Don’t Settle For Less

Don’t Settle For Less

Increase in Fatal Bicycle Accidents in New York City Highlights Need for Protected Bike Lanes

On Behalf of | Jan 29, 2018 | Bicycle Accidents

The Department of Transportation is responding to the increasing number of fatal bicycle accidents in Manhattan with an ambitious plan to install protected bike lanes along certain danger zones within the city. The need for some type of intervention is obvious. As the number of people who ride bicycles in New York City on a daily basis rapidly increases, so too does the number of people hurt or killed in bicycle accidents in New York.

In 2017, there were 23 fatal bicycle accidents in New York City. Nine of those bike accidents in New York happened in Manhattan. Five of them occurred right in the heart of Midtown.

That’s an increase of 27% from 2016 accident figures. Worse yet, that increase is in spite of the major time, resource, and monetary investments the mayor’s office has granted the Vision Zero project.

This new plan would begin with an assessment of specific streets in which the danger for a collision between a bicycle and a car, truck, or other vehicle is high. The DOT would then determine whether or not the street is wide enough to maintain a travel lane in addition to a new protected bike lane. Ideally, the DOT would install buffers between bike lanes and travel lanes. Alternatively, parking lanes might be used to accommodate the new protected bike lanes. If so, the street would lose curbside parking spaces but as one commenter told media outlets, people’s safety is more important than parking.

However, because not all streets in Midtown will be receiving these new bike lanes, the ever present danger of a collision between a bicyclist and a motor vehicle will still remain.

If you or a family member has been injured in a collision while riding a bike, you need an experienced Manhattan bicycle accident attorney on your side today. Contact the Law Offices of Nussin S. Fogel right now. Call 800-734-9338 or 212-385-1122 for your free consultation.

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