25th. Pictures from the accident suggest that the driver may have been speeding as the impact was strong enough to throw the elderly woman onto the windshield. Reports also suggest that the victim had the right of way.