Study of Traffic Accidents shows Manhattan to be Most Dangerous of the NYC Boroughs for Pedestrians

According to the NYCDOT’s recently released The New York City Pedestrian Safety Study & Action Plan, Manhattan is, by far, the leader in the incidence of traffic accidents that cause injury or death to pedestrians vs. any of the city’s other 4 boroughs.

The report also contains the following statistics on motor vehicle accident involving pedestrians city-wide:

Manhattan has four times as many pedestrians killed or severely injured per mile of street compared to the other four boroughs in New York City.

• Traffic fatalities hit a 10 year low in 2009: down by 35% from 2001.
• The traffic fatality rate in New York City is approx. 1/4 of the national rate; and less than 1/2 the rate of the next 10 largest cities in the USA.
• Traffic accident cost the economy in New York City approx. $4.29 billion annually.
• Pedestrians are ten times more likely to die in a MV accident than is/are the occupant(s) of the vehicle.
• Pedestrians accounted for 52% of fatalities caused by traffic accidents from 2005-2009.
• Driver inattention accounted for approx. 36% of pedestrian fatalities.
• Most New Yorkers do not know that the standard speed limit for city streets is 30mph.
• 80% of crashes that kill or seriously injure pedestrians involve male drivers.
• 79% of crashes that kill or seriously injure pedestrians involve private automobiles as opposed to taxis, trucks and buses.
• Serious pedestrian crashes are about two-thirds more deadly on major street corridors than on smaller local streets.
• 43% of pedestrians killed in Manhattan lived in another borough or outside of New York City.

The New York and New Jersey car accident lawyers at Hess & Leibowitz have been representing victims of pedestrian accidents and vehicular knockdowns for more than four decades. We have recovered money for our clients in 98% of the cases we have handled.

The partners have extensive experience representing victims of pedestrian accidents. Steven Hess and Alan B. Leibowitz have been honored by their peers in the legal profession by being named super lawyers for multiple years.