New York Injury Lawyer Blog

New York City personal injury lawyers know teens are at high risk of being involved in serious or fatal car accidents. In fact, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports car accidents are the leading cause of death for all young people ages 15 to 20.

And we frequently report on the issue on our New York Injury Lawyer Blog, But what is less often emphasized is that many victims of car accidents involving teenagers are just that -- innocent victims. In fact, the U.S. Department of Transportation reports teen drivers account for just one-third of the 181 people killed in accidents with young drivers. Another 120 victims were passengers in a teen's car, occupants of another vehicle or non-occupants, such as bicyclists or pedestrians.

Health News Digest reports a new study State Farm Insurance and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia report more than 681,000 people are involved in accidents with teenagers each year and more than 41,000 are seriously injured.

"When most people think about those affected by teen driver crashes, they think of the teens behind the wheel. We must also consider the significant impact of these crashes on other members of our communities: occupants of other vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists, and other road-users," says Dennis Durbin, a co-author of the report. "Whether or not we have a teen driver in our family, we should all care about this issue. This report provides a concrete way to measure the effectiveness of laws, education, and other programs in reducing teen crashes and their impact on communities."

Researchers found the most common driving behaviors leading to accident or injury among teens were drunk driving, failure to wear seat belts, distracted driving and speeding.

"Reducing speeding and alcohol use, increasing seat belt use, and eliminating distractions for teen drivers are the four calls-to-action we see in this report that would have great impact on reducing injuries and fatalities for all road users," says Dr. Durbin, who is also an emergency physician. "More than half of teens who were fatally injured in crashes were speeding, 40 percent had a positive blood alcohol level, more than half were not wearing seat belts, and 16 percent of teen drivers involved in fatal crashes were reported to have been distracted while driving."

Tragically, car accidents continue to kill more teens than homicide, suicide and cancer combined. Please speak to your teens often about the importance of making good driving decisions. Tell them to call for a ride before getting into a vehicle with an unsafe driver or a friend who has been drinking.

Continue reading "Teens not only victims of New York City car accidents involving young drivers" »

A New York City bus accident closed the Manhattan-bound center tube of the Lincoln Tunnel this morning, according to the Star-Ledger.

Three buses and a motorcycle were involved in the accident and life-threatening injuries are reported. New York City personal injury lawyers understand this will likely be a complex case. Determining who is at fault will be critical. And multiple accident victims will likely file competing claims. Speaking to an experienced lawyer as soon after an accident as possible will typically offer the best chance for protecting your rights.

The New York Department of Transportation reports only about 10 percent of accidents in New York City involved three or more vehicles in 2009. Twenty-seven people were killed and nearly 6,000 were injured in such crashes.

All of the victims in this case were transported to hospitals in New York City. Eight additional ambulances were placed on standby at the New Jersey end of the tunnel but were not needed. The center tube is expected to be closed for most of the day.

Officials do not know how many were injured but estimates of 27 people hurt were being reported Thursday morning. The motorcycle rider's injuries were believed to be life-threatening.

Continue reading "27 injured in New York City bus accident in Lincoln Tunnel" »

New York City personal injury lawyers continue to monitor the high numbers of serious and fatal bicycle accidents that occur -- particularly those involving middle-aged men riding for pleasure or fitness.

According to new information released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 630 fatal bicycle accidents were reported in 2009 -- down from more than 700 in 2008.

The New York State Department of Transportation reported 29 riders were killed in 5,620 reported bicycle accidents in 2009. New York City bicycle accidents accounts for almost half -- 12 deaths and 2,787 injuries.

Being that many people and businesses use bicycles as a mode of transportation or delivery, this poses a very serious problem. It's a problem bound to get worse as NYCDOT added over 200 miles of bike paths in New York City in 2009, amid ongoing efforts to help make the streets safer for all users.

Safety tips for riders include:

-Wear a helmet: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration encourages helmet use, even where not required by law.

-If riding during the dawn, dusk or in inclement weather - wear brightly colored clothing and reflectors.

-According to the NHTSA, bicyclists are considered vehicle operators and are required to obey all rules of the road - including lights and reflectors when riding at night.

-If you are a motor vehicle operator, please check twice for cyclists when merging, making a turn, or opening a car door when parked on the side of the road.

Here you can fine helpful biking rules in New York City.

Continue reading "Feds point to bicycle accidents as ongoing safety threat; New York City motorists should use caution" »

New York City Car Accident Attorney Nicholas Rose knows that if you live in or drive around New York City you've probably encountered a red-light camera. More likely than not, you probably have a definitive opinion about their use. In short: either you love them, or you hate them.

Supporters of red-light cameras believe they prevent serious or fatal New York City car accidents. Detractors see them as yet another source of income for the City. They question their accuracy. They believe they are a sure sign that our privacy is facing extinction.

