Thousands of car accidents happen every year in NYC, the most populous city in the US. These accidents account for a significant chunk of the country’s overall annual motor vehicle accidents, which stands at six million.
The New York Police Department releases the city’s crash data for each of the five boroughs every month. We’ve done a breakdown of the yearly results to give you a closer view of the situation.
Thousands of car accidents happen every year in NYC, the most populous city in the US. These accidents account for a significant chunk of the country’s overall annual motor vehicle accidents, which stands at six million.
The New York Police Department releases the city’s crash data for each of the five boroughs every month. We’ve done a breakdown of the yearly results to give you a closer view of the situation.
New York City Car Accident Statistics: A Breakdown
The motor-vehicle accidents, involving bystanders, motorists, and even cyclists, reached a recorded 228,047 across all of the NYC boroughs in 2018 alone. Queens and Brooklyn saw the most number of car accidents, with 29.5% and 28.8% respectively. Manhattan followed them at 20% and the Bronx at 16.1%. Staten Island witnessed 13000 accidents, accounting for 5.7% of the NYC total.
The Big Apple recorded around 624 motor-vehicle accidents daily on average for the whole year, and the figure has risen further since then. Sadly, 197 people died in the 228,047 motor accidents in NYC in 2018, with 69 deaths happening in Queens alone.
The numbers show that an average of 19,000 car accidents happens in New York City every month. According to the New York Police Department’s public crash data, accidents in May 2018 were the highest at 20,5551 in 2018.
Despite efforts by the city to protect the bicyclists, many traffic accidents still involve bikers. Bikers made up 2% or 4,289 of all traffic accidents in the city in 2018. More than 40% of those happened in Queens only, making it the most dangerous NYC borough for bicyclists.
According to the NYPD crash data, pedestrians are the most at-risk group, making about 25% of all traffic-accident injuries and deaths.
Big rigs and trucks are an integral part of the daily traffic on NYC roads, which is evident from the fact that an average of 49 truck-related accidents occurs every single day in the city.
Traffic accidents could happen due to recklessness and inexperience, but the NYPD identified the six leading causes of car accidents in 2018 as:
- Distraction – 30.4%
- Tailgating – 11.5%
- Overtaking incorrectly – 10.7%
- Failure to yield – 8%
- Aggressive driving – 2.2%
- Intoxication from Alcohol – 1.2%
The Legal Aspect
Car accidents mostly cause personal injuries and even deaths. Sustaining injury in accidents could entitle you to financial compensation. And if a loved one of yours died in a crash, you could claim compensation for their family on their behalf.
To secure that compensation, you’ll need an experienced personal injury lawyer to file a strong lawsuit. Remember that accident lawyers NYC specialize in different cases. Hiring an attorney who specializes in your particular case will increase your chance of winning the lawsuit.
Depending on your case, you may need the service of a personal injury lawyer, a burn injury lawyer, a car accident attorney, or a pedestrian injury lawyer.
Consult with a personal injury lawyer NYC to discuss whether it is feasible to file a lawsuit.
