STATISTICS BELOW PROVIDED BY TOP NEW YORK CAR ACCIDENT LAW FIRM POINTS TO CAUSES OF MOTOR VEHICLE RELATED INJURIES AND DEATHS IN THE CITY.
New York Police Department statistics show that although there was a slight decline in motor vehicle accidents in 2015 and 2016 in New York City, surprisingly, pedestrian injuries involving motor vehicles rose.
Still, city officials note that traffic deaths were at their lowest level in a century — down from 234 in 2015 to 229 last year.
As for this year, among those injured or killed in February 2017 in an accident involving a motor vehicle were:
| Persons | Injured | Killed |
| Motorists | 1676 | 4 |
| Passengers | 1154 | 2 |
| Cyclists | 209 | 0 |
| Pedestrians | 811 | 7 |
Among the contributing factors of collisions that caused injuries and fatalities in February 2017 are the following:
| Contributing Factors | # of Vehicles |
| Aggressive Driving/Road Rage | 80 |
| Alcohol Involvement | 198 |
| Backing Unsafely | 823 |
| Cell Phone (Hand Held) | 6 |
| Cell Phone (Hands Free) | 1 |
| Driver Inattention/Distraction | 4453 |
| Driver Inexperience | 335 |
| Drugs (Illegal) | 13 |
| Eating or Drinking | 3 |
| ERR/Confusion, Ped/Bike/Other | 102 |
| Failure to Keep Right | 48 |
| Failure to Yield Right of Way | 1213 |
| Fatigued/Drowsy | 21 |
| Fell Asleep | 43 |
| Following Too Closely | 1706 |
| Illness | 18 |
| Lost Consiousness | 19 |
| Use of Other Electronic Device | 2 |
| Other Uninvolved Vehicle | 307 |
| Outside Car Distraction | 67 |
| Improper Passing/Lane Usage | 869 |
| Passing Too Closely | 802 |
| Physical Disability | 11 |
| Texting | 1 |
| Traffic Control Disregarded | 379 |
| Turning Improperly | 467 |
| Unsafe Lane Changing | 652 |
| Unsafe Speed | 300 |
| Use of On Board Navigation Device | 1 |
| Vehicle Vandalism | 1 |
In response to the NYPD’s recent report, Mayor de Blasio defended his traffic safety program, known as “Vision Zero.”
“We are very committed to Vision Zero 110 percent” Mr. de Blasio said. “We have three years running where it’s produced better results each year.”
Mayor de Blasio has defended his driver/pedestrian safety program by comparing the incidence of injury and fatalities on New York City streets to overall averages of motor vehicle related injuries and deaths nationally.
Comparatively, according to Mr. de Blasio, the city has managed to make progress on Vision Zero even as there has been a sharp increase in traffic fatalities nationwide. “I think it’s remarkable that the city has seen three years in a row of reduced traffic fatalities, very much bucking the national trend,” the Mayor said.
More than 35,000 people died in traffic crashes in the United States in 2015 — on par with at least 33,000 deaths from the opioid epidemic, according to federal officials. The number of traffic fatalities rose by 7.2 percent nationwide in 2015, and estimates available for the first half of 2016 show further increases nationwide.
Still, caution is the mantra, especially here in New York City.
According to Jay Dankner, managing partner in the car accident law firm of Dankner Milstein, “Employment is up,” Dankner said, “the economy is doing better, spring is here and therefore there are more cars, bicyclists and pedestrians out in our streets – thereby leading to more injuries and fatalities.
“Our law firm chooses to publish this data for the good of the readers of this blog,” Mr. Dankner added. “My partners and I feel a responsibility to contribute to a reduction in accidents and injuries by regularly providing a glimpse of the statistics that point to the reasons behind the number of tragic traffic crashes the result in injuries and deaths of New Yorkers.
“Our goal,” Dankner explained, “is to do what we can do to make drivers of motor vehicles, and the pedestrians who walk the streets of our great city, more aware of the problems in the hope that operators of motor vehicles will be cognizant of the special need to drive safely in our City and take more responsibility, and also for pedestrians to be more aware of their surroundings, to unplug their headphones and earbuds, stop talking and texting on their mobile devices and pay more attention to what they are doing as they make their way around the city on foot.”