Such is a New Yorkers passion for the topic that there are numerous web pages dedicated to both the demise and the support of legislation that permits the installation and use of red-light cameras in New York City. There are so many cameras that Google Maps plots them. All 318 of them. According to WikiDriving, Brooklyn leads with 102 red-light cameras, followed by Queens (90), Manhattan (54), the Bronx (47) and Staten Island (25).

For those pushing to see the cameras taken down, a recent red-light camera study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety may have just made that position a little harder to sell.

According to the IIHS, red-light cameras saved 159 lives between 2004 and 2008 across 14 U.S. cities with populations of 200,000 or more. IIHS researchers estimate that, had cameras been installed in all large U.S. cities, more than 800 lives could have been spared.

Over the four-year study, IIHS determined that the rate of fatal red-light running car accidents dropped by 24 percent among the 14 cities where cameras are installed. Other types of fatal intersection crashes saw fewer wrecks as well.

The Governor Highway Safety Association reports that New York is among 22 states (Washington D.C. included) to have red-light camera programs currently in operation. According to the GHSA, New York state law permits the use of up to 100 red-light cameras in cities with at least a population of 1 million. In an effort to diffuse privacy issues for drivers and passengers, state law permits two or more images of the rear of the vehicle only and may not capture the interior. Citations are $50 and cannot be used by an insurer to affect rates.

Continue reading "New study finds that red-light cameras prevent fatal New York City car accidents" »

In a previous post on my New York Injury Lawyer Blog I reported that technology is a growing force in causing New York car accidents.

New York law bans drivers from hand-held devices while they are driving, which includes texting.

Habitual offenders of this law may want to reconsider their bad habit because the consequences just got more severe. According to a recent article published by NBC New York, as of February 17th, the penalty for violating the no cell phone law will go from 0 to 2 points added onto your license.

Consequently, this could assume more fines and court appearances for violators refusing to obey the law.

Crashes involving distracted driving are becoming as prevalent as those involving driving under the influence. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that more than 5,000 people were killed in distracted driving-related crashes in 2009. Another 448,000 were injured in these types of accidents.

It was reported that 16% of fatal crashes, and 20% of injury crashes involved some sort of distraction as the cause of the crash. The 30-39 year old age group was the group with the highest percentage of admitted cell-phone use of those drivers involved in fatal distracted crashes.

Though fatalities in crashes have decreased over the 5 year period from 2005-2009, distraction-related fatalities have increased during that same time period. In 2005, 10% of fatalities in crashes were distraction-related as opposed to 16% in 2009. The total number of fatalities from crashes decreased from 43,510 in 2005 to 33,808 in 2009.

The government has joined a number of safety advocates in waging an all-out assault on distracted driving. At the end of 2010, AT&T announced its own campaign against texting while driving. NBC New York reports the 'The Last Text' documentary put the 'It Can Wait Campaign' in full motion. The short documentary is a composition of people's lives that were changed forever by a driver who was driving distracted. Stories told by both the victims and the driver portray the message in a way that cuts to the heart. AT&T is the only cellular company that has campaigned against texting while driving to date.

New Yorkers are faced with a challenge. From this point on, drivers need to acknowledge the price of each call they make and each text they answer when they are behind the wheel. The price may be too much to bear if you are involved in a distracted driving accident that takes a life.

Continue reading "Penalties stiffen as authorities work to reduce distracted driving accidents in New York City" »

As a New York City car accident lawyer, I recently posted to my New York Injury Lawyer Blog a report encouraging parents to put in the extra hours when supervising teen drivers.

Research studies indicate the better prepared a teen is before getting behind the wheel alone, the less likely they are to be involved in a serious or fatal New York City car accident.

And it is no secret that car accidents are the leading cause of death among teens, claiming on average 3,000 young motorists aged 15 to 19 each year. Ford Motor Company would like to change that, and in 2003 formed a partnership with the Governors Highway Safety Association to create a mobile (and interactive) young driver education program that this year will reach 15 states. A high school in Albany, N.Y. is among them.

Now in its ninth year, Driving Skills for Life will reach out to young drivers at 30 high schools nationwide with curbside driving clinics, online training stations and public-service announcement contests that aim to raise teen awareness about the importance of safe driving. DSFL programming focuses on four key areas known to be responsible for more than 60 percent of teen car accidents: vehicle handling, recognizing hazards, distracted driving and speed/space management.

"Inexperience is the leading cause of crashes in young drivers, and this program delivers the key skill sets that will increase their knowledge, confidence and, ultimately, their safety," said Sue Cischke, group vice president, Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering. "Ford is passionate about helping young drivers learn the rules of the road, better manage distractions behind the wheel and help make America's roads safer for us all."

