3 people were injured in a car accident in Queens, NYC. A driver lost control of his car and crashed into a Popeyes restaurant located on Hillside Avenue in Queens Village on Sunday afternoon. The car barreled into one of the floor to ceiling windows and crashed into the condiment station. The entire car ended up in the restaurant in front of the counter. 3 people, including one customer were injured and transported to the hospital.
Also yesterday in Queens, an off-duty police officer crashed his SUV into a private property. The car ended on its roof in the lawn of the property. Some of the occupants might have been injured.
How to prevent cars from crashing into buildings?
Every day in the US, an average 60 car accidents involving drivers crashing into buildings occurs. Every year, 4000 people are injured and 500 are killed by cars crashing into buildings. The most common cause of vehicles crashing into building accidents is human error, most often when the driver mistakes the gas pedal for the break pedal. Drivers making this error are often elderly drivers who probably should not drive anymore. While looking at statistics, 40% of the drivers crashing into a building are 60 year old and over , 31% are between 30 and 60 year old and 29% are under 30 year old. Distracted driving as well as impaired driving are also common causes of such crashes.
While most governmental buildings are usually heavily protected with impact resistant bollards or other barriers to prevent terrorism, most small businesses have parking space right in front of their windows with little protection. Store owners are often reluctant to install protection such as bollards that are not only expensive but also make their stores look like a fortress. However so far, bollards have proven to be the best solution to avoid this type of accidents. Stores that have been installing steel wheels stops on the top of the parking space or thin concrete wheel stops have found that pedestrians were getting injured after tripping on them so they were not the best idea.
More information about car into building crashes statistics and protection options can be found on the Store Front Safety Council website