Auto Accidents

Published on: February 28, 2014

In New York City, the number of people who died or suffered personal injury in a vehicle accident slightly decreased in January according to data recently released by the NYPD

21 people died and 3,899 suffered personal injury in a vehicle accident in New York City last January compared to 26 deaths and 4,277 personal injuries the month before and 28 deaths and 3,993 personal injuries the same month a year ago.

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More than 1000 pedestrians suffered personal injury in a vehicle accident last January. The number of pedestrians who died after being struck by a vehicle was of 12 last January compared to 17 in December, 25 in November and 20 the same month a year ago. At this point it is difficult to know if this decrease is already the result of NYPD Vision Zero measures or if the bad weather kept many pedestrians inside.

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Published on: February 26, 2014

To prevent potential car accidents two drivers stop and trap a drunk driver

By GGCRBHS&M

A drunk driver who clipped a tractor trailer truck on a New York Highway and continued on his way after the accident was followed by three concerned drivers who were able to stop and trap him until the police arrived. The good Samaritans said they were concerned that the intoxicated man would cause another car accident and kill innocent drivers.

Product Liability: After being pressured General Motor expands its recall to all models with ignition switch problem and admits 13 deaths in car accidents during which the airbag failed to deploy

By GGCRBHS&M

Last week the plaintiff’s lawyer in a now settled product liability lawsuit against GM that showed that the car maker knew about the defective ignition switch before the cars were sold, sent a letter to the NHTSA asking them to require GM to explain why it only had recalled half of the cars affected by an ignition switch issue that previously led to the death of his former client (Melton v. General Motors et. al.,).

In a previous blog we also questioned this recall.

Today General Motors announced that it was doubling the size of last weeks recall to include all models with a defective ignition switch. In addition to the 2005-2007 Chevrolet Cobalts and Pontiac G5 recalled on Feb. 13, GM said it will recall another 748,000 cars in the U.S., including 2003-2007 Saturn Ions, 2006-2007 Chevrolet HHRs and 2006-2007 Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky models.

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Published on: February 25, 2014

New York State Senator Brad Holyman held a Traffic and Pedestrian Safety Town Hall Tonight at John Jay College of Criminal Justice

By GGCRBHS&M

To discuss the implementation of Vision Zero to reduce pedestrian injuries and deaths related to traffic accidents, New York State Senator Brad Holyman held a “Traffic and Pedestrian Safety Town Hall” at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice tonight. See below for more info.
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Published on: February 25, 2014

Manhattan DA Cy Vance asks for NYC DAs to become involved in the Vision Zero task force to reduce severe personal injury and deaths related to traffic accidents

By GGCRBHS&M

Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance cares about traffic accidents in the city and believes district attorneys should be integrated into the Vision Zero Task Force. All 5 New York City DAs were invited to a City Council Vision Zero Hearing yesterday but only Cy Vance was present. Vance came equipped with a list of solid recommendations that were presented by his Chief Assistant DA Karen Friedman Agnifilo.

The DA believes that prosecutors would be able to make better decisions in holding reckless motorists responsible if they were more involved. The DAs support could also be useful in implementing initiatives that require action by Albany.

To protect their children from car accidents, parents want a speed bump on a busy school street in Harlem, NY

By GGCRBHS&M

Many students and parents have come close to being hit by a car on East 109th street between Second and Third Avenues in Manhattan, New York where five schools are located. Parents say that the street is dangerous and that motorists speeding have often come close to hitting pedestrians.
A petition has been launched to ask for the installation of a speed bump on the street to slow down the traffic.

Does General Motor voluntarily put consumers at risk of a car accident by not recalling all cars with Ignition Switch Problems?

By GGCRBHS&M

A defective ignition switch can turn off the engine and disable the airbag on six different models of General Motors cars but last week the company decided to only recall two models even though management is perfectly aware that 4 other models have the same defect.

Read here the investigation of Christopher Jensen from the New York Times.

Published on: February 21, 2014

Drive as I say not as I do: Mayor de Blasio’s car caught on tape speeding, violating stops and endangering pedestrians

By GGCRBHS&M

Mayor Bill de Blasio who has been passionately advocating safe street initiatives to reduce traffic accidents is not practicing what he is preaching. A CBS video shows the mayor’s car engaged in multiple reckless driving behaviours: blowing traffic stops, speeding 15 miles over the authorized limit, changing lanes without signaling and parking on the pedestrian crosswalk. That’s enough violations for a license suspension in New York.

Published on: February 20, 2014

In small overlap front crash accidents,most mini cars do not protect the driver from serious personal injury

By GGCRBHS&M

In a car accident during which the front corner of a car hit another vehicle or an object such as a tree or a pole most minicars do not protect drivers adequately from serious personal injury according to a recent test from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The only minicar that provided an acceptable level of protection was the Chevrolet Spark. The worst performers were the Honda fit and the Fiat 500.

Read the complete test results here

Published on: February 20, 2014

Older drivers these days are not only less likely to be involved in a car accident, they are also less likely to suffer personal injury or to die than previously

By GGCRBHS&M

Older drivers Today have a lower risk of being involved in a car accident than their peers did during the mid nineties. Because cars are safer and seniors are generally healthier they are also less likely to be killed or seriously injured if they crash. A new study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety demonstrates that drivers 70 and older have enjoyed bigger declines in fatal crash rates per licensed driver and per vehicle miles traveled than drivers ages 35-54, referred to in the study as middle-age drivers, since 1997.

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