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 Bicycle Accidents

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269,140 people were injured in NYC auto accidents last year compared to 256,005 in 2014. This represents an increase of almost 5% in one year. The number of crash injuries first decreased between 2013 and 2014 before significantly increasing in 2015.  By categories motorist injuries and cyclist injuries added to the increase while pedestrian injuries and passengers injuries both declined.

While injuries were on the rise, the yearly number of deaths related to motor vehicle accidents gradually declined. From 286 in 2013, it went down more than 12 % to 250 in 2014  and more than 6% to 235 in 2015. By categories, motorists deaths, pedestrians deaths and bicyclists deaths all declined while passengers deaths increased.

Click on graphs to increase to increase size

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A truck fatally  struck a bicyclist in Brooklyn, NYC. The truck accident happened yesterday at 5 pm in Sheepshead Bay. 54 year old Reng Can Ma was riding his bicycle westbound on Avenue U near Ninth Street.  A truck driver who was riding in the same direction passed him to closely and hit him. The truck driver didn’t stop. Witnesses believe his truck was so big that he may have not realized that he hit the bicyclist. The police are still looking for him. They have released a surveillance video showing the truck passing the cyclist seconds before the accident. The truck was a large Ryder truck with Indiana license plates. Several people who witnessed the accident ran over to the victim and tried to help him but there was little they could do. The man was lying in the middle of the street and wasn’t moving. According to a witness he was bleeding from the head and he was confused. He was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. Read more and see video on ABC7 NY.

Avenue U is Brooklyn’s second Chinatown. It’s a neighborhood that has been developing fast recently. More and more Chinese food markets, bakeries nail salons and electronic stores are opening between Coney Island Ave and Ocean Ave. The traffic has increased as well and numerous complaints have been reported on the Vision Zero map by concerned residents. The Vision Zero map that was used to define the City’s Vision Zero borough safety action plans shows that Sheepshead Bay residents were worried about the safety of Avenue U. Most of the complaints are related to double parking. Residents reported that there were constantly cars double parked on both side of the Avenue.  Jay walking was also reported on several spots. Additionally complaints of running red lights, failure to yield to pedestrians and illegal U-turns were also reported by some residents.

Avenue U

 

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The number of pedestrians injured or killed in a traffic accident in New York City over a period of 3 months reached a record low during the period of July, August and September 2015. 2186 pedestrians were injured during this period of time compared to 2270 during the same period of 2014 and 2710 during the same period of 2013. So far there were fewer pedestrians were injured in traffic accidents in 2015 than in 2014 or in 2013. 21 pedestrians died in a car accident this summer compared to 38 during the summer of 2014 and 39 during the summer of 2013.

Pedestrians injured and killed in New York City Traffic Accident over a trimester summer 2015
The number of people who suffered personal injury in a bicycle accident over a 3 month period reached a record high between July and September 2015 with a total of 1648 injuries compared to 1507 for the same period of 2014 and 1468 for the same period of 2013. More and more people are riding bicycles in New York City resulting in an increase in bicycle accident injuries. 8 people died in a bicycle accident this summer. This is the same as last summer. Over the year so far less people died in a bicycle accident in 2015 than in 2014.

Bicyclists injured and killed in New York City Bicycle Accident over a trimester summer 2015
The number of passengers injured in a car accident in NYC has been decreasing over the last 3 years and for every season. This summer, during the months of July, August and September 4121 passengers suffered personal injury in a car accident, compared to 5193 in 2014 and 5754 in 2014.  The number of passengers killed in a car accident during the warm season has been increasing every summer over the last 3 years in New York City. Between July and September 2015, 10 passengers died in a car accident in New York City compared to 9 for the same period of 2014 and 6 for the same period of 2013. So far more passengers died in a NYC car accident in 2015 than in 2014 or in 2013.

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776 pedestrians, 513 bicyclists, 1236 passengers and 1960 motorists suffered personal injury in motor vehicle accidents in New York City in September compared to respectively 714 pedestrians, 565 bicyclists, 1448 passengers and 2010 motorists in August and 751 pedestrians, 485 bicyclists, 1677 passengers and 1523 motorists in September 2014.

While the number of pedestrians injured in NYC traffic accidents  has been below 1000 since the beginning of 2014, the number of people injured in bicycle accidents stayed over 500 for the last 3 months. The number of motorists injured has also been unusually high and staying above 2000 for the last 3 months.

