Report Finds Drivers Cause Most Fatal New York City Pedestrian Accidents

A variety of traffic violations contribute to pedestrian accidents. Speeding and distracted driving such as texting are two major causes.

2012-10-27

October 27, 2012 (Press-News.org) New York residents who enjoy walking and biking know the importance of safety. It is often assumed that when a pedestrian or biker is killed in a motor-vehicle accident, it is simply an incident caused by the victim's own negligence.

It is surprising that a majority of fatal personal injury accidents involving pedestrians and bikers in New York City are actually caused by drivers who break the law, according to an article in The Epoch Times which cited a study by Transportation Alternatives, a transit advocacy group. A variety of traffic violations contribute to pedestrian accidents. Speeding and distracted driving, such as texting, are two major causes.

The new report reveals that between 2001 and 2010, cars killed a total of 1,745 people while walking or biking on city streets. The report goes on to grimly state that this means "over 1000 lives were ended because of a driver who did not follow the law." Sixty percent of these crashes "with known causes are caused by illegal driving behavior, like speeding and distracted driving." Additionally, 36 percent involved "driver inattention."

The NYPD is facing criticism for not properly investigating these types of accidents. The department's Accident Investigation Squad is designated to look into pedestrian accidents.

The AIS is made up of 23 NYPD members, 19 of whom are detectives. However, they only investigate an accident if a death has occurred or is anticipated. Additionally, a police officer outside the investigation squad may only issue a ticket if he or she actually witnesses the accident.

Some feel this sends a negative message to pedestrians. Unless someone dies or is likely to die, the accident will not be investigated and the driver will not face consequences.

If a fatality does occur or is likely to, the AIS will perform investigative activities such as exploring the surroundings, viewing camera footage and talking to witnesses. The officers also consider physical evidence like skid marks.

However, some consider this process to be largely inadequate. An attorney interviewed by The Epoch Times noted that the AIS investigation will often contain enough information for a basic civil action, but it often contains minimal and incomplete findings.

A former NYPD officer explains in the article that police usually focus on more serious crimes like homicide and murder, to the detriment of pedestrian-accident investigations.

Transportation Alternatives asserts that current New York state law requires police to thoroughly investigate traffic accidents that cause serious injury, not just fatality or probable fatality.

Individuals suffering personal injury from pedestrian accidents face financial, medical and legal issues. An experienced personal injury attorney can provide guidance as well as assist with obtaining any available compensation.

Article provided by Sarkis Law Firm
Visit us at www.sarkislawfirm.com

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Statistics Indicate Mortgage Fraud Increasing in California

2012-10-27

According to the California Association of Realtors, this year mortgage fraud has increased by 60 percent throughout the country. The rise in mortgage fraud is part of an ongoing trend over the past few years. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has seen a significant rise in mortgage fraud cases since 2008. Studies show that California is among the states with the highest rates of mortgage fraud. California ranks as one of the top nine states with cases of mortgage fraud per capita. The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana area is one of the top metro areas in the nation ...

Authentic Cuba Travel Has Prepared a Simplified Guide to Attractions in Havana

2012-10-27

Toronto based Authentic Cuba Travel, the leading provider of escorted tours to Cuba, is pleased to announce a new website dedicated to providing travelers with a simplified directory of the most important attractions that Havana has to offer. The directory is not comprehensive. Instead, it is a guide to help those on short education trips or research Cuba tours decide what to visit in Havana when staying only a few days. Havana, the capital and cultural center of Cuba, offers many attractions and activities for visitors to the island. While the list of cultural and historic ...

Boisdale on Ice: London's First Skate Path Opens at Ice Rink Canary Wharf

2012-10-27

This winter, Canary Wharf will unveil its stunning ice rink, set under the impressive towers surrounding Canada Square Park. Returning for the eighth time but now under new management, and proudly sponsored by Hublot and Prime Location, this year's 'Ice Rink Canary Wharf' will be bigger and better than ever. The 800m2 rink features London's first 'skate path', leading skaters on a glittering trail through trees lit by fairy lights. Ice Skating in London Skate lessons will be available to everyone throughout the day, from fully-qualified and certified National Ice Skating ...

