The last week in New York City put a tragic spotlight on the danger of large SUVs that impede driver visibility. As StreetsBlog and the New York Daily News reported, two 2-year-old New Yorkers were hit and killed by SUV drivers. Neither driver was charged. On Friday, October 29th, a two-year-old named Autumn Garrison was walking on a Staten […]
Pedestrian Accidents
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 […]
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 […]
Deadly Car Crashes Kill Two Pedestrians in NYC Last Week
Two pedestrians were killed in car crashes in New York City on Tuesday, September 28th, incidents described by StreetsBlog as “the latest carnage in what has become the most-deadly year of Mayor de Blasio’s two terms in office.” One incident involved a driver “making a left turn from Avenue U onto notorious Ocean Parkway” in Brooklyn, hitting […]
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 […]
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 […]
Why Hasn’t NYC Implemented Its New Reckless Driving Law?
The man suspected of killing a three-month-old baby in a reckless driving incident in Brooklyn earlier this month had a suspended licensed, 91 speeding tickets, and an arrest on his record for driving without a valid license, according to a report by StreetsBlog. The 28-year-old driver, Tyrik Mott, was also “racing the wrong way down Gates Avenue” when the […]
NYPD Announces Increased Traffic Enforcement; Critics Skeptical
The New York Police Department announced it will increase enforcement of traffic violations this week, as at least a million young New Yorkers return to school. The crackdown will primarily target drivers who “fail to yield to pedestrian and cyclists,” according to a report by the New York Daily News. The announcement follows two years of rising traffic violence fatalities, with […]
Automated Auto Makers Protest Proposed NYC Safety Rules
Self-driving car manufacturers strenuously protested New York City’s proposed rules for automated vehicles in a recent city hearing, according to a report by StreetsBlog. The biggest point of contention: a proposed mandate that automated vehicles drive “more safely than a human driver.” According to the report, representatives for the vehicles’ manufacturers said the rule would make […]
Long-Awaited Safety Measures Come to Brooklyn Avenue
The New York City Department of Transportation announced last week that it would implement safety measures along a segment of Brooklyn’s Wythe Avenue where a cyclist was struck and killed last year, and where other pedestrians and cyclists have been injured over the years. The DOT said specifically that it would erect physical barriers separating the bike lane from the traffic […]
Incoming Queens Lawmakers Call for Safe Transit
The incoming New York City Council members for the borough of Queens recently told StreetsBlog about the issues they plan to prioritize when they assume office. Below are summaries of each incoming lawmaker’s response, save for one soon-to-belawmaker who didn’t respond. Their full answers are available via StreetsBlog. In District 19, which includes Bayside and North […]
Incoming Brooklyn Lawmakers Push for Safe, Clean Transit
New York City’s new class of city council members are preparing to assume office. In advance of the new term, local publication StreetsBlog recently asked the incoming lawmakers about their transportation policy priorities. Not every incoming councilperson responded, but those who did offered a glimpse of the future of New York City’s streets. Below are […]
New York’s New Governor Raises Focus on Transportation Issues
What will the ascendance of new New York Governor Kathy Hochul mean for transportation safety in the state? According to a recent report by AMNY, transit safety groups are hopeful the answer will be good news for New Yorkers. Former Governor Andrew Cuomo’s resignation took effect earlier this week, with former Lieutenant Governor Hochul assuming the Governor’s office on […]
Electric Scooters Come to the Bronx, with Safety Concerns in Tow
The launch of a new electric scooter sharing program in New York City has raised concerns about safety issues for motorists and pedestrians. According to a report by The Verge, scooter companies Bird, Lime, and VeroRide have installed one thousand scooters per company in the East Bronx as part of a pilot program to see how micromobility fares in […]
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 […]
New NYC Bill Would Increase Penalties for E-Bike Hit-and-Runs
New York State Senator Liz Krueger, who represents the Upper East Side of Manhattan, has introduced a bill that would “make it a felony for electric-vehicle riders to crash into someone and leave the scene,” according to a report by Steetsblog. The bill joins another proposal by State Senator Brad Hoylman of the Upper West Side which would […]
Car Crash Legislation Stalls in New York Assembly
The New York Sate Assembly failed to pass street safety legislation before ending its legislative session last week. As StreetsBlog reports, even though the State Senate passed a bill empowering New York City to determine its own speed limits, the Assembly declined to hold a vote on the bill. State lawmakers could still call a special session […]
NYC Devotes $39 Million to End Car Crashes on McGuinness Boulevard
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has committed to carving out nearly $40 million from the city’s budget to redesign Brooklyn’s McGuinness Boulevard, site of eleven pedestrian deaths and three cyclist deaths since 1995. According to StreetsBlog, a single 1.25-mile stretch of McGuinness Boulevard, from the Pulaski Bridge to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, has been […]
Study Finds Speeding Epidemic In New York City
A recent study by street safety advocacy group Transportation Alternatives has uncovered an epidemic of speeding in New York City, finding that 70% of drivers observed were driving faster than the speed limit. “Speeding drivers are a leading cause of death and injury on New York City streets,” the study notes, but because city officials “do not have control over speed […]
New Bill Would Reduce Blood Alcohol Limit in New York
The New York state legislature is currently considering a bill that would reduce the legal blood alcohol limit in the state from .08 to 0.05. If the bill becomes law, New York would be the second state in the nation to reduce the legal blood alcohol limit to .05, after Utah. According to a report by the New […]
Traffic Violence in New York Continues in April
Twenty-five people were killed in road violence incidents in New York City last month, in what StreetsBlog describes as “the deadliest April since Mayor de Blasio took office in 2014,” during “the second deadliest year for road violence” during his administration. The statistics, outlined in data released by think take Transportation Alternatives, cast a grim pall over the city’s […]
New York Safe Streets Activists Propose New Road Safety Legislation
Earlier this month a group of safe-streets lobbying groups in New York released the Crash Victims Rights and Safety Act, a collection of eight pieces of legislation “that will better support victims of traffic violence and make streets safer across New York State at a moment when traffic fatalities and speeding are both on the rise,” according […]
How One City Eliminated Car Crash Deaths in Only Three Years
The city of Hoboken, New Jersey, has recorded zero traffic violence deaths for three years, an impressive feat which a recent report by Streetsblog recently attributed to the city’s commitment to its Vision Zero campaign. Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla launched the campaign in 2019, expanding its network of bicycle lanes by 38% in that year and 2020. Today Hoboken […]
New York Street Safety Activists Earn Car Crash Injury Investigation Win
A new bill passed by the New York City Council puts the city’s Department of Transportation in charge of “all vehicle crashes involving significant injury” rather than the New York Police Department. The new legislation, Intro 224-A, creates a “crash investigation and analysis unit” within the DOT which will also be tasked to recommend “safety-improving changes […]