Personal injuries in motor vehicle accidents in NYC September 2015
4 pedestrians, 2 bicyclists, 2 passengers and 6 motorists died in motor vehicle accidents in September compared to 11 pedestrians, 3 bicyclists, 2 passengers and 5 motorists in August and 13 pedestrians, 1 bicyclist, 4 passengers and 8 motorists in September 2014. The Vision Zero Initiative is having a positive impact. Since the beginning of the year, it is the fourth month that the total monthly traffic fatalities are below 15. In 2014 it happened only twice and in 2013 the monthly number of people dying on New York City Streets never went below 15.

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Every 3 to 4 weeks one person will suffer personal injury in a bicycle accident on Amsterdam Avenue between West 72nd Street ans West 110th Street according to recent statistics. The actual design that includes 4 car lanes with one parking lane on each side is not adapted to the neighborhood and encourages bad driver behavior such as speeding. Manhattan Community Board 7  has been requesting action from the NYC Department of Transportation for the last 6 years. Finally, last night, the DOT unveiled a plan to redesign this specific part of Amsterdam Ave. According to the DOT, the new design will be implemented next spring. The DOT proposes to create a protected bike lane as well as pedestrian islands and several left turn treatments.

According to the DOT, in October 2007, an average of 217 people per 12 hours were recorded riding a bicycle on Amsterdam Ave between West 85th Street and West 86th Street. in October 2011 there were 515 and in October 2015 there were 609. This number is expected to grow even more with the expansion of Citi Bike to West 86th Street this fall and the plan to expand Citi Bike to 130th street by 2018.

Read more about the new design in Streetblog or look at the presentation from the DOT

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Defective front disk brakes and quick-release levers installed on 1.3 million bicycles in the US may pose a risk of injury to bicycle riders. An open quick release lever on the bicycle’s front wheel hub can come into contact with the front disc brake rotor causing the front wheel to come to a sudden stop or separate from the bicycle. Therefore the following companies are recalling some models from the following brands:

bike recall

If your bicycle is from one of these brands, the video below can help you determine if your bicycle is affected  and if so what to do about it.

 

 

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While Manhattan bicyclists are getting new protected bike lanes, Brooklyn bicyclists are still at risk of dangerous bicycle accidents and the police is not really helping!

Joanna Oltman Smith posted this picture of police officers painting parking numbers over a Brooklyn bike lane on her Twitter account.

Bike lane
They had to repaint the street but the bike lane is still used for parking. The picture below that was tweeted by Nick Malinowksi shows how dangerous it is for a bicyclist to ride on this street.

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The DOT recently announced that New Yorkers using the Sixth Ave bike lane between W14th Street and West 33rd Street will soon be better protected from dangerous bicycle accidents as the city is planning to replace the actual strip of white paint with a secure and protected bike lane. The DOT didn’t specify what type of configuration will be implemented. Options may include a physically separated bike lane, a parking protected bike lane or two-way separated lanes. Protected bike lanes have proven to be very effective in reducing the number of  traffic injuries.  In a document entitled Measuring the Street, the Dot indicated that since Ninth Ave was redesigned with a protected bike lane and pedestrian safety islands, it recorded a 58% decline in injuries to all street users. Read more in Chelsea Now

protected bike lanes

 

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A 34 year old woman died in a NYC accident involving a truck and a bicycle. The woman was riding her bike west on  56th Road near 46th Street in Maspeth, Queens yesterday morning around 8:45 when she was hit by a truck. She was rushed to the hospital in critical condition and died shortly after.  The driver who’s license was suspended was taken into custody. Charges are pending. Read more in the NY Daily News

56th Road

56th Road near 46th Street doesn’t offer much protection to bicyclists, Picture: Google map

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A  19 year old was  seriously injured in a bicycle accident Monday early morning in Queens. The young man was riding on the eastbound bicycle lane along 34th street in Corona when he was struck by a truck turning right onto 105th street. The accident happened at night around 1:15 am. The truck driver stayed at the scene of the accident and wasn’t charged. The teenager was transported to the hospital where he is being treated for a severe leg injury. Read more in the NY Post

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The intersection where the collision between the bicyclist and the truck happened. Picture courtesy of Google Map