World's First Female-to-Male Detective Takes a Bow

2012-10-27

Channel Islands imprint, Liberation Publishing, is publishing its first novel, "Black Art" by Vic Tanner Davy, on 1 November 2012. A crime thriller, featuring the world's first female-to-male transsexual detective, it is about a genealogist's attempts to uncover the truth surrounding the disappearance of the grandmother of a British actress called Helen Valentine. The novel is set in the present day, but its protagonist, Arty Shaw, is a genealogist who is asked to research the disappearance of Kay Marett in 1942 so, inevitably, there is an historical element ...

Measuring molecules with the naked eye

2012-10-26

When someone develops liver cancer, the disease introduces a very subtle difference to their bloodstream, increasing the concentration of a particular molecule by just 10 parts per billion. That small shift is difficult to detect without sophisticated lab equipment – but perhaps not for long. A new "lab on a chip" designed by Brigham Young University professor Adam Woolley and his students reveals the presence of ultra-low concentrations of a target molecule. As the BYU researchers report in the journal Analytical Chemistry, their experiments detected as little as a ...

Elevated formaldehyde levels found in day care centers

2012-10-26

Berkeley — A new, comprehensive survey of day care centers by University of California, Berkeley, researchers found that, overall, the environmental quality in child care settings was similar to other indoor environments, but that levels of formaldehyde and several other contaminants exceeded state health guidelines. Cleaning- and sanitizing-related chemicals were also present in the air, and sometimes at higher levels, than in comparable studies on homes. The study, funded by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), is the first detailed analysis of environmental contaminants ...

Efforts to mitigate climate change must target energy efficiency

2012-10-26

Much more must be done to develop energy efficient cars, buildings and domestic appliances to address climate change – according to new research from the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of East Anglia. A report published today in Nature Climate Change shows that twice as much effort is being spent on developing energy supply technologies - such as new power stations - than is spent on improving the efficiency with which energy is used. The research shows that efficient end-use technologies have the potential to contribute large emission ...

Watching the cogwheels of the biological clock in living cells

2012-10-26

Our master circadian clock resides in a small group of about 10'000 neurons in the brain, called the suprachiasmatic nucleus. However, similar clocks are ticking in nearly all cells of the body, as demonstrated by the group of Ueli Schibler, professor at the Department of Molecular Biology of the University of Geneva, Switzerland. The molecular mechanisms of circadian clocks can thus be studied outside of the animals, in cultured cells. A system to study gene regulation live in single cells "Given the important role of the DBP protein in the regulation of detoxifying ...

Researchers decipher the mecanism of membrane fission

2012-10-26

A cell is composed of a nucleus which encloses its genetic information and the cytoplasm which is itself confined by an external membrane separating the cell from the outside world. The impermeability of the membrane and its ability to repair itself protect the cell from its environment. Although this membrane resistance is fundamental to the survival of the cell, the cell also needs to let in particles necessary for its proper functioning. The mechanism by which a small region of the cytoplasmic membrane invaginates to form a bud that will then be sectioned off to let ...

Salk study finds diabetes raises levels of proteins linked to Alzheimer's features

2012-10-26

Growing evidence suggests that there may be a link between diabetes and Alzheimer's disease, but the physiological mechanisms by which diabetes impacts brain function and cognition are not fully understood. In a new study published in Aging Cell, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies show, for the first time, that diabetes enhances the development of aging features that may underlie early pathological events in Alzheimer's. Specifically, the Salk team found increases in two hallmarks of Alzheimer's-accumulations of amyloid beta (Abeta) and tau protein-in ...

Report Finds Drivers Cause Most Fatal New York City Pedestrian Accidents

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: