High risk of car accidents on the New York Taconic Highway

2,080 crashes occurred on the New York Taconic State Parkway over a period of 3 years. While being a picturesque scenic road that was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005, the road has a horrific history of  severe traffic accidents.

In 2009 a 36 year old mother driving under the influence of alcohol and marijuana entered the Taconic highway in the wrong direction. She had 4 passengers, all children. There were her daughter and 3 nieces. She collided with a SUV after driving almost 2 miles in the wrong lane. There were 3 occupants in the SUV. All 8 people died in the accident. This accident was the deadliest on this highway since 1934 when 20 people died in a bus accident near Ossining, New York

According to a recent article published by Only in Your State, most accidents occur in Westchester and Putnam Counties. Speeding is common on this segment of the Taconic. The Taconic is the longest Parkway in New York State. Click on link above to see map of Parkway  and photographs of dangerous portions. A report from 2015 indicates that, for the 7 years before 2015, State Troopers gave 54,000 speeding tickets on the Parkway. 18,000 of them were for drivers speeding in the Westchester area.  The highway is used daily by commuters going to work in the city. The two lanes available in each direction are often overcrowded.

Only in Your State also points out a very dangerous spot. In Putnam Valley, motorists driving on Pudding Street have to cross the 4 lanes of the highway without the help of any overpass or traffic lights. Residents have been petitioning the State to do something  about this dangerous situation but so far nothing has been done.