The US Department of Transportation has declared October “National Pedestrian Safety Month,” according to a news release by the agency. The move comes amidst an epidemic of traffic violence that killed 6,516 pedestrians in 2020, according to the DOT, or 18 per day on average. “National Pedestrian Safety Month,” the announcement states, “celebrates the right […]
Pedestrian Accidents
Report: Truck Hits, Kills Cyclist in East New York Crash
A 43-year-old cyclist lost his life after being hit by the 52-year-old driver of a tractor-trailer truck in the Brooklyn neighborhood of East New York last week. According to ABC News, the cyclist was riding on Pennsylvania Avenue when the tractor-trailer driver turned onto Linden Boulevard, hitting him. The driver was not arrested at the […]
Reports: Queens Hit-and-Run Places Spotlight on Inequitable Streets
A five-year-old boy lost his life after the driver of a Dodge pickup trust struck him in a hit-and-run in Queens last week. According to a report by ABC News, authorities are searching for the driver of pickup truck who was turning at the intersection of 100th Street and McIntosh Street, where the boy, his […]
Large Vehicles Are Especially Dangerous to Children, Study Finds
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 […]
New York Lawmakers Propose New Drunk Driving Penalties
Newly proposed legislation in both New York’s Assembly and Legislature would require people convicted of drunk driving incidents that resulted in the death of a custodial parent to make child support payments until the victim’s child (or their children) reach 18 years old. According to a recent report by Streetsblog, New York State Senator Andrew […]
Report: Brooklyn Residents Call For Safer McGuinness Boulevard Redesign
The New York City Department of Transportation’s preliminary redesign plan for McGuinness Boulevard in Greenpoint, has received criticism from local residents and elected officials. The large, busy Brooklyn road has seen 1,548 reported car crashes in the last nine years, resulting in injuries to 40 cyclists, 59 pedestrians, and 236 drivers, according to a recent […]
NYC Expands School Zone Speed Camera Operation
School zone speed cameras will now operate 24 hours/day, seven days/week in New York City, thanks to new legislation signed last week by New York Governor Kathy Hochul. The approximately 2,000 speed cameras in the city’s 750 school zones were previously only able to operate from 6am to 10pm on school days. As a report […]
Research Uncovers Racial Disparities in Car Crash Deaths
A new study by researchers at Boston University and Harvard University, reported on by Streetsblog, found that Black and Hispanic Americans experience “systematically” higher fatality rates per 100 million miles traveled on US roads. Drawing on data provided by the 2017 National Household Travel Survey and the U.S. Fatality Analysis Reporting System, the study looked at miles traveled […]
NHTSA Report Details Hundreds of Automated Vehicle Crashes
A new standing general order published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a division of the Department of Transportation, released data on hundreds of car crashes involving automated driving technology. As Fox News reported, the report assembled ten months of car crash data gathered in conjunction with the agency’s investigation into the safety of automated vehicles. The NHTSA […]
NYC Lawmakers Pledge to Make School Zone Streets Safer
Responding to a recent Streetsblog report on the deadly streets surrounding New York City’s school zones, Mayor Eric Adams recently said that his administration will “do more” to reduce the traffic violence in those areas, found to be dramatically higher than averages elsewhere in the city, particularly in the morning and afternoon hours when students come to […]
NHTSA Offers Motorcycle Safety Tips
A total of 5,579 motorcycle drivers lost their lives in traffic crashes in 2020, according to data provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a division of the Department of Transportation. In a resource providing safety tips to motorcyclists, who in 2020 were “28 times more likely than passenger vehicle occupants to die in a motor […]
Analysis: What’s Behind Pedestrian Highway Deaths?
