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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 […]
Motor Vehicle Accidents
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 […]
Suspect Arrested in Fatal Brooklyn Hit-and-Run
The driver who allegedly struck and killed a Brooklyn schoolteacher while speeding in May 2021 had two driving-related incidents in his past. As Streetsblog reported last week, the New York Police Department has said it arrested and charged the suspect, Tariq Witherspoon, a 30-year-old EMT “who hit and seriously injured a cyclist in 2017,” two years after he allegedly “allowed an […]
After Deadly Accident, City Plans to Make Queens Intersection Safer
The New York City Department of Transportation has pledged to make improvements to a Queens intersection that has seen numerous violent and even deadly car crashes in recent weeks. As the Queens Daily Eagle reported, the intersection of Cooper Avenue and Cypress Avenue in Glendale, Queens was the site of a February incident in which a […]
NYC to Strengthen 20 Miles of Bike Lanes by 2024
The New York City Department of Transportation has begun the process of strengthening 20 miles of protected bike lanes within the city, or roughly half of the city’s protected bike lanes. As a recent report by Streetsblog notes, DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez had previously pledged to strengthen 20 miles within 100 days of taking office. Now, the […]
New Yorker Killed by Driver with a Record of Speeding
The SUV driver who stuck and killed 99-year-old Holocaust survivor Jack Mikulincer in Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn earlier this month was the recipient of “10 school-zone speeding tickets and four red-light tickets since 2016,” including six such speeding tickets in 2021, according to a report by Streetsblog. The incident raises questions of what state and city authorities are […]
US Auto Safety Regulators Investigate Hyundai and Kia Engine Fires
In December, The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration has launched an investigation into potentially widespread defects in cars manufactured by Kia and Hyundai. According to a report by the Associated Press, the inquiry will look at “more than 3 million vehicles from the 2011 through 2016 model years,” stemming from 161 reports it received about engine fires. A […]
Pedestrians Suffer as Reckless Driving Rises
The Covid-19 pandemic has “intensified” trends behind an increase in reckless driving-related pedestrian accidents and 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 […]
2021 Was NYC’s Deadliest Year for Traffic Deaths
A total of 273 people lost their lives in traffic crashes in New York City last year, according to a study by street safety advocacy group Transportation Alternatives. As the Brooklyn Eaglereported last week, this made the 2021 deadliest year for traffic violence-related deaths, representing an increase of 33% since 2018. Transportation Alternatives’ study found that […]
NYC Agencies Launch Traffic Safety Initiative During Holidays
Four New York City agencies announced they would step up traffic enforcement during the holiday season. In a press release issued last week, the New York City Police Department, New York City Department of Transportation, New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission, and New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene announced efforts “to crack down […]
Reckless Driving Killed Tens of Thousands in 2020; Experts Ponder Causes
Earlier this year the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released data projecting that in 2020, motor vehicle traffic crashes resulted in a stunning 38,680 deaths, even traffic volume decreased as people drove less during the pandemic. This figure represented the highest number of motor vehicle traffic crashes since 2007, and an increase of about 7.2% over 2019, when there […]
New York Set to Receive Massive Bike Safety Funding
New York Senator Chuck Schumer has promised his constituents that they’ll receive “an effing lot of money” for cycling infrastructure, according to a recent report by Streetsblog. During a news conference at the Queensboro bridge discussing the freshly passed federal infrastructure bill, Schumer said that $289 million in federal funding will be directed toward making […]
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 […]
Debate Rages Over East Flatbush Bike Safety Proposals
A New York state legislator is working with a New York City transportation policymaker to stymie a move by the NYC Department of Transportation to make East Flatbush safer for cyclists, according to a recent report by StreetsBlog. The Assembly Member, Brooklyn’s Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, and the Community Board 17 Transportation Committee Chairman, Roderick Daley, recently declared their […]
NYC Bill Would Make Food Delivery Companies Cover Accident Costs
New York City Council member Mark Gjonaj has introduced a bill that would require food delivery services like DoorDash and Uber Eats to reimburse delivery workers for “certain costs” resulting from vehicle crashes as they delivery food. According to a New York Post report and the City Council’s website, require the companies to reimburse expenses relating to medical treatment and property damage, […]
Traffic Violence Killed Two People in NYC Last Week
The death toll of New York City’s streets increased by at least two last week, according to reports by the New York Daily News and Streetsblog. The victims were a 33-year-old man who died after being struck by a reportedly “drugged-up” driver in Brooklyn, and a 78-year-old woman “run over and killed by the driver of a massive […]
Car Crash Fatalities Increase in New York in 2021: Report
The first half of 2021 saw an increase in car crash-related deaths in New York, according to a recent report by News 10. Citing an analysis of traffic fatality data by QuoteWizard, the report observes that “fatal crashes are up 13% in the first half of 2021,” with 251 fatal crashes during the first six months of 2020 […]
Cyclist Killed by Truck Driver in Queens
The death of a cyclist struck and killed by a box truck driver in Queens has renewed concerns about unprotected bike lanes in New York City. According to news reports, the 58-year-old man, Qiang Tu, was riding down 47th Avenue in Sunnyside, Queens when the truck driver traveling in the same direction hit him as he made a turn […]
NY Gov. Hochul Endorses Local Speed Camera Control
New York Governor Kathy Hochul recently expressed support for measures that would allow New York City to add speed cameras without permission from the state legislature—a move that transit activists and city policymakers have long been advocating for. According to a recent report by StreetsBlog, the governor’s comments came during an event with local publication City & […]
New York City and State Authorities to Huddle over Reckless Driving
A letter obtained by New York City local news publication StreetsBlog reveals that the city’s Department of Transportation Commissioner is pursuing a meeting with the head of the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles to discuss solutions to the city’s fatal reckless driving problem. The letter, from DOT Commissioner Hank Gutman to DMV Commissioner Mark Schroeder, was sent on October […]
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 […]
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 […]
RECKLESS DRIVING NYC: ARE RECKLESS DRIVING COURSES ENOUGH?
New York City’s “court-ordered safe-driving course” for reckless drivers has drawn criticism after reports that the motorist who struck and killed a 3-month-old in Brooklyn had previously completed the program. According to StreetsBlog, the driver, Tyrik Mott, “did not alter his violent driving behavior in any way” after completing the program on May 4th, 2021, after […]
Moped Regulation Comes to New York City
The New York City Department of Transportation has proposed new rules that would regulate the use of moped share services, like Revel and Lime, within the city. According to a report by StreetsBlog, the rules would prohibit moped share usage on the Brooklyn Bridge, the Manhattan Bridge, the Queensboro Bridge, and the Williamsburg Bridge, as well […]