Last year, for the first time, students were asked to participate in an open competition to compose, perform and produce a song and video bearing a safe-driver message. Last year's national "Belt It Out" contest winners received $5,000 savings bonds. Second place earned $3,000 savings bonds and third place earned $1,000.

The GHSA reports the contest will be held again this year with applications being accepted between Feb. 1 and May 1, 2011. Winners will be announced in July.

Continue reading "Campaign seeks to Reduce Risk of New York Car Accidents among Teens" »

Parents of newborns have enough things to worry about without having to add consumer safety to the checklist. New York personal injury attorney Nicholas Rose is all too familiar with the dangers parents face when it comes to defective products used for their infants.

Crib safety has been a growing concern over the last few years. Last October, NJ.com reported a number of companies in the northeast were forced to recall drop-side cribs. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety finally took action after decades of infant injury and death in dropside cribs.

The CPSC is working with New York Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital and American Academy of Pediatrics to get the word out to parents by issuing a "Safe Sleep for Babies" video to hospitals and doctors' offices. The video focuses on the risks of strangulation and entrapment in cribs. Educating parents, especially first time parents, is a good step in ensuring the safety of infants from serious injury or even fatality.

The CPSC is an excellent resource for parents when it comes to keeping their infants safe from consumer products. The CPSC provides updated information on recalls for products like cribs, play yards, and bassinets. Since 2007, there have been over 11 million of these infant products recalled.

The CPSC offers some simple rules that can assist in a better nights rest for the parent and infant:

-Keep cords or strings out of reach from the infant's crib in order to prevent strangulation.

-Create a safe sleep environment by not placing thick quilts or pillows in the crib. These kinds of items increase the chances of suffocation.

-Safety standards are constantly improving so parents should not use cribs older than 10 years, or cribs that are broken. Infants can suffer strangulation if the slots are too wide or need repaired.

-Most importantly, parents putting together cribs and play sets should follow the directions provided by the manufacturer. Ensuring that the product is assembled correctly is the best way to keep your child safe.

To reduce the risk of suffocation and sudden infant death syndrome for infants less than 12 months, the CPSC offers the following safety tips:

-Only use a fitted bottom sheet specifically made for crib use.

-Refrain from putting pillows, bumper pads, stuffed toys, or quilts in the crib with the infant.

-Use a firm tight fitting mattress in the crib.

-Place the infant on their back when putting them in the crib for a nap.

-Tightly secure all hardware used on the crib or for mattress support.

Continue reading "Defective cribs a tragic danger facing New York infants" »

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety (ACTS) are combining resources to develop a new technology to prevent drunk drivers from getting behind the wheel.

The $10 million project is currently under development as reported by the NHTSA and is expected to take approximately 5 years to be fully tested and implemented.

Nicholas Rose, our New York City accident attorney, is hopeful that the new Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) technology will keep drunk drivers off the roadways and make the streets and highways safer for other New York drivers.

One of the recent viewers of the new technology, MADD President Laura Dean-Mooney, welcomed the progress of the DADSS research effort, saying, "Auto makers have stepped up to help turn cars into the cure. This project has made substantial progress and this technology could one day be an important step in our efforts to eliminate drunk driving."

Currently in the development phase, DADSS will be used as a tool to keep drunk drivers from driving their vehicle if their blood alcohol content is over the legal limit of .08.

Drivers who choose to get behind the wheel while under the influence typically have habitual tendencies to do so. Statistics show that in fatal drunk driving accidents, drivers involved are 8 times more likely to be repeat offenders than a driver with no alcohol in their system at the time of the accident.

According to the NHTSA, there were 10,839 deaths in crashes involving at least one driver with a BAC level of .08 or higher in 2009. This equates to about 32% of total traffic fatalities for the entire year.

There were 7,281 fatalities when the driver tested positive for BAC of .08 or higher which equates to about 67%.

In 2009, New York reported a total of 1,156 fatalities in motor vehicle crashes. There were 388 (34%) fatalities when BAC was .01 or higher for at least one driver. Most of the alcohol-impaired fatal crashes occurred when the BAC of New York drivers was between .08 and .14. There were a total of 1,514 drivers involved in New York fatal crashes in 2009. There were 370 drivers involved in fatal crashes in New York with a BAC of .01 or higher.

The government is optimistic that DADSS will be good for the fight against drunk driving.

"The technology we are seeing here today could quite simply signal a new frontier in the fight against drunk driving," said NHTSA Administrator David Strickland.

Though we are a few years away from this new technology being voluntarily installed in new vehicles, drivers in New York can increase their chances of avoiding a drunk driving accident by choosing not to get behind the wheel after consuming alcohol.

Continue reading "Technology could eliminate risk of drunk driving car accidents in New York City, Long Island" »