New York Injury Lawyer Blog

Cycling around New York City - for sightseeing, for exercise, as a mode of transportation or to earn a living - has been a part of the City's culture and history for more than 100 years. Over the last decade alone, bicycle traffic has become more and more mainstream in New York City. Since 2005, a bike-friendly push has led to the addition of more than 250 miles of bike lanes and the installation of thousands of bike racks around the City, the New York Times reports.

As New York bicycle accident attorney Nicholas Rose has noted in an earlier post to his New York Injury Lawyer blog, that the interaction among foot traffic, bicyclists and motor vehicles has taken some adjustment. With that said, the NYC Dept. of Transportation, law enforcement, even government officials, have continued to push aggressive public awareness campaigns promoting the benefits of shared road space.

With public awareness comes a move by city police to make roads and sidewalks safer for all New York City traffic through enforcement. So far in 2010, road.cc reports, cops have issues more than 26,000 moving violations against cyclists and another 800,000 violations against motor vehicle drivers.

Critics of the expansion of bicycling rights and turf say that more cycling rights has led to more hazards for pedestrians and motor vehicle traffic as bicyclists have become more aggressive in claiming road space. Cycling enthusiasts argue in the alternative - that people and cars still pay them little heed and less respect. That cycling around the Big Apple is as much, if not more, of a hazard for them as it is for those with whom they share the road.

The Five Borough Bicycle Club is just one of numerous New York City cycling organizations that support the community of NYC bicyclists. Aside from hosting group rides and races and publishing riding routes around the City, 5BBC, like other clubs, also offers a list of simple safety tips to help cyclists safely share the road.

FOR CITY CYCLISTS:

~ First, ALWAYS wear a helmet. Between 1996 and 2005, 225 cyclists were killed in fatal bicycle crashes in NYC. Of those, 97 percent were not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.

~ Make sure your ride is in good working condition - air in the tires, brakes and lights work, pedals and seat secure.

~ Obey traffic laws for bikes and other traffic. If there is a bike lane, use it. Give motor vehicle traffic a wide berth - at least four feet - to avoid getting tagged by a driver or passenger unexpectedly opening a door in your travel path.

~ Be predictable. Use hand signals (directional, not editorial). Make eye contact. Don't dart across or weave through traffic. Avoid using sidewalk when there is appropriate designated or undesignated road space.

Continue reading "More rights, more road space, but streets still a hotbed for New York City cycling accidents" »

For the fourth time this year, Graco Children's Products, in tandem with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a massive recall for one of Graco's infant products. In what the New York Times is dubbing the "largest recall of strollers ever", last week Graco urged nearly two million owners of older-model Quattro Tour and MetroLite stroller and car seat/stroller combo "travel systems" to stop using their product due to strangulation concerns.

New York City personal injury attorney Nicholas Rose has noticed that this is the second Graco stroller recall in 2010 alone. Earlier this year, Graco recalled 1.5 million of their Passage, Alano and Spree stroller models. All models were manufactured between 2004 and 2008 and all pose some risk of laceration and amputation injury.

In addition, Graco issued a 2010 recall for 1.2 million Harmony Highchairs manufactured between 2003 and 2009 due to a tip over risk. They also issued a recall on their Simplicity and Drop Side Crib by LaJobi after it was determined that both pose entrapment and possible strangulation hazards.

Since 2003, four infants have died and five more have sustained entrapment injuries after become stuck between the seat bottom and handrest bar or stroller tray. To date, all reported injuries or deaths have been linked to unharnessed children who have slipped or crawled and become stuck in the seat bottom of the Quattro Tour and MetroLite models. Graco and the CPSC both urge parents to NEVER leave a child in a stroller or car seat unsupervised or without proper restraints in use.

Graco is providing a free repair kit to correct the problem and is advising parents not to return the strollers to the store where they were purchased. The kit includes a cloth piece with leg holes that straps across the front of the stroller and blocks access to the opening.

Graco officials said they were especially concerned about a prompt and widespread recall because so many families in the current economy are turning to resale products and secondhand items are often significantly discounted from their original price. Considering the original sticker price ranged from $90-$190 for the strollers and between $190-250 for the travel systems, both are popular items at resale shops. Affected stroller models were sold at a host of national retailers from Kmart to Sears between 2000 and 2007 and both Graco and the CPSC have posted model numbers on their websites.

And Graco is not the only child product manufacturer to struggle with recalls in 2010. So far this year more than 100 children's products and toys have been recalled due to potential and reported incidence of injury or hazard.

