Bicycle Accidents

Published on: June 5, 2014

Since the beginning of the year 39 pedestrians and 3 cyclists died in traffic accidents compared to respectively 55 and 1 during the first four months of 2013

According to the recently released NYPD motor vehicle collisions report, there were a total of 16,265 motor vehicle accidents in New York City in April compared to 15,796 in March and 16,412 in April 2013. For the first four months of the year the total number of accidents in NYC increased to 64,341 compared to 62,850 in 2013.

A total of 21 people died in traffic accidents in April compared to 15 in 2013.

Looking at the first 4 months of the year, the number of people dying in a crash is slightly lower in 2014 with 72 deaths compared to 84 deaths in 2013. For the last 3 months, this number is 51 in 2014 compared to 56 in 2013.

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Published on: May 28, 2014

In New York, an unlicensed driver who kills a cyclist or a pedestrian will usually be charged with third degree aggravated unlicensed operation, the same charge applied by police and prosecutors when an unlicensed driver turns without signaling

By GGCRBHS&M

53 year old William Faison was riding his bicycle when he was struck and killed by a car at 228th Street and 120th Avenue in Cambria Heights, Queens, NYC. The car driver who killed him was reportedly driving with a suspended license and will likely get off with a slap on the wrist.

To reduce the number of pedestrian and bicycle accidents on a dangerous stretch of Morningside Ave in Harlem, NYC, CB10’s Transportation Committee finally accepted a DOT proposal to redesign the road

By GGCRBHS&M

31 pedestrians, 10 bicyclists and 70 motor vehicle occupants suffered personal injury between 2007 and 2011 after they were involved in a traffic accident on Morningside Avenue between W 166th and W 126th street. Speeding is a main concern with 58% of northbound vehicles and 66% of southbound vehicles speeding according to a recent speed survey.

Last week after nine months of stalled deliberation, Community Board 10’s Transportation Committee accepted a proposal by the NYC Department of Transportation to make the dangerous corridor safer. The DOT proposed the reduction of four traffic lines to three on Morning Side Ave between 116th street and 126th street.

Read more in Street Blog

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Published on: May 13, 2014

Prevent Motorcycle and Bicycle Accidents by learning how to share the road with them

By GGCRBHS&M

Every year in New York and in the US, motorcycle operators and bicyclists are injured or die during crashes with a motorist. Sometimes the motorcyclist or the bicyclist are at fault and sometimes the accident is due to the motorist’s lack of attention. Here is an excellent video on how to share the road safely with motorcycles and bicycles.

Published on: May 12, 2014

40 year old bicyclist died after being struck by two successive hit and run drivers in New York City

By GGCRBHS&M

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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Published on: April 24, 2014

In New York City cyclists have a higher risk of death in a traffic accident than pedestrians

By GGCRBHS&M

Pedestrian%20fatality%20rate.png Today we are looking at fatal pedestrian and bicycle accidents in New York and in the US.This is part 3 of of our series on the Walking and Bicycling Alliance 2014 Benchmarking report.

Globally since 1980, the pedestrian fatality rate and the bicyclist fatality rate have been decreasing significantly in the US. In 1980, 8070 pedestrians and 965 cyclists died on the road compared to respectively 4432 and 677 in 2011. However while the absolute numbers dropped, the percentage of pedestrian and cyclist fatalities among all traffic fatalities increase from 12.6% in 1980 to 15.8% in 2011.

Pedestrians and cyclists who are 65 and older have a much higher risk to be involved in a fatal accident. Seniors represent 10% of pedestrians and 6% of cyclists but account for 19% of the pedestrian fatalities and 12% of the cyclists fatalities.

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Published on: April 23, 2014

Mc Guiness Boulevard in Brooklyn where many pedestrians and bicyclists have been injured or have died in auto accidents will be the third 25 MPH Arterial Slow Zone in NYC

By GGCRBHS&M

Numerous bicyclists and pedestrians have been severely injured and several of them have lost their lives in traffic crashes along Mc Guiness Blvd in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The corridor nicknamed “Hipster Highway” is notorious for passenger vehicles and large trucks speeding. Two years ago a study by Transportation Alternatives showed that two thirds of cars and 62% of large trucks traveled over the 30 mph speed limit with a maximum speed reaching 50 mph for cars and 47 mph for big rigs.

Things should change and residents’ safety should improve by the end of this month as the 1.1 mile stretch of Mc Guiness Blvd between Bayard Street and Freeman Street will become the third arterial slow zone in New York City. New signage will be installed, traffic signals will be coordinated to reduce speeding and the NYPD will increase enforcement on the boulevard.

The creation of 25 arterial slow zones is part of the Zero Vision Action plan to reduce traffic fatalities in the city.

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Published on: April 22, 2014

Americans take more than 4 billion bicycle trips and 41 billion walking trips every year

By GGCRBHS&M

This is part 2 of our series on the Walking and Bicycling Alliance 2014 Benchmarking report. Here are some figures we found interesting about pedestrians and bicyclists’ profiles.

Bicycle trips represent 1% of all trips taken in the US every year and walking trips 10.4%. While pedestrians are of all types of age, genders, income and ethnicity, bicyclists are mostly men and younger..

walk%20and%20bicycle%20trips%20by%20age.png Most people walk or use their bike for a social or recreational reason however more and more people are using their bikes to go to work especially in large cities where the combined average share of commuters by bicycle and foot is significantly higher at nearly 6.1% (1.0% bicycling and 5.0% walking) compared to an average of 3.4% nationally.

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Published on: April 19, 2014

The Alliance for Biking and Walking just released its comprehensive 2014 Benchmarking report

By GGCRBHS&M

The BICYCLING AND WALKING IN THE UNITED STATES 2014 BENCHMARKING REPORT just came out. This report provides one of the most comprehensive reviews on bicycling and walking all over the US. It is compiled by the Alliance for Biking & Walking which is the North American coalition of over 220 state and local bicycling and walking advocacy organizations.

The Benchmarking report focuses on the 50 States and the 50 most populous American cities. Additionally and for the first time, 17 small and midsize cities were also added to the 2014 report to provide a more complete picture of biking and walking activities in the country.

Biking%20and%20walking%20study%20area.jpg Globally the report shows a slow but steady increase of people using their bikes or their feet to go to work. The report also demonstrates that the level of pedestrian and bicycle accidents is inversely proportional to the number of bikers and walkers and that advocacy groups are playing an important role encouraging people to do so.

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