A new study by researchers at the University of Illinois at Springfield found that large vehicles like SUVs are dramatically more dangerous than passenger cars to young pedestrians. Using crash and hospital records to examine “the relationship between striking vehicle type and medical outcomes of pedestrian and pedalcyclist cases,” the study ultimately found evidence that […]
Bodily Injury
Report: OSHA Faces Challenges Protecting Workers from Covid-19
The Government Accountability Office recently testified to Congress about the measures Occupational Safety and Health Administration has taken to protect workers from the dangers of Covid-19. A report published by the GAO regarding these measures by OSHA, a division of the US Department of Labor, outlines the challenges OSHA faced in implementing standards designed to protect healthcare […]
Study Shows Declining “Hire to Injury” Lag in Workplaces
A new ten-year study by Selective Insurance, “Workplace Injury Trends,” reveals recent declines in the average “hire to injury lag,” or the amount of time between an employee’s hiring and their reporting of a workplace-related injury. The study found that “employees are reporting a workplace-related injury 18% earlier in their tenure compared to 10 years […]
NHTSA Launches Car Heatstroke Prevention Campaign
A new campaign by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, a division of the US Department of Transportation, encourages parents and other caregivers to make sure they don’t leave young children in their cars during the hot spring and summer months. As a press release by the NHTSA explains, the “Look Before You Lock” initiative coincided with […]
NYC Mayor Renews Call For Home Rule over Traffic Enforcement
In a news conference last week, New York City Mayor Eric Adams called for New York’s state government to pass a suite of legislation designed to mitigate rising traffic violence in the city. Joined by city officials, lawmakers from all levels of government, and transit safety activists, he renewed demands for state legislators to give […]
NHTSA Launches Automated Safety Tech Media Campaign
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a federal agency that writes and enforces motor vehicle safety standards, has announced a new media campaign to educate drivers about “the safety benefits of advanced driver-assistance technologies in newer vehicles.” According to a press release issued by the agency, the yearlong campaign will involve $1.25 million in spending […]
Brooklyn Activists Call for Safer Bike Lane in Williamsburg
Brooklyn residents are pressing New York City authorities to protect a bike lane on Williamsburg’s Grand Street with concrete barriers. According to a recent report by Brooklyn Paper, transit safety advocates have sent an open letter to the mayor and the commissioner of the Department of Transportation, arguing that the bike lane’s current protections—plastic bollards—are not enough, […]
Data: Car Crash Injuries Still Rising in NYC
New York Police Department statistics analyzed by Streetsblog show dramatically increasing traffic violence in New York City in 2022, with “crashes that cause injuries, total injuries and injuries to pedestrians” all rising by double digits. “The violence on New York City streets,” Streetsblog cautions, “is even worse than you think.” According to data concerning traffic […]
NHTSA Issues Final Rule for Autonomous Vehicles
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration has issued a final rule designed to “ensure safety of occupants in automated vehicles.” According to a press release by the agency, the new rule serves as an update to existing standards, accounting for vehicles without the same manual controls. As a report by TechCrunch explains, the rule updates “terminology in the Federal […]
Study: Construction Workers May Bring Toxic Metals Home From Worksites
A pilot study published in a forthcoming issue of Environmental Research found that construction workers may “unintentionally pick up” toxic chemicals at their worksites and carry them to their homes. As an analysis by Construction Dive explains, the chemicals in question include not only lead, but also “arsenic, chromium, copper, lead, manganese, nickel and tin,” which were found in construction workers’ […]
Pedestrians Suffer as Reckless Driving Rises
The Covid-19 pandemic has “intensified” trends behind an increase in reckless driving-related pedestrian deaths in the United States, according to a recent report by the New York Times. Despite expectations early in the pandemic that a decrease in drivers on the road would lead to a decrease in pedestrian deaths, in reality the relative emptiness of the […]
New York Traffic Violence Roundup
Recent reports by the New York Post highlight a raft of deadly car crashes in New York City in the last few weeks, emphasizing the need for safer streets and more vigorous traffic enforcement. A December 12 notice, for instance, describes a car crash in Long Island last weekend in which the driver of a pickup […]
Is the NYPD Mishandling Illegal Parking Complaints?