As recently released data by the Governors Highway Safety Association revealed, almost 20% of pedestrian deaths in 2021 occurred on freeways and interstate highways. Noting that the GHSA speculated that those fatalities were largely among drivers who exited their vehicles, first responders, tow truck drivers, and construction workers, an analysis by Streetsblog proposes that this may not actually be […]
Why Pedestrian Car Crash Deaths Reached Record High in 2021
In 2021, according to projections by the Governors Highway Safety Association and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, as many as 7,845 pedestrians lost their lives in car crashes, the greatest number of fatalities since 1982. A new analysis by Streetsblogexamines why pedestrian fatalities reached a “40-year high” last year, concluding that the problem lies in street design and […]
Report Seeks to Make Distracted Driving “Completely Unacceptable”
A new report by the Governors Highway Safety Association and General Motors seeks to change the social norms surrounding distracted driving and “make it completely unacceptable” for road users to engage in distracted driving. According to a GHSA press release, the 50-page report, titled Directing Drivers’ Attention: A State Highway Safety Office Roadmap for Combating Distracted Driving, examines the […]
New York Passes Expanded Speed Camera Operation
New York state lawmakers passed legislation that would not only keep New York City’s speed camera program up and running, but would expand its hours of operation. As Spectrum News reported last month, the agreement reached by state and city officials would allow the speed cameras to operate 24/7, as opposed to between 6am and 10pm on […]
Analysis: How Local Control of Traffic Enforcement Will Benefit NYC’s Streets
A recent report by the New York Times examines the effort to bring “home rule” to New York City. “Home rule” refers to the local control of traffic enforcement mechanisms, the use of speed cameras and the establishment of speed limits, that currently fall under state authority. City officials are currently pushing state lawmakers to turn […]
Data: Almost 43,000 Car Crash Deaths in 2021
Figures released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a division of the US Department of Transportation, show that almost 43,000 people died of traffic violence in 2021. The NHTSA’s estimates suggest that 42,915 lost their lives in motor vehicle crashes last year, up 10.5% from 38,824 in 2020. This makes 2021 the deadliest year for the […]
Are Dusk and Dawn Car Accidents Accurately Counted?
New research by Evari GIS Consulting, a consulting firm based in San Diego, suggests that the number of motor vehicle accidents that happen at dawn and dusk may be inaccurately reported by authorities. Building an analysis of collisions in Tennessee between 2017 and 2020, the firm found that “88% of collisions occurring during dusk or dawn were […]
Will 24/7 Speed Safety Cameras Save Lives in NYC?
A recent publication by safe transit advocacy group Transportation Alternatives argues that a New York state law preventing New York City from operating speed enforcement cameras on nights and weekends is a contributor to the epidemic of traffic violence afflicting the city. According to the organization’s data, “59 percent of traffic fatalities occur at times when the […]
Staten Islands Steers Clear of Traffic Fatality Trends in NYC
Even though data shows there were 59 traffic fatalities in New York City in the first quarter of the year, the borough of Staten Island “did not record a single traffic death in January, February, or March,” according to a report by the Staten Island Advance. The report describes a New York Police Department pamphlet offering […]
Reports: NYC Suffers Eight Car Crash Deaths in Four Days
The epidemic of traffic violence in New York City continued last week, with at least eight deaths from traffic accidents in four days, according to a report by Spectrum News NY. Advocacy group Transportation Alternatives, which tracks traffic violence in the city, said data shows a “13% increase year over year in traffic fatalities,” with city […]
NHTSA Taking Steps to Make Cars Safer for Pedestrians
A recent column in America Walks argues that the US Department of Transportation should take regulatory steps to ensure that large vehicles associated with higher pedestrian deaths implement technology designed to keep pedestrians safe. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a division of the NHTSA, has initiated a rule-making process that would rate passenger vehicles for pedestrian […]
Data: 2022 Another Deadly Year on NYC Streets
The first three months of 2022 were the deadliest on New York City’s street since former mayor Bill de Blasio launched the Vision Zero plan to eliminate traffic violence in 2014, according to data analyzed by Transportation Alternatives. During those months, 59 people lost their lives in motor vehicle accidents, a figure that represents a 44% […]
NYC Launches $900 Million Investment in Transit Safety
Last week New York City Mayor Eric Adams unveiled a massive investment in transit safety. According to a press release issued by his administration, the city government will devote nearly $1 billion toward addressing traffic violence and creating “a safer, healthier, and greener city for all New Yorkers.” The Adams Administration’s new transit safety program will devote […]
Study: E-Bikes May Cause More Injuries than Motorcycles, Cars
Using an electric bicycle is more likely to result in injury than using a motorcycle or car, according to a recent UCLA study. However, the study found, those injuries were “less serious than those of victims of motorcycle and car crashes, and significantly less deadly.” As a report by Electrek explains, the study involved a review of […]
