Are Pedestrians Safe in the Streets of New York City?: NYCs Pedestrian Safety Study, says YES!
In 1910, the City of New York began collecting data to determine traffic fatalities among NYC pedestrians. Nearly a century later, in 2009, pedestrian fatalities are at its lowest rate in New York City history, down by 35% from 2001. The New York City Department of Transportation is undertaking an ambitious task to reduce by half the number of traffic deaths by 2030, to do this, the agency has collected and analyzed data about the causes of traffic deaths and injuries and where they are happening, using this information to design better streets. This landmark study, Pedestrian Safety Action Plan, worked to identify the causes, common factors, and geographic distribution of over 7,000 pedestrian crashes in New York City. So far, the study has found that NYCs traffic fatality rate is about one-quarter of the national rate and less than half the rate of the next 10 largest U.S. cities, and still at its lowest rate ever, traffic crashes cost the Citys economy approximately $4.29 billion annually. The study also found that pedestrians are ten times more likely to die than a motor vehicle occupant in the event of a crash, as pedestrians accounted for 52% of traffic fatalities from 2005-2009. The growing issue of driver inattention was cited to have caused nearly 36% of crashes resulting in pedestrians killed or seriously injured. Most New Yorks do not know that the standard speed limit for city streets is 30 mph. Serious pedestrian crashes involving unsafe speeds are twice as deadly as other such crashes. About two-thirds more deadly pedestrian crashes are on major street corridors than on smaller local streets. As a result, Manhattan has four times as many pedestrians killed or severely injured per mile of street compared to the other four boroughs. 43% of those pedestrians lived in another borough or outside of New York City. Thelawyers at Levine & Slavit have decades of experience handling personal injury claims including those involvingauto accidents. For over 50 years spanning 3 generations, we have obtainedresults forsatisfied clients. We have offices in Manhattan and Long Island, handling cases in New York City, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and surrounding areas. If you or someone close to you has been injured in a motor vehicle accident,contact thepersonal injury lawyers at Levine & Slavit for their help. To learn more,watch our videos.
