Crashes involving trucks from drilling projects are on the rise. An Associated Press analysis of traffic deaths and U.S. census data in six drilling states shows that in some places, fatalities have more than quadrupled since 2004 – a period when most American roads have become much safer even as the population has grown.
Read the complete article here
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
A 5 year old boy broke his arm and suffered facial injuries and a 6 year old boy suffered traumatic brain injury after the inflatable bounce house in which they were playing was swept by the wind. The “flying” bounce house also knocked down a 10 year old girl who suffered minor injuries. The two young boys fell more than 15 feet as the bounce house continued to rise to 50 feet into the sky. One of the boy fell on a car and the other one fell directly on the asphalt. See video below
Inflatable bouncers are a lot fun for children but they can also lead to serious injuries such as broken bones an concussion. According to the Child Injury Prevention Alliance, every day in the US 30 children are treated in hospital emergency department for injuries related to inflatable bouncers. Bump, bruises and broken Bones are the most common as well as concussions and closed head injuries.
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.
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.
When a water emergency happens, hospitals have to be ready. They need to plan ahead how to deal with the loss of water for consumption, equipment sterilization, laundry and dialysis. Hospitals in West Virginia faced that emergency recently. The Joint Commission staff met with representatives of 7 of the affected hospitals to discuss how they handle this situation and subsequently released a paper about the lessons that can be learned from the week long water emergency that resulted from the chemical spill of the Elk River.
Read the paper from the Joint Commission here
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.
Felipe Palacio Castro and the Gowanus Auto Body Shop (Google Street Map)
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
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.
Read more in Streetblog
New York Personal Injury Attorneys Blog