New York City seems to have a lot of car accidents. Traffic may be slow down or stop once or twice during a good week due to auto accidents. The real number of vehicle Estimated accidents might not be as great as you expect, despite the millions upon millions of people live in and commute to NYC. Let’s look at New York statistics and the expected number of accidents that have occurred this year so far.
Car Accident Statistics for New York State
Both the Department of Health and the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in New York State keeps statistics on auto accidents. Each of them keeps a log of the number of incidents and the injuries they result in. The data that is currently accessible dates back to 2021. The DMV keeps records from 2022 through 2021, however, there are no more current statistics. The Department of Health also averages figures from 2020 through 2022 during that time period. When applicable, we will draw from both sets of statistics to show you how frequent vehicle accidents occur in New York City.
Stats
2014 had 299,452 collisions in New York State, according to the NY statistics. This amounts to roughly:
24,954 crashes per month,
5,758 crashes per week,
820 crashes per day,
34 crashes per hour, or
One crash every two minutes.
In general, automobile accidents happen more often throughout the workweek, particularly between lunch and the evening rush hour. Nevertheless, hundreds of incidents happened in New York every year between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. Weekends saw a little increase in these numbers, particularly on Friday and Saturday evenings, but those collision totals are still less than half what they typically are during the weekday evening rush hour.
2020-2022
966 of these collisions in 2014 resulted in fatalities. That brings the overall number of fatalities in auto accidents to 1,026. According to the Department of Health, there were 1,098 fatalities annually on average between 2012 and 2014, therefore 2014 was really somewhat below normal. 5.6 vehicle accident fatalities per 100,000 New Yorkers are the result of this state-wide mortality toll. Particularly in 2014, there were 4.9 fatalities for per 100,000 people, which was the lowest recorde death rate. In 2001, there were 8.4 fatal vehicle accidents for per 100,000 people, which is the highest rate ever recorded.
Even while these mishaps seldom result in fatalities, each year hundreds of people are hospitalised. Using average data from 2012 to 2014, the Department of Health states:
Each year, 136,913 individuals seek care in the ER following a vehicle accident
12,093 people are admitted to hospitals for car accident injuries
It’s crucial that you get medical attention if you were hurt in a vehicle accident. It may take days for you to realise you have underlying ailments like whiplash or spinal cord damage. However, seeking quick medical attention can assist identify injuries that require emergency treatment, such as traumatic brain injuries.
New York City Car Accident Statistics
Particularly for New York City, the statistics are arranged by county. This entails examining the accident data separately for each of the Five Boroughs.
According to the Department of Health, there are 48 traffic-related fatalities in Bronx County per year. With 864 hospitalizations and 10,501 ER visits, this is the fourth most common reason for hospitalizations due to injuries. Each year, there are 94 traffic-related fatalities in Kings County (Brooklyn). In Brooklyn, this ranks as the third most common reason for hospitalizations and ER visits. Each year in Brooklyn, 1,325 individuals are hospitalized for vehicle accident injuries, and 15,533 people go to the emergency room.
Common Causes
The Five Boroughs’ worst borough for vehicle accidents is Brooklyn. Each year, 40 people are killed in vehicle accidents in New York County (Manhattan), 640 are hospitalized, and 4,830 are sent to the emergency room. As a result of slower speeds on congested Manhattan streets, Manhattan probably has lower numbers. With 93 fatalities annually, Queens is quite close to Brooklyn. This is really the fourth most common cause of injury-related deaths in Queens County, although it is the second and third most common reason for hospitalizations and ER visits (respectively). As a result, Queens has the most injuries overall each year of any of the Five Boroughs, with 1,432 hospitalizations and 15,782 ER visits.
In Richmond County, Staten Island has the fewest traffic-related fatalities per year (17), making it the least hazardous of the Five Boroughs. The great majority of these hospitalizations and fatalities involve pedestrians. However, pedestrians are hospitalised for serious injuries more frequently than occupants, despite the fact that occupants of the car are typically the ones who go to the ER. Speak with a lawyer right away if you suffered injuries or lost a loved one in an automobile accident involving a pedestrian.
Increase in passenger injuries since lockdown
On the other hand, passenger injuries continue to be less common than typical. However, since the beginning of 2020, they have been steadily climbing. Possible causes include the city’s increased activity after the lockdown and the fact that whereas before the epidemic individuals were hesitant to share their automobiles with passengers, this apprehension appears to have subsided.
Vehicle injuries are still less than they were prior to the Covid19 issue.
In comparison to the same period in 2021, 10,570 drivers were hurt in New York City during the first semester of 2022. Due to the lockout, motorist injuries fell from a record high of 13,201 in 2019 to 8,450 in the first half of 2020 before rising back to 10,000 in the same time the following year. Automobile injuries are still very common, even if they are not as common as they formerly were. The leading cause of this large number of injuries is distracted driving.
Driver fatalities fall in the first half of 2022 after two years of chaos.
In New York, 29 drivers lost their lives in collisions in the first half of the year, compared to 39, 37, and 26 deaths in the same period in 2021, 2020, and 2019. The fact that NYC streets are once again relatively crowde and that cars cannot speed as much as they used to has largely prevented the speeding and recklessness that were brought on by emptying roads. For the first half of the year, the number of motor vehicle operator deaths in the city is back below 30 and close to where it was prior to the Covid 19 issue. The biggest contributing factors in these deaths continue to be speeding and inattentive driving.
Major Takeaways From NY Crash Data – 2022
Deaths from traffic accidents increased dramatically in Queens and Manhattan – According to Transportation Alternatives, the number of fatal traffic accidents in Queens is currently 125 percent greater than it was at the same time in 2021. Additionally, they pointed out that in Queens, 60% of fatal car accidents involved pedestrians. The number of fatal traffic accidents in Manhattan increased by 120 percent from Q1 of 2021. In Manhattan, February and March had more traffic fatalities than any other two-month period since 2013.
Pedestrians made for over half of all traffic-related fatalities. 29 of the 59 road fatalities that occurred in the first three months of 2022, according to Transportation Alternatives, were pedestrians. Since the inception of Vision Zero, February in Brooklyn saw the highest number of pedestrian fatalities.
Deaths from motorised vehicles, including e-bikes, mopeds, and scooters, have surged. In the first three months of 2021, only one person lost their life while operating a “other motorised” vehicle. Nine fatalities on scooters, e-bikes, and mopeds were recorded in 2022. According to the report, these incidents frequently involve poor, working-class people, particularly delivery cyclists.
Approximately one-fourth of all road fatalities occur on routes with speed limits greater than 25 mph. Even though just 10% of New York City roadways have listed speed limits more than 25 mph, the group found that in Q1 around 24% of traffic fatalities occurred on these routes.
Lastly,
Transportation Alternatives is urging Mayor Adams, the city, and the state to take immediate action by fully funding the NYC Streets Planhich would require the NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) to build hundreds of miles of new bike and bus lanes, upgrade existing pedestrian infrastructure, improve intersections, and create one million square feet of space that is dedicated to pedestrians. This is in response to the alarming rise in traffic accident fatalities in New York City.
In addition, Transportation Alternatives advises the city to expedite its January commitment to remodel 1,000 junctions for public safety. They also backed making the Dangerous Vehicle Abatement Program stronger in order to reduce the frequency of repeat traffic infractions.
The Crash Victim Rights and Safety Act should be rapidly pass this session, according to the organization’s request to the state assembly in Albany. The Crash Victim Rights and Safety Act would grant cash for “complete streets” and allow towns outside of New York City to rebuild roadways and enhance safety features, reduce the posted speed limit to 25 mph, instruct drivers on how to drive safely around bikes and pedestrians.
A Safe Passage provision that mandates drivers to keep at least three feet between their vehicles and bikes is also include in the act. Additionally, it would increase the legal rights of crash victims and the people close to them.
