New York City Lowers Speed Limits as Traffic Deaths Surge

When the coronavirus pandemic emptied the streets of New York of its usual traffic, the city’s roads transformed into an open speedway where motorists drag raced down major roads, racked up numerous traffic tickets and in some cases left fatal wreckage in their wake. At the time, city officials assumed the reckless driving would diminish once the city’s usual traffic reappeared.

However, as restrictions were lifted and traffic rose to its pre-pandemic levels, the number of speeding vehicles and fatal collisions did not end. Now, alarmed by the unrelenting increase in fatalities on the road and bracing for a possible second pandemic lockdown that could worsen the current speeding crisis, New York city officials are reducing speed limits from 35 to 25 miles per hour on nine of the most dangerous streets across the five boroughs including :

• Riverside Drive from 165th street to 181st street in Manhattan
• 7 miles of Bruckner Boulevard in the Bronx
• 7 miles of Northern Boulevard in Queens
• 1 mile of Flatbush Avenue from Grand Army Plaza to Empire Boulevard in Brooklyn

2021 has seen more motor vehicle fatalities amongst passengers, drivers and motorcyclists than all of last year: 28 drivers, 16 passengers and 26 motorcyclists have died, according to city data. In June, when traffic in New York City returned to around 80 percent of pre-pandemic levels, the number of passengers and drivers killed in collisions jumped 22 percent compared with the same month last year. In July, things got much worse as those deaths spiked 300 percent compared with last year.

New York Scheduled to Install 2000 Speed Cameras by the End of 2021

So far, New York City has installed a total of 950 speed cameras in 750 school zone areas. These installations have resulted in an average of 60% decline in speeding. City officials are planning to extend the number of speed cameras to 2000 by the end of 2021. The cameras operate weekdays from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. including during school summer vacations.

Contact Our New York Car Accident Attorneys

If you or a loved one has been injured in a motor vehicle accident in New York City, you need to immediately contact an experienced New York City car accident attorney to protect your legal rights and get you the full compensation that you deserve. For more information or to consult with an experienced New York City accident attorney, please call Gersowitz Libo & Korek, P.C. at 212-385-4410.