Continue reading "Graco stroller recall prompted by risk of defective product injury to infants in New York, elsewhere" »

Halloween is full of tricks and treats but children should be aware that there are more things to watch out for than ghosts and ghouls. Kids love Halloween almost as much as when the jolly man in the red suit comes in December. There are so many hidden dangers on Halloween night from New York car accidents waiting to happen to unleashed animals roaming the streets. Knowing the hidden dangers can help prevent your child from being injured.

Over 36 million children are on the streets on October 31st romping from house to house in hopes of filling their bags full of candy and maybe getting fun frights along the way. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the chances of a child between the ages of five and fourteen being hurt in a car accident triple on Halloween over any other evening throughout the year.

Nationwide, more than 500 motorists a year are killed during the week of Halloween, making it among the deadliest weeks on the road, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Due to the increased number of children being killed or injured on this holiday, the New York State Division of Police has provided parents with excellent list to help your children have a safe and fun Halloween:

1. Do not allow a child to go "Trick or Treating" alone. Be sure older children TAKE A FRIEND and an ADULT accompanies young children.

2. Be certain to accompany young children to the door of every house they approach.

3. Be certain that parents are familiar with every house and all people from which the children receive treats.

4. Children should be cautioned that they should NOT enter any home without prior
permission from their parents.

5. Children should be cautioned not to approach any vehicle, occupied or not, unless they know the owner and are accompanied by a parent.

6. Make sure that all children carry a glow stick or wear reflective clothing.

7. When using facial masks, make sure that children can see and breathe properly and easily.

8. All costumes and masks should be clearly marked as flame resistant.

9. Children should be warned to NEVER approach any house that is not well lit and does not have a porch or "outside" light on.

10. Children should be cautioned to remember any suspicious incidents and report them to their parents and/or the proper official.

11. Children should be cautioned to run away from people who try to trick them with special treats.

12. Children should be instructed to scream and make a scene if anyone tries to grab them or force them, in any way, to go with them.

13. Parents should inspect all treats and dispose of anything that seems to have been tampered with, has been opened, or is not wrapped.

14. A good alternative to "Trick or Treating" is for parents to organize parties at home, in
schools, or in community centers.

The Division of Police also knows keeping safety fun helps kids learn. Click here for a cool pictures for your kids to color.

Continue reading "New York car accidents and premise liability claims a Halloween danger" »

It is undeniable, teaching your teen to drive is one of those benchmark experiences in life that puts both teens and parents through a gauntlet of emotions. Fear, excitement, pride, even, to some degree, dread. At times, the stress alone can seem daunting. But, ABC News reports that a new study released by the AAA Foundation this week found that time shared between parents and their young drivers is critically important and potentially life-saving.

What the study found is that parents spent on average less than two hour a week supervising their teen behind the wheel and most of that time was spent driving in the most benign of conditions - during mid-afternoon, in light traffic, under sunny skies, on residential roads. AAA recommends parents spend closer to four hours a week with their teen driver and particularly stresses the importance of teaching teens to drive in diverse settings.

As a New York City car accident attorney, I recently reported on my New York Injury Lawyer blog about a Brooklyn car accident involving a teenage driver that left one 13-year-old girl dead. We additionally reported that, on average, a teenage driver or passenger is killed once an hour on weekends and once every two hours on weekdays.

In response to the study findings and to nationwide statistics that reflect teen drivers as the most likely to be involved in car accident, AAA has set up an online teen driver safety guide tailored with resources for parents and teens in all 50 states. In addition, as part of their Graduate Driver Licensing Program, the State of Illinois has published an instructional manual for parents and teens that can help families better prepare lessons and goals for time shared behind the wheel.

Lessons include key steps and practice tips for everything from starting and stopping to parking, to more complex driving and road conditions such as navigating intersections or assessing highway conditions. Advocates recommend parents and teens practice the following steps to master this more-challenging, but frequently used, driving experience:

~ As you enter the highway, scan road and traffic conditions all around you. Look for a space big enough for you to safely merge - one that allows you to accelerate to meet the speed limit without disrupting the flow of traffic.

~ As you are merging and coming up to speed, scan road and traffic conditions on all sides of your vehicle. Pay attention to signage. Always leave yourself a way out, and, if you are planning to take an exit, give yourself plenty of time to get there. Change lanes well in advance of exit ramp. Always use your turn indicators.