A new investigation by Streetsblog asks whether the New York Police Department responded to as many 311 complaints regarding blocked bike lanes as it claimed to. According to the report, the NYPD said it issued “more than 100 tickets last year” over such complaints, but an analysis of city-provided data “contain no record of nearly one-fifth […]
Investigation Raises Questions about NYC’s 311 Program
A sweeping new investigation by StreetsBlog uncovered apparently widespread misconduct connected to New York City’s 311 program, with dangerous and potentially fatal traffic violations left unaddressed by authorities. Drawing on analysis of 26 million complaints filed through the 311 program since 2010, as well as interviews with a range of stakeholders and experts, StreetsBlog found that the New York Police Department […]
Rangers Not Liable for Puck-Struck Plaintiff, New York Court Finds
A New York appeals court recently ruled against the plaintiff in a lawsuit alleging negligence on the part of the New York Rangers in connection to an incident in which “hockey puck flew into the stands” and injured the plaintiff’s hand, according to a recent report by the New York Law Journal. The First Judicial Department of the Appellate […]
Recent Traffic Violence Inspires Harsh Criticism of NYC Government
News reports have documented the three recent New York City car crashes that left vulnerable road users injured or dead, with some commentators directing harsh criticism toward city officials in a year of road violence unprecedented in the de Blasio Administration. E-Bike Rider Killed in Queens On October 11th, an e-bike rider was struck by the teenage driver of […]
Investigation Finds Rampant NYC School Bus Moving Violations
A recent investigation by the New York Daily News found that as nearly two-thirds of New York City school buses “have been issued at least one speeding or red light camera ticket since 2014.” Of the city’s 10,497 registered school buses, 6,895 (or 65%) have received tickets. Of those 6,895 buses that received tickets for speeding or […]
NYC Looks to Enforcing Bike Lane Parking Violations
The New York City Department of Transportation has released a “Request for Expressions of Interest” for vendors interested in developing an automated enforcement program for the city’s bike lanes, according to a report by StreetsBlog, whose report suggests the request shows the city’s interest in a “crack down on scofflaw drivers who illegally park and stop […]
NYC Issues Almost 1,500 Stop Work Orders in Construction Safety Sweep
A New York City Department of Buildings safety sweep this month resulted in 3,600 violations and 1,499 stop work orders issued to construction contractors. According to a report by Construction Dive, the sweeps were launched because of a spate of construction site fatalities in the city, with seven workers dying in the first five months of 2021—two […]
NYC Pols Discuss Unsafe Basement Apartments After Deadly Floods
The deadly flooding brought to New York City by the remnants of Hurricane Ida has sparked conversations among policymakers about the tens of thousands of New Yorkers living in dangerous and likely illegal basement apartments. As City and State reported last week, basement apartments are defined as those where at least half the unit is above grade, […]
How Can NYC Prepare For Future Flooding?
In the wake of the flash flooding that killed at least 22 in New York and New Jersey last week, local news publication City and State spoke with a variety of “climate experts and activists” about what what can be done to prepare New York City for future flooding events and protect New Yorkers from deadly floodwaters. […]
Staten Island Files Child Sex Abuse Lawsuit Against Boy Scouts, Church
A Staten Island man has sued the Greater New York Council of the Boy Scouts of America, the Staten Island Council of the Boy Scouts of America, the Holy Family Roman Catholic Church in Westerleigh, Staten Island, and the Archdiocese of New York allegations a Scout leader sexually abused him in the late 1970s, when […]
Study: SUVS May Be Connected to Rising Pedestrian Deaths
A new study published in the journal Economics of Transportation finds that the rise of “light trucks”—SUVs, minivans, and pickup trucks—in the US may be correlated with increases in pedestrian deaths from traffic crashes. According to a report by StreetsBlog, the study found that “as the number of SUVs on the street tripled from 2000 to 2019, pedestrian […]
Lawmakers Call for National Vision Zero to End Car Crash Deaths
Two lawmakers have introduced a resolution that would call for a “National Vision Zero” campaign, according to a recent report by StreetsBlog. Vision Zero is an effort to eliminate traffic fatalities. The resolution, introduced by Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Representative Jan Schakowsky of Illinois, calls on Congress and the Department of Transportation to “commit to working together […]
Child Sex Abuse Survivors Sue New York Boy Scouts Council, Churches
A pair of child sex abuses against the Boy Scouts have been filed under the Child Victims Act in New York’s Chautauqua County, according to a recent report by the Observer. The Child Victims Act is a law allowing survivors of sexual abuse sue their abusers even in cases where the statute of limitation has passed. […]