Don’t Settle For Less

Don’t Settle For Less

Number of Fatal Bicycle Accidents in New York City this Year Tops 2015 Already

On Behalf of | Sep 14, 2018 | Bicycle Accidents

The number of bicycle accidents in New York City isn’t dropping like City planners hoped it would. Engineers have spent thousands of hours and hundreds of thousands of dollars making supposed improvements to traffic flow all over the City in order to decrease the risk to pedestrians and bicyclist but statistics clearly show that all these changes are having little to no net effect. People are still being struck and injured or even killed by careless, reckless, or negligent drivers all over New York.

In fact, the number of fatal bicycle accidents in New York City to date this year (17) has already topped the total number of these types of collisions in 2015. That’s shocking because there are still almost 4 months left in 2018. Those figures are even more shocking because the number of fatal bicycle accidents actually declined slightly between 2013 and 2017.

Last year there were a total of 23 bicyclists killed in traffic collisions. That number was up by five from the previous year-a 27% increase. If we extrapolate from 2018’s figures through August, the number of cyclists killed because drivers failed to yield, failed to look before changing lanes, or failed to “see” bicyclists could reach higher than last year. Indeed, a 38% increase over 2016’s fatalities would make this year the deadliest for cyclists in five years.

What’s the root cause behind these tragic New York City bicycle accidents? Its true bike ridership has increased. But statistical analysis from nationwide traffic safety agencies like the NHTSA and DOT show that the majority of bicycle accidents are caused by the motor vehicle driver, not the rider. Riders are not perfect, but even when they do everything correctly, drivers still collide with them on a daily basis.

If you’ve been injured in a bike collision or if you’ve lost a loved one in a crash caused by a careless driver, contact an experienced bicycle accident lawyer in New York City today. Call the Law Offices of Nussin S. Fogel at 800-734-9338 or 212-385-1122 right now.

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