~ Never pass on a hill or under conditions where visibility is limited. Don't speed up when being passed. Give your fellow driver the chance to pass and change lanes. In fact, adjust your speed lane positioning when approaching curves, transitioning from paved to unpaved roads and when you encounter animals, obstructions, unusual road conditions and emergency vehicles.

Helping your teen learn to drive, or to improve his or her driving skills, is the best thing you can do to ensure your child's safety during National Teen Driver Safety Week. Oct. 17-24. We encourage you to do your part in reducing the risk of serious or fatal New York car accidents involving young drivers.

Continue reading "AAA encourages parents and teens spend more time practicing behind the wheel to diminish risk of New York car accidents" »

Over the last decade among law enforcement alone, 164 officers have been killed during traffic stops because they or their vehicles were struck while pulled over on the side of the road. After a three-year legislative journey, the Ambrose-Searles Move Over Law goes into effect Jan. 1. The law was named after two officers, New York State Trooper Robert Ambrose and Onondaga County Sheriff Deputy Glenn Searles. Both were killed while stopped to investigate a traffic incident.

The new law requires drivers to change lanes or at least slow down whenever they see a stopped emergency vehicle and hopes of reduce the risk of serious or fatal New York car accidents, the Utica Observer-Dispatch reports.

With the passage of the law, New York became the 48th state back such an effort. A similar law - one that directs drivers to move over when they see flashing emergency lights approaching from behind - is already on the books, but the Ambrose-Searles Act includes stronger enforcement tools. Drivers cited under the new law will face up to $360 in fines and surcharges, up to 15 days in jail and the addition of three points on their driver's license.

Many officials in both the law enforcement and emergency response community believe that just responding to a call often puts officers more at risk than addressing whatever issue requires their attention upon arrival. This sentiment rings especially true for New York City firefighters, who respond to about a million emergency calls and about 230,000 non life-threatening reports each year.

Calls that often require them to navigate New York City streets crowded with cars, bikes and pedestrians at high rates of speed with lights and sirens blaring. According to the New York Times, New York City fire trucks collided with other vehicles (including, on occasion, other fire rescue trucks) nearly 700 times in 2009. Just in October, more than a dozen civilians were injured in a Brooklyn crash after a ladder truck struck a engine truck as both raced to the same non-fire emergency site.

In an effort to diminish the number of accidents involving fire emergency vehicles and the public, the New York City Fire Department is participating in a three-month pilot project in Queens meant to slow firefighter response to non life-threatening emergencies. The program a slow-go approach with sirens and lights off and requires fire truck drivers to obey normal traffic laws like any other citizen as they make their way to the call location.

The pilot program is not without its detractors and some critics are already suggesting that attempting to run a truck through city streets with no emergency indicators will make it nearly impossible cut through traffic. Still others in say it's not recklessness on the part of fire truck operators that are causing so many accidents. Rather, at least one union official points blame at glitches within the new emergency call system that have sent emergency workers to wrong locations with inaccurate information.

Whatever the case, the pilot program will examine multiple issues facing emergency vehicles and public safety, include the 911 overhaul and traffic accident data with the goal of making New York City roads safer for first-responders and residents alike.

Continue reading "New York enacting "move over" law as of Jan. 1 with hopes of reducing New York car accidents" »

As a New York City car accident attorney, I have noted in an earlier post to my New York Injury Lawyer blog, the National Safety Council found that drivers using cell phones see up to 50 percent less of their driving environment. Cell phone use, among other distractions, has been linked to nearly 25 percent of all traffic accidents nationwide.

In New York County alone, from 2006 to 2008, distracted driving was determined to be responsible for about 21.5 percent of all New York City car accidents. Statewide that number hovers around 17.5 percent. On average, out of roughly 10,800 reportable NYC traffic accidents per year, driver distraction was linked to 2,300 crashes.

In an effort to raise public awareness of both the potential hazards of cell phone use while driving and state driving laws that restrict hand-held cell phone usage, state and local government officials are now conducting the third of four high-visibility statewide enforcement campaigns.

The first wave began in April, after Syracuse and Hartford, Conn. were selected by the U.S. Department of Transportation to host the only two pilot programs in the country awarded with $300,000 grants to target hand-held cell phone use while driving.

During the kick-off April campaign of "Phone in One Hand, Ticket in the Other", the City of Syracuse issued 3,200 tickets to drivers caught using their cell phones while driving. The second wave - held in July - resulted in more than 2,100 citations, and represented a 38 percent drop in cell phone usage and 42 percent drop in texting while driving just in Syracuse.

