An acceptable number of child-vehicle accidents? The answer is – however many there are, in our community, that number, certainly, is acceptable. Not that it should be acceptable – but, collectively, we acquiesce by not protesting. I don’t exclude myself. I’ve made paltry efforts to remedy the situation, at least as of this writing.
City Council Candidate Rock Hackshaw has proposed a practical interim solution that will save lives
I turned the corner moments after the ambulance arrived to treat Justin Abuled, on May 13th; he’s since returned from the hospital. I was upset that Daily News reporter Kerry Burke reported the driver’s account that this was an accident which occurred while he was parking. Burke is an excellent reporter, and he accurately reported the driver’s claim – which was his claim, whether or not it was true. Burke was polite enough to return my message; I was sufficiently enraged about the entire incident that I was unspeakably rude to Mr. Burke (to whom I have offered a separate private apology).
[The original reporting by Burke and Bill Hutchinson, is in this Daily News piece, dated May 14th, Minivan jumps sidewalk and hits 8-year-old boy, mother in Brooklyn; boy's foot severed in accident].
This particular incident aside – we’ve got a problem in this neighborhood involving too many people, particularly children, but also adults, young and old; bicyclists, recreational and commercial, and dogs, off-leash and on – being killed, maimed – or when lucky, merely injured by motor vehicles.
For instance,
- Good Samaritan killed on Prospect Expressway (2007);
- Dennis Monahan, killed in early 2002 by a driver exiting the Prospect Expressway;
- BUS DRIVER WRECKED. HE’S STONED, 4 KIDS HURT IN B’KLYN CRASH, SAY COPS (2005, Church and Stratford)
But that’s not neither the entire picture, nor a clear picture.
Transportation Alternatives has the most accessible data in its application, Crashstat. It has some limitations, and they’ve emphasized ease of use and certainty – but to the extent that it’s inaccurate – it undercounts injuries and fatalities.
Since Mayor Bloomberg took office (at the beginning of 2002), these are the annual totals of vehicle-related injuries and deaths through 2005, the most recent year for which figures are available:
Involving pedestrians:
2002 : 3793 Fatalities: 43
2003 : 3619 Fatalities: 50
2004 : 3124 Fatalities: 48
2005 : 3159 Fatalities: 37
That’s 178 deaths, and 13695 injuries.
Involving bicyclists:
2002 : 1140 Fatalities: 11
2003 : 1080 Fatalities: 4
2004 : 1049 Fatalities: 3
2005 : 1016 Fatalities: 8
That’s 4,285 crashes resulting in bicyclist injuries, and 26 resulting in bicyclist deaths.
Dogs killed or injured aren’t counted. And as yet we haven’t been able to break down the data by age – but we hope to do so shortly.
There’s a lot that can be done about this – and some of it is complicated, and slow. We have an effective, safe, inexpensive and immediate solution, provided to us by political scientist (and City Council candidate) Rock Hackshaw.
. Speed bumps do not damage cars driven responsibly, nor do they impair emergency vehicles
While we’re working out new rules and traffic patterns, the city installs speed bumps on every block on which there’s been a fatality. While Mayor Bloomberg may have as many terms as he needs to perfect his vision of the city – plans that are turning out wonderfully in Manhattan – we and our children can be much safer, with a simple, low-maintenance solution that could be implemented within days of the Mayor issuing an order. Professor Rockshaw’s proposal is an ideal immediate step: simple, inexpensive, safe, and effective. Once installed, they require no police officers to operate or monitor them, and they can be removed easily once once a proper traffic plan is in place.
