One of the best ways to get around New York City is on foot. But unfortunately, the city ranks as one of the country’s most dangerous metropolitan areas for pedestrians. Thanks to the state’s Vision Zero initiative, fatal accidents involving pedestrians have been declining in recent years.
Marked crosswalks are recommended for pedestrians to cross a busy intersection or street safely. The problem is crosswalks don’t always offer an expected level of safety. Few crosswalks in the New York area contain hidden dangers or are poorly designed. They can cause a serious pedestrian accident. You must include the details of the crosswalk in your damage claim if it contributed in some way to your accident.
Pedestrians do not have the safety or protection of cars when involved in a car accident. In fact, they don’t have any protection at all, which is why pedestrian accidents have broken bones as the most common injury. 3,000 pounds of steel and other metal colliding into an unprotected human being can result in exceptionally serious injuries, especially in the hip and leg region.
Recent research studies show that the number of car crashes in the last couple of years has decreased, which is obviously very good news. Every year nearly 36,000 people die from car collusions, so any decrease in the number of fatalities is to be lauded. On the other hand, the number of pedestrian fatalities on public highways is on the rise. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, in 2018 alone, about 7,400 pedestrians succumbed to their road accident injuries.
Wearable fitness applications, such as Mio Fuse, Garmin Vivosmart, and Fitbit along with several cellphone applications have become a salient way of monitoring the number of steps you take in a day. They also offer a wide array of health information in terms of burned calories and heart rate while engaged in any activity.
Seniors account for 13% of the total population in the United States as per the US Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Nearly 16% of traffic fatalities in 2009 involved people aged 65 and above. This same age group also made up for 8% of the total population injured in traffic accidents during the same year.
In Jan. 2020, a 60-year-old woman from Manhattan was killed when falling debris hit her while she was walking next to a building. Reports of the accident concluded that the pedestrian lost her life at the scene due to blunt force trauma to the skull. The debris came off a W. 49th Street building and was a part of the building’s façade that suddenly broke off.
According to a survey conducted by the New York Department of Transportation, more than one-fifth of all pedestrian accidents in the state involve large commercial vehicles, buses, delivery trucks, and taxis. The survey also showed that nearly one-third of all accidents occur due to the vehicle driven by distracted drivers. The rate of fatalities in pedestrian accidents is also significantly higher in New York compared to other types of automobile crashes.
Pedestrian accidents may occur for a number of reasons. However, as per the reported data and studies conducted over the years, the majority of these accidents occur due to driver’s negligence. At times, pedestrians are also injured by vehicles in acts of intentional violence. Let us delve deeper into the primary causes of pedestrian accidents in New York City.
The use of smartphones and other portable handheld devices while driving contributes to a majority of pedestrian accidents, and it has been getting worse in recent years. In a dense cosmopolitan city like NYC, distracted driving can be more damaging and can quickly lead to a crash. It is not surprising that one-third of all pedestrian accidents in NYC occur due to distracted driving.
Pedestrian accidents are a common sight on the roadways of New York City. Data from the Department of Transportation (DOT) shows that every year, at least 100 pedestrians are killed and thousands are injured in accidents involving motor vehicles and pedestrians.
In this article, we have answered the most commonly asked questions regarding pedestrian accidents in NYC.
New York City is generally considered the most walkable city in the country. No other city in the country boasts of so many walkable urban spaces as NYC does. Data from the US Census shows that over 60% of NYC residents walk or take transit to work, rather than relying on a personal vehicle.
Unfortunately, NYC also happens to be a city where a large number of pedestrian accidents take place every year. In 2018, 114 pedestrians were killed in traffic accidents, accounting for 57% of all traffic-related fatalities in the city.
Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows that the pedestrian fatality rate in NYC is higher than that of any other city in the country. This is one of the reasons why NYC came up with Vision Zero – a policy which aims to eliminate traffic fatalities altogether.
The Vision Zero policy was implemented in NYC back in 2014. While some progress has been made, pedestrians still continue to bear the brunt of traffic accidents in most cases.