With this third rollout, law enforcement officials are confident their efforts are making a difference. "Many injuries and deaths have been prevented because of the last two enforcement waves," said Syracuse Police Chief Frank Fowler. "Distracted driving will not be tolerated and we will continue to send this message to motorists through our enforcement efforts."

The final push comes in April 2011, and the results from the year-long Hartford and Syracuse programs will be used to construct a national model to combat distracted driving.

On a national scale, many efforts are being made already to address what U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood recently referred to as a "deadly epidemic" that in 2009 killed more than 5,000 and injured another 440,000. Pop stars, such as band members the Jonas Brothers and TV-personalities like Oprah Winfrey have joined public awareness efforts to dissuade drivers from using cell phones behind the wheel.

Continue reading "Distracted driving campaign aims to reduce risk of New York car accidents" »

New York City car accident attorneys are monitoring the six-month rolling installation of 25 red-light cameras throughout Yonkers. Six cameras will be installed in October with the remaining 19 placed by the end of April, the New York Daily News reports.

Intersection locations were selected based on car accident and red-light data collected from traffic reports generated by the Yonkers Police Department. Cameras will capture license plate information and a no-point $50 citation will be issued to the vehicle owner, regardless of who was driving at the time the infraction was committed.

Yonkers now joins New York City, Rochester, Nassau and Suffolk Counties and 700 communities nationwide that have turned to installing the devices to promote safety, diminish accidents and generate income from ticket fees. New York City began installing the red-light cameras in 1993, and by 2005 had seen a 73 percent drop in the number of red-light violations issued in the city.

"We have shown a strong commitment to motor vehicle safety in Yonkers with a number of traffic and pedestrian improvements during the course of my administration. Red light cameras are yet another proven technology that will make Yonkers safer for drivers, passengers and pedestrians," said Yonkers Mayor Phil Amicone.

"These cameras will help our police department keep intersections across the city safe by reducing red-light runners, accidents and injuries through the use of technology, and will free up our patrol officers to focus on drunken and reckless drivers, and to respond to other serious crimes."

According to the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety, red-light running is the leading cause of injury in urban car accidents. More than 20 percent of urban car accidents involve blowing a red light and 4 out of 10 of those crashes resulted in injuries. In 2008, 762 Americans were killed and about 137,000 others were injured in crashes that happened because a driver ran a red light.

Continue reading "Yonkers rolling out red-light cameras at 25 intersections in effort to promote pedestrian safety and diminish incidence of New York car accidents" »

The 16-year-old driver was allegedly traveling more than twice the posted speed limit when he turned a corner on a residential Brooklyn road and lost control. The minivan struck the back of a parked car, swiped a tree, bowled through a fence and finally crashed through a porch on 23rd Street before coming to a stop, the New York Daily News reports.

The driver - who has since been charged with criminally negligent homicide, speeding and reckless driving, among other things - and one 16-year-old passenger both walked away from the crash. The other passenger, a 13-year-old girl, did not. She remained pinned in the back seat, where she died from a head injury.

As our New York City car accident attorneys mentioned in a earlier post to our New York Injury Lawyer blog, car accidents remain the leading cause of death among teens aged 16 to 19. In 2006, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimated that on average a teenage driver or passenger is killed once an hour on weekends and once every two hours on weekdays. Out of 4,842 teenagers killed in fatal car accidents in 2006, 58 percent - or 2,813 - were not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.

In an effort to offer talking points to parents of younger drivers, the NHTSA offers a few tips for discussion starters:

~ Be a good example. Don't rely on driver's education to prepare your teen for the life-and-death responsibility that comes with driving. Obey traffic laws. Don't use hand-held electronic devices while driving. Always buckle up. Don't speed.

~ Know the restrictions your state imposes on beginning drivers and enforce them in your home. State-by-state licensing guidelines can be found here: http://www.iihs.org/laws/graduatedLicenseIntro.aspx

~ Restrict night driving and the number of young passengers who can ride along when your teen is driving. Teens tend to be more distracted, more likely to take risks, and less likely to pay attention to the road when driving with their peers.

~ Be an active participant in teaching your kid how to drive and drive safely and responsibly. Make the time and schedule bi-weekly practice sessions that include a variety of driving situations.

~ ALWAYS WEAR YOUR SEAT BELT and insist they always wear theirs. Enforce a no drinking policy.

Continue reading "13-year-old passenger killed in Brooklyn car accident caused by inexperienced